Bridging the Gap November 29, 2023

*RJD2: "20 Grand Palace" (The Fun Ones 2020) Amer. hip hop/electronic producer & DJ Ramble John Krohn owns record label RJ's Electrical Connections.

*Shawn Lee & Clutchy Hopkins: "Bootie Beat" (Fascinating Fingers 2009) Prolific Amer. multi-inst. producer Shawn Lee now lives in London. Clutchy Hopkins identity remains a mystery. His "tapes" are said to be discoveries from the desert, but collaborations still pop up occasionally.

*Tommy Guerrero: "A Thousand Shapes Of Change" (Sunshine Radio 2020) Amer. musician (guit.) & pro skater plays rock, electronic, hip hop, funk, soul & jazz as a soloist and with Blktop Project with fellow skaters Ray Barbee & Matt Rodriguez.

*Tribalistas: "Passe Em Casa" (Tribalistas 2002) Brazilian pop trio of Arnaldo Antunes (writer & composer), Marisa Monte (classically trained vox), & Carlinhos Brown (singer, percussionist & producer & member of the popular band Timbalada.)

*Carlinhos Brown: "Vanju Concessa" (Alfagamabetizado 1996) Brazilian singer/percussionist  producer blends funk, latin, soul, R&B & reggae with traditional Brazilian percussion.

*Bossacucanova: "Nana" (Brasilidade 2001) Brazilian group combines traditional bossa nova with electronic music. Features Marcio Menescal & Marcelinho Da Lua. This album won Best Brazilian Contemporary Pop Album in 2002.

*Bebo Best & The Super Lounge Orchestra: "Feel The Beat" (Jazzmamba 2016) Led by Italian musician/producer/arranger Bebo Baldan known for his original use of electronic instrumentation mixed with world, jazz, classical & pop music.

*Bajka: "The Hunting Club (Club Des Belugas Remix)" (Escape From Wonderland 2010) Poet, singer, producer & songwr. Bajka Pluwatsch was born in India & raised in Portugal & So. Africa.

*Baby Charles: "Hard Man To Please" (Baby Charles 2008) British soul/funk band Baby Charles made only one album with singer Dionne Charles. Fortunately she can still be heard in collaboration with other groups like Beta Hector and The New Mastersounds.

*Beat Bronco Organ Trio: "Electro Pi feat. Chip Wickham" (Road Trip 2020) Spanish soul/jazz organ trio with an old school style, vintage grooves & soulful sounds. Gabri Casanova organ, Lucas De Mulder guitar & Antonio Pax Alvarez drums.

*Cookin' On 3 Burners: "Garden Of Freedom feat. Simon Burke" (Lab Experiments, Vol.  2 2018) Australian funk, soul, boogaloo & jazz trio from Melbourne.

*Crowd Company: "You Ain't Ready feat. Ryan Zoidis & Eric Bloom" (Lowdown 2020) London based soul funk band with a modern take on vintage 70s soul/funk combines rich songwriting with catchy hooks and tight grooves. RZ & EB are the horn section from Lettuce.

*The Jazz Defenders: "The Big Man" (The Big Man/Love's Vestige Single 2021) Led by UK jazz pianist George Cooper TJD are born out of a deep love of Blue Note Jazz.

HOUR 2

*Jimi Tenor: "Ki'igba" (Aulos 2020) Finnish musician, composer & artist Lassi Lehto, JT was married to Amer. soul singer/songwr.  Nicole Willis for several years.

*Tony Allen: "Alutere" (Secret Agent 2009) Nigerian drummer, composer & songwr. who helped create the 'afrobeat' sound with Fela Kuti passed away 4/20 in Paris, France.

*Brenda Fassie: "Ngiyakuthanda Papa Wemba" (Now Is The Time 1996) So. African anti-apartheid afro pop singer known as 'So. Africa's queen of pop'  died tragically of a cocaine overdose in 2004.

*Beats Antique: "Vesper Star feat. Alam Khan" (Shadowbox 2018) World fusion group feat. middle eastern traditions, hip hop & electronic music. David Satori met belly dancer Zoe Zakes in 2004 in SF. They formed Beats Antique when drummer Tommy Cappel moved to SF in 2007.

*The Spy From Cairo: "Extraterrestre feat. Carmen Estevez" (Animamundi 2022) Italian gypsy living in NY Moreno Visini aka The Spy From Cairo, Organic Grooves & Zeb has produced dozens of albums under those monikers.

*El Michels Affair: "Unathi feat Piya Malik" (Yeti Season 2021) NYC funk/soul band founded by multi inst. producer, writer & arranger Leon Michels in 2005. PM: Indian singer/songwr. 

*Thunderball: "Thunder In The Jungle feat. Africa Bambaataa) (Cinescope 2006) Wash DC based trio Sid Barcelona, Steve Raskin & Rob Myers are part of the Eighteenth St. Lounge music label. AB: Amer. DJ & pioneering hip hop artist.

*Fort Knox Five: "Don't Go feat. Joe Quarterman" (7" single 2016) Add Jon Horvath to T-ball to round out Fort Knox Five Wash DC funk, hip hop, reggae & electronic band with their own Fort Knox Recordings label.

*Brownout: "You've Got To Change" (Berlin Sessions 2020) Austin TX funk dynamo formed by members of Grupo Fantasma feat. Beto Martinez (guitar) and Adrian Quesada (guitar).

*Buena Vista Social Club: "El Carretero" (Buena Vista Social Club 1997) BVSC is a ensemble of Cuban musicians established in 1996 to revive pre-revolution Cuban music. Named for a Havana music club of the 1940s.

*Eliades Ochoa: "Que Sabroseao!" (Tribute To The Cuarteto Patria 2000) Cuban guitarist/singer and leader of the group Cuarteto Patria which was formed in 1939.

*Frente Cumbiero & Mad Professor: "La Bocachico" (Frente Cumbiero Meets Mad Professor 2011) Cumbia outfit based in Bogota, Co. founded by Mario Galeano (Los Piranas, Ondatropica w/Quantic) & Elbis Alvarez pushing boundaries of classic Colombian cumbia with modern sensibilities & instruments.

*Cal Trader: "Ritmo Uni" (El Sonido Nuevo 1966) CT: Amer. latin jazz musician/composer & Puerto Rican Amer. Eddie Palmieri, pianist, bandleader & latin jazz pioneer.