Bridging the Gap February 21, 2024

*Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad: "Running With The Tribe feat. Phil Ravelin & Wendell Harrison" (Jazz Is Dead 011 2022) Amer. composer, arranger & producer Adrian Younge along with producer/musician/composer Ali Shaheed Muhammad began the "Jazz Is Dead" series as "a global movement lived through community and culture."

*Roy Ayers, A. Younge & A. S. Muhammad: "Shadows Of The East" (JID002 2020) The Jazz Is Dead series sought to feature & pay homage to much sampled jazz masters ie: jazz/funk composer/vibist & producer Roy Ayers.

*Dorothy Ashby: "Soul Vibrations" (Afro-Harping 1968) Amer. jazz harpist Dorothy Ashby established the harp as a solo jazz instrument that could improvise as well as the other more established lead instruments such as sax or piano.

*Beta Hector: "Creepin' feat. Dionne Charles" (Payback/Creepin' Single 2010) Multi-inst., DJ & producer Simon Hill formed the deep funk/soul band Baby Charles fronted by UK singer Dionne Charles. Beta Hector was born out of Hill's experience producing & playing with Baby Charles.

*Gizelle Smith: "Twelve" (Ruthless Day 2018) French funk & soul sing/songwr. composer & artist Gizelle Francoise Jeanine Goleblewski is the daughter of Four Tops guitarist Joe Smith. She was the lead singer for Hamburg group The Mighty Mocambos.

*Nicole Willis & UMO Orchestra: "Still Got A Way To Fall" (My Name Is Nicole Willis 2017) US singer songwr. & visual artist Nicole Willis began in NYC with bands Blue Period & Hello Strangers in the 80s. After many collaborations she now lives & works in Helsinki, Finland

*Gil Scott-Heron: "Lady Day And John Coltrane" (The Revolution Will Not Be Televised 1974) Amer. singer, composer, poet, activist & author. Known for his bold political stances and his influence on the spoken word, rap styles of hip hop & Neo soul.

*GSH: "Is That Jazz?" (Reflections 1981) Covers Marvin Gaye's Inner City Blues and intertwines his poem The Siege Of New Orleans to powerful effect. Also contains a powerful personal version of Bill Wither's Grandma's Hands.

*Brian Jackson: "Yada Yada" (Gotta Play 2000) Amer. soul/jazz singer, composer, flutist, producer & artist Brian Jackson is also known for his 70s collaborations with Gil Scott-Heron with whom he produced nine albums between 1970 and 1980.

*Bill Withers: "Kissing My Love" (Still Bill 1972) Soulful singer songwriter Bill Withers was a musical late bloomer releasing his first album at 33 years old. He was working as a mechanic at Lockheed Aircraft. He won 3 Grammys and was nominated for 6 more. Bill walked away from the music business in 1985 and never looked back.

*The Meters: "Out In The Country" (Fire On The Bayou 1975) Some of the founding fathers of funk the Meters created their unique sound from funk, blues and dance grooves of N.O. They were the house band for Allen Toussaint at his Sensu Enterprises label.

*Boulevards: "Surprise" (Electric Cowboy: Born In Carolina Mud 2022) Raleigh NC funk artist Jamil Rashad started out in punk, hardcore & metal as a teen and later settled in to "Party funk jams for the heart and soul to make you move." 

*Tony Allen: "Bad Roads" (The Source 2017) Nigerian drummer songwriter & composer who lived & worked in France.  He was an innovator/creator of Afrobeat alongside Fela Kuti.

HOUR 2

*The Wailers: "Small Axe" (Burnin' 1973) The Wailers began as a vocal group with Bob Marley, Peter Tosh & Bunny Wailer. After Tosh and Wailer departed they were renamed "Bob Marley & The Wailers." They became the most important and recognized reggae band of all time.

*Peter Tosh: "African" (Super Hits ) Peter Tosh was a core member of The Wailers but left to become a successful solo artist. Tosh was murdered in his home during a home invasion in 1987.

*Burning Spear: "Great Men's Dub" (The Rebirth Of Cool, Vol. 2 ) 2 time Grammy winner roots reggae sing/songwr. Burning Spear aka Winston Rodney named the group after a Kenyan military award. He later used the moniker as his solo persona.

*Manu Dibango: "Pata Pata feat. Kaissa Doumbe" (Wakafrika 1994) Cameroonian sax player Emmanuel N'Djoke Dibango was trained in classical piano. He formed his own band in Cameroon in 1963 and moved to Paris two years later. His first international hit was 'Soul Makossa" in 1972.

*Mahlathini & Mahotella Queens: "Thonthodi" (Mbaqanga 1989) Simon Mahlathini Nkabinde was known for his deep gruff voice. The So. African 'groaner' teamed up with the Mahotella Queens during the height of mbaqanga music in the 1960s. 

*Toure Kunda: "Fatou Yo" (The Toure Kunda Collection 1996) Senegalese brothers Ismaila & Sixu Tidiane Toure were introduced to music by their elder brother singer/musician Amadou who passed away in 1985. TK were known for their musical versatility & political activism.

*Sonny Sharrock: "Black Bottom" (Guitar 1986) S. Sharrock was one of the first American free jazz guitarists. He played with Miles Davis, Pharoah Sanders, Roy Ayers & many others in the 60s & 70s. After retiring from music he was brought back when he met Bill Laswell in the early 80s.

*Robert Randolph & The Family Band: "Calypso" (Unclassified 2003) Robert Randolph trained as a pedal steel player in the House Of God church. He was almost completely unaware of secular music prior to being discovered by the secular community as an adolescent.

*Booker T & The MG's: "Fuquawi" (Melting Pot 1970) Amer. instrumental R&B & soul combo formed in 1962 in Memphis TN. The MG's (Memphis Group) were led by organist Booker T Jones and featured Guitarist Steve Cropper. They were the house band for Stax Records in the 60s & 70s.

*Billie. Holiday: "Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do" (Greatest Hits ) Born Eleanora McKay, Billie Holiday was an Amer. jazz singer & songwriter. Her father was jazz guitarist Clarence Holiday. She began singing in jazz clubs in Harlem in 1930. By the 50s her drinking  heroin use led to her death in 1959.

*Ella Fitzgerald: "Too Darn Hot" (...Cole Porter Songbook 1956) "The First Lady Of Song" was the most popular jazz singer in the US for more than half a century. She won 13 Grammy awards & sold over 40 million records in her career.

*Tape Five: "A Cool Cat In Town feat. Brenda Boykin" (Tonight Josephine! 2010) Tape Five is a multi national music project based in Germany created by producer, songwriter, multi-inst. & label owner Martin Strathausen. BB: Amer. jazz/blues singer born in Oakland Ca.

*Allen Toussaint: "Viper's Drag" (American Tunes 2016) American producer, songwr. pianist, solo artist & label owner from New Orleans.