Presented here are the results of an amazing session that took place in 1981 at Virtue Sound Studios in Philadelphia that featured the cream of the crop of the City of Brotherly Love’s soul/funk pioneers. The Philly All Stars were comprised of charter members of Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff’s spectacular house rhythm section MFSB, featuring Norman Harris on guitar, Lenny Pakula on organ, Ronnie Baker on bass, Earl Young on drums, Larry Washington on congas and producer Vince Montana, Jr. on vibes. Handling the vocals are Joe Freeman, who was the lead singer with Philly soul band The Ethics and later with the disco group Love Committee; Ron Tyson, who was also with Freeman in Love Committee and went on to find fame with The Temptations; and David Simmons, the Philly soul singer who worked with Sister Sledge among others - and whose voice bears an uncanny resemblance to Teddy Pendergrass. The group performs an electrifying medley tying together seven classic slices of soul over a pile-driving funky disco beat that has been remixed for a whole new generation of fans by the musical mix-master oddity known as SanFranDisko.
Willie Hale a.k.a. Little Beaver (so dubbed as a child because of his prominent front teeth) was one of the extraordinarily talented musicians Henry Stone assembled at his Hialeah, FL-based T.K. Records label and its assorted imprints. Among the artists who recorded for Stone were K.C. & the Sunshine Band, Timmy Thomas, Gwen McCrae, Betty Wright, and Benny Latimore...and backing them on a lot of those records was Hale, laying down mellow ‘n’ funky, jazz-influenced licks on his hollow-body Gibson. Hale’s talent was so distinctive that when Stone finally let Hale step out of the studio shadows to record his own album on the Cat imprint, the effects were immediate and long-lasting. Featuring contributions from Thomas, Wright, Latimore, and Jaco Pastorius (under the name Nelson “Jocko” Padron), 1974’s Party Down scored a #2 hit with its title track and has been repeatedly sampled by latter-day rap artists ranging from People Under the Stairs to Jay Z. himself (the “Party Life” track on his American Gangster album). Our Real Gone reissue of this nonstop groove-athon features a fresh remastering by Mike Milchner at SonicVision, and comes in a metallic gold vinyl pressing to honor the gold record Little Beaver has hanging on his wall on the front cover...limited to 1000 copies!.
Nduduzo Makhathini - Modes of Communication: Letters from the Underworlds
South African pianist & composer Nduduzo Makhathini will release his Blue Note debut Modes of Communication: Letters from the Underworlds on April 3, an expansive album anchored by Nduduzo’s expressive piano in which lyrical, plaintive horns mingle with percussion, pained yelps and urgent lyrics. Watch the album trailer. Nduduzo has also released the inspiriting new track “Beneath the Earth” featuring lead vocals by Msaki along with Nduduzo’s own voice and gently seeking piano, plus a soaring alto saxophone solo by Logan Richardson. A previous single “Yehlisan’uMoya” (Spirit Come Down) features impassioned vocals by Nduduzo’s wife Omagugu.
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