Bridging the Gap April 10, 2024

*Bella Brown & The Jealous Lovers: "Soul Clap (Radio Edit)" (Single 2024) Carol Hatchett aka 'Bella Brown' is an actress, sing/songwr, dancer & choreographer. She was a 'harlette' with Bette Midler & now leads her own exciting funk band.

*Maiiah & Angels Of Libra: "Kava" (Maiiah & The Angels Of Libra 2023) Maiiah is Marija Samardzic whose roots are in the Balkans, but she grew up in Dusseldorf. Her love of soul music and old R&B shines on this recording.

*Omegaman: "Bring Back The Funk feat. Emily Molloy" (Single 2024) Australian composer/producer Marc Scully has 30 yrs of touring, recording & producing behind his particular brand of funk & eclectic repertoire. EM: Soul, blues & rock singer from Vancouver Canada.

*Oluma: "Felantropique" (Cooking Time 2024) Oluma is a 9 piece afrobeat, funk, jazz & world music band from Leipzig Germany founded in 2021 by bassist Gregor Nicolai, drummer Andre van Der Heide & saxophonist Roman Polatzky.

*Alpacas Collective: "The Chase" (Seven Wisdoms Of Plutonia 2022) Belgian group AC tours world music with a solid funk base flavored with afro jazz, boogaloo, soul & oriental sounds.

*Sun Atlas: "Grand Theft" (Sun Atlas 2022) Sun Atlas is a mystery. Their music is "a collaborative work between various musicians scattered on different continents." Their wish is for listeners to evaluate the music on it's own merit without regard to personalities or perceptions.

*Ocote Soul Sounds: "Agua Santa" (Taurus 2011) Founder producer Martin Perna (Antibalas) teamed up with producer & multi-inst. Adrian Quesada on the 4th OSS album of political themed songs & Latin soul grooves.

*Bidaide: "Nave Madre" (Single 2020) Barcelona cinematic soul, funk & psych rock band exploring moody atmospheres and doing it in their own style. 

*Adrian Quesada & Ile: "Mentiras Con Carino" (Boleros Psicodelicos 2022) Austin TX based producer, multi-inst. composer A Quesada is joined by Puerto Rican composer//singer Ile for this gorgeous song. The album features funky psychedelic songs with a wide range of Latin singers.

*The Andrews Sisters: "Rum And Coca-Cola" (Single 1944) The Andrews Sisters, Laverne, Maxine & Patricia, were a highly successful close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie woogie eras. They had 113 charted Billboard hits with 46 in the Top Ten (more than Elvis or The Beatles)

*Ella Fitzgerald: "Too Darn Hot" (...Sings The Cole Porter Songbook 1956) "The First Lady Of Song" was the most popular jazz singer in the US for more than half a century. 13 Grammys 40 million albums.

*Billie Holiday: "Do Your Duty feat. Sy Oliver & His Orch." (The Blues Are Brewin' 1958) Amer. jazz singer songwr. Her career was plagued with unhappy relationships, heroin use and excessive drinking. Still, she became one of the most beloved singers in the history of jazz.

*Ethel Waters: "Hottentot Potentate" (The Incomparable Ethel Waters ) Singer/actress started in the 1920s singing the blues, jazz, big band and pop music. 

*Martin Denny: "Bali Hai" (Forbidden Island 1958) Played at the Hilton Village Hotel with Arthur Lyman in the 50s creating their 'exotica' sound.

HOUR 2

*Everliven Sound & Inf: "No Boundaries" (Everlations Instrumentals 2012) Emcees Cymarshall Law (US) & Skit Slam (UK) English brothers of Jamaican parents met Dutch producer Inf in Holland. They wrote & recorded the album in the remaining 9 days before departing.

*Eddie Shinn & Step: "Funk Jets" (The Third Is Not Superfluous 2016) Eddie Shinn & Step are both Russian beat makers. This is their collaboration of funk, dusty beats & obscure samples.

*Anderson .Paak: "Make It Better (Instrumental)" (Ventura (Instrumentals) 2019) Amer. musician & producer from Oxnard CA. He later collaborated with Bruno Mars to form Silk Sonic.

*Alice Russell: "Two Steps" (Pot Of Gold 2008) British soul singer known for her collaborations with Quantic, The Bamboos, Tm Juke and her own solo career.

*Baby Charles: "Back Of My Hand" (Baby Charles 2008) Baby Charles fronted by singer Dionne Charles made only one album. Dionne Charles continued with Beta Hector and collaborated with a bunch of funk and soul artists.

*Betty Davis: "You Won't See Me In The Morning" (Betty Davis 1973) Amer. funk & soul singer and former model known for her memorable live performances was married to Miles Davis from 1968-70. She passed away in 2/22.

*Bill Withers: "I Want To Spend The Night" (Lean On Me: The Best Of... ) Soulful sing/songwr. didn't cut his first record until the age of 33. He was distrustful of the music industry and kept his 'day job'. Bill Withers passed away in 2020.

*Stevie Wonder: "It Ain't No Use" (Fulfullingness' First Finale 1974) Amer. multi-inst. composer, singer, humanitarian & social activist Stevie Wonder has been blind since shortly after birth. His musical legacy began at Motown where he was "Little SW." He grew to a master entertainer/civil rights icon in front of the entire world.

*The Temptations: "Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)" (Sky's The Limit 1971) Amer. funk soul vocal group known for their distinct harmonies, flashy wardrobe & tight choreography.

*De-Phazz: "Jazz With Boom" (Pit Sounds 2024) German nu jazz group led by producer/sound painter Pit Baumgartner. This album cover & name is an homage to The Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds."

*New Visionaries: "Spiritual World" (Roadmaps 2024) UK based Australian artist Joe Sarakula and Dutch musician Phil Martin are the New Visionaries. Soul & cinematic grooves take a genre blurring turn on this album.

*Espen Horne: "Rory's Sunrays" (The Anatomy Of Serene Eloquence 2023) Espen Horne is the Norwegian producer/musician behind Bobby Hughes Experience & Combination returns with his first solo effort for Wah-Wah Records in 24 years. Worth the wait!

*Nujabes: "Perfect Circles (Instrumentals)" (Luv(sic) Hexology 2015) Japanese hip hop producer Jun Seba (Nujabes spelled backward) died in a car accident in 2020.