Scattered Thoughts at Midnight
So, not finding the time to update as often as I'd like and because of this I end up never getting all of my ideas up here as I imagine them. So here's some scattered things I want people to know about.
Current listening: Palmetto Records
Have to thank the MMW listserve for this lead. I had been meaning to pick up Robert Walter's latest called Cure All, featuring Johnny Vidacovich on drums and James Singleton on bass. This music was written after Walter moved to New Orleans and had been playing with Johnny V and Singleton regularly. I've always liked Robert Walter's records, though not necessarily loved them. Adding two of New Orleans finest made it an obvious choice. Unfortunately (or actually for me, quite fortunately) I've been grabbed by the two other releases I picked up from Palmetto at the same time.
I mentioned the tip came from the MMW camp. That's because John Medeski, along with Stanton Moore and Andy Hess, play on Will Bernard's new release entitled Blue Plate Special. The first song is Baby Goats which has been an unnamed song played regularly over the past year at MMW shows. Sure enough, John Medeski is given the writing credit in the liner notes. Further connection, the band also performs a version of Gonzo, a song in MMW's rotation from 1998 - 2001. I didn't recognize it by name at first, but hearing it immediately had me thinking it was an MMW tune. It's not, having been written by Deadric Malone and performed by James Booker, but Medeski and Bernard don't stray much from the MMW arrangement I recall.
So with all this MMW connection the record must be good, right? That's what I'm saying, no? I will openly admit, I can't think of something John Medeski has been associated with I didn't dig, so that's a major plus for me. But this record is built on very solid compositions and grooves. Stanton is a heavyweight and his playing is solid and confident. I wasn't familiar with Andy Hess (bass) but probably should have been seeing that he had a short stint with the Black Crowes and appeared on their Live album from 2002. (He's most well-known as the bass player for Gov't Mule, but he also performed on Britney Spears' Baby One More Time? No shit. It's on his website.) Then there's Will Bernard, the underrated guitarist leading this group. He's not flashy, which may be why he isn't talked about more, but the guy definitely has chops and plays in and out of a groove with ease. I've seen him a few times with Stanton's trio and sitting in with the aforementioned Robert Walter. Always good, but never steps up to take the spotlight. His playing fits that same mold here. Again, it's more groove and feel than licks and solos.
Next up, Dr. Lonnie Smith's Jungle Soul. This is someone I've been sleeping on way too long. Having seen him live and loving it, I had still yet to purchase one of his cd's until now. Didn't even know he was on Palmetto, which is true for all of these cats. I'll admit, I haven't made it through the whole cd yet, that's how fresh all of this music is to me. But it's killer enough for me to be up at 1 am typing in the dark. (That and I'm tired of seeing my quick hitter of a last update because I was too lazy to actually talk about how much the Raconteurs kick ass these days, not just their website but the actual band. Hope you've figured that out by now, with or without my help.)
Seriously though, I'm listening to this recording right now and it is crushing. And you know what the best part is, Palmetto has their ENTIRE CATALOGUE available to stream online. And not just 30 sec samples, you can play the whole song from any album! Not to mention buy any 2 cds and shipping is free! Now that's the kind of record company worth supporting. By the way, the song I was playing at the start of this paragraph was Freedom Jazz Dance. And sho 'nuff, you can play it right now.
Damn. Those aren't scattered thoughts at all. All focused on Palmetto Records and my current listening.
Here's some other quick hits.
- My man Danny Powell just launched the 3rd installment of Keeping the Lights On over on RopeadopeTV. An independent film series that shines a light on independent artists... check it out and keep up with the stories as new episodes are added each week.
- My boys the Higher Hands released their debut album Grab Hold on August 1st at the 8x10 in Baltimore. Check out my man Carl Jr.'s pictures of the night, including openers Raashan Ahmad and Skribe. Since then Higher Hands have opened for Soulive at Rams Head Live (you already watched the video right?) and DC's own Mambo Sauce. Making moves, stay tuned.
- Saw Mos Def and his Big Band at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC this past weekend. Mos Def at the Kennedy Center. Mos Def at the Kennedy Center. It sounds strange. Is there a more important artist in Hip Hop today? Important. I mean, content aside, you're in a different class of artists when you can say "Oh yeah, the Kennedy Center? I've played there." Too late to get too detailed. I'm cheating you on this one. I will say Mos played almost entirely new material, which was very exciting. Rather than just hearing his classic songs with some added string arrangements, we were treated to new, unreleased material, including a stand-out track produced by Madlib. You can read a luke-warm review here. The reviewer gets it mostly right, the exception that while he was left with an overall feeling of wanting more, I was lifted by the understanding of just how far Hip-Hop has come and excited by the glimpse of where the art form can go.
- Google Mos Def and find this link on the top results. If you've made it this far you should definitely click that link for the gem of this entire post, Stuff White People Like.
- And to come full circle on these quick hits, my man Danny hipped me to this unreleased Mos Def track a few weeks back, via his super-secret, underground source... Okayplayer.
