Bridging the Gap November 22, 2023

*Sly & The Family Stone: "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin" (Greatest Hits) Amer. band begun in SF in 1966 by Sylvester Stone (lead vox & keys) pivotal in the development of soul, R&B, funk, rock & psychedelic music.

*William DeVaughn: "Be Thankful For What You've Got" (Be Thankful... 1974) Amer. sing/songwr. & keyboardist from Wash. DC. "Be Thankful..." reached the top ten R&B charts.

*Nightmares On Wax: "Give Thx" (Feelin' Good 2013) English producer & DJ George Evelyn from Leeds. His father & sister exposed him to Curtis Mayfield & Quincy Jones as a youth.

*Zakir Hussain: "Balinese Fantasy" (Trance Planet Vol. 1 1994) Virtuoso tabla player from Mumbai, India. Replaced his father in Ravi Shankar's band. Played w/Van Morrison, Jefferson Starship & Mickey Hart.

*Etti Ankri: "Eshebo" (Buddha-Bar 1999) Israeli sing/songwr., guitarist & pianist. Mixes Sephardic/Mizrahi sounds with pop.

*Mickey Hart: "Udu Chant" (Mondo Beat: Masters Of Percussion 1998) Amer. percussionist & one of the two drummers for The Grateful Dead. After seeing newsreel footage of his father at the 1939 World's Fair "From the age of 10 all I did was drum."

*Mondo Grosso: "Overflowing feat. Mika Nakashima" (Big World 2022) Composer, musician, producer & DJ Shinichi Osawa. Leader & bassist for the band Mondo Grosso. MN: Japanese singer & actress.

*Buscemi: "Twisted Lovers feat. Kyoko Baertsoen" (Nite People 2012) Belgian DJ & producer Dirk Swartenbroekx embraces a wide variety of styles in his funky soulful music. KB: Belgian singer/flutist

*Eric Lau: "Closer feat. Tawiah" (One Of Many 2013) British soul producer/DJ "talented artist & perceptive one man production house" Straight No Chaser.  T: British alt-soul sing/songwr.

*Larry Wilson & Johnny Watson: "Two For The Price Of One" (Two For The Price Of One 1967) LW: Amer. R&B & rock singer/songwr. producer & pianist. J "Guitar" W: seminal electric blues & R&B guitarist. "Three Hours Past Midnight 1956" inspired Frank Zappa to become a guitarist.

*Shorty Long: "Devil With The Blue Dress" (Here Comes The Judge 1968) Frederick Earl Long Amer. soul singer, multi-inst. songwr. & producer for Motown.

*The Temptations: "Cloud Nine" (Cloud Nine 1969) Amer. vocal group with Motown Records they were highly influential with their distinct harmonies, choreography & flashy coordinated wardrobe. First Motown act to win a Grammy.

*Tony Allen: "Bad Roads" (The Source 2017) Nigerian composer, drummer & songwr. played drums with Fela Kuti and was instrumental in the creation of "Afrobeat."

HOUR 2

*Mulatu Astatke & Black Jesus Experience: "Blue Light" (To Know Without Knowing 2019) MA: Ethiopian bandleader, multi-inst. & "Father Of Ethio-Jazz." BJE: Ethio-jazz group from Australia mixing Ethiopian music with hip hop and funk.

*Soel: "Shining Pain" (Memento 2003) Italian electronic composer and DJ found his calling to music after hearing John Williams' soundtrack to "Memoirs Of A Geisha" at 14.

*Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic Echoes: "Sunbeams" (Reflections Of A Golden Dream 1976) Multi-inst. bandleader, blending atmospheric fusion, soul and jazz and influential on the acid jazz movement.

*Los Hacheros: "Bomba De Loisa" (Bambulaye 2016) Brooklyn's Los Hacheros play traditional folkloric styles like son montuno, guaracha & salsa combined with fiery Bomba from the mountains of Puerto Rico.

*Empresarios: "The Vibes feat. Ephniko" (The Vibes 2015) Amer. latin-fusion funk band from Wash. DC. Ephniko: bi-lingual MC, songwr. & producer.

*Sergent Garcia: "Medecine Man" (Un Poquito Quema'o 1999) French artist Bruno Garcia mixes latin, reggae, Caribbean music & hip hop. He calls his style 'salsamuffin."

*Soulstance: "Soul Ensemble" (Life Size 2003) Italian brothers Gianni & Vincenzo Lo Greco influenced by swinging Brazilian music and 70s groove.

*Sam Paglia: "Low-Fi" (Night Club Tropez 2000) Godfather of Italian Lounge plays soul, jazz, lounge & funk on his Hammond organ.

*Modulo5: "ElektriCity" (Here And Now 2010) Italian DJ Dave Masoch in collaboration with Hammond organ player Paolo 'Apollo' Negri capturing old school funk, modern jazz bop & drum 'n' bass.

*Makala Jazz Funk Band: "Karam Bani" (Xake! 2015) Groove jazz, soul, funk group from the Basque Country led by Mikel Unzurrunzaga Schmitz aka Makala. 

*Lucky Brown & The S.G.s: "More Sweet Tea" (Sweet Tea With My Sweetie - Single 2019) Seattle WA area funk maven Joel Ricci draws from his own Westsound Recording Collective for musicians to bring his creations to life.

*The Mackrosoft: "Gidget" (S.E.M.E. 2009) Multi-inst. producer, engineer & artist Aja West leads this band and label in his unique vision of electronic funk and jazz out of Seattle WA.

*Anderson .Paak: "The Chase (Instrumental)" (Oxnard Instrumentals 2018) Branson Anderson Paak is an Amer. musician & producer from Oxnard, CA. Formed Silk Sonic in 2021 with Bruno Mars.