Bridging the Gap April 24, 2024

*Crowd Company: "Get Used To It" (Lowdown 2020) London's Crowd Company is one of UK's top funk bands with a modern take on vintage 70s soul/funk featuring 3 exceptional vocalists, Hammond organ and smokin' guitar riffs.

*Dr. Rubberfunk: "Boom! feat. John Turrell" (My Life At 45 2020) British multi-inst. producer & DJ Simon Ward combines live instrumentation with found sounds & myriad supporting artists.

*Eric Krasno: "Jezebel" (Blood From A Stone 2016) Guitarist, producer & songwriter Eric Krasno is co-founder & lead guitarist for Soulive and  Lettuce. He's also played with & produced Norah Jones, Derek Trucks Band, John Mayer & many more.

*Esperanza Spalding: "Earth To Heaven" (Emily's D+Evolution 2016) Amer. bassist, sing. & songwr. Esperanza Spalding began playing professionally at 5 yrs old as a violinist with the Chamber Music Society Of Oregon.

*Kinny: "You From This Sting" (Can't Kill A Dame With Soul 2011) Kinny (Caitlin Simpson) is a mix of Jamaican, Indigenous Canadian, French & Swedish. She trained classically as an opera singer before discovering jazz, reggae & soul music that became her true passion.

*Bajka: "The Landing" (In Wonderland 2010) Bajka Pluwatsch was born in India and raised in Portugal & So. Afr. She is a poet, singer, songwriter & producer.

*Harry Hosono & The Yellow Magic Band: "Fujiyama Mama" (Paraiso 1978) Haruomi Hosono is one of the most respected names in Japanese pop music. He founded Yellow Magic Orchestra with Ryuchi Sakamoto & Yukihiro Takahashi.

*Big Audio Dynamite: "The Green Lady" (Megaton Phoenix 1989) British sing/songwr., guit. Mick Jones formed B.A.D. after being ousted from The Clash using breaks, dub and heaving sampling.

*Bryan Ferry: "Tokyo Joe" (In Your Mind 1977) English sing/songwr. Bryan Ferry was the lead singer & principal songwr. for the glam rock sensation Roxy Music between 1972-1982. 

*Espen Horne: "La Psychosomnie" (The Anatomy Of Serene Eloquence 2023) Legendary Norwegian producer, composer, DJ & fashionista Espen Horne released The Anatomy Of Serene Eloquence, the first full length release on Wah Wah 45s under his own name. His beautiful Scandinavian soul and jazz permeate the sound.

*New Visionaries: "Shore Leave" (Roadmaps 2024) UK based Australian sing/songwr. pianist & guitarist Joel Sarakula and Dutch musician Phil Martin (drums, perc. keys, bass, guit.) manifest spontaneity in their songwriting and musicianship.

*Xploding Plastix: "Two Nickels To Rub" (This Is Accurate 2023) Norwegian 2 man band feat. Hallvard Hagen & Jens Petter Nilsen play electro funk/big beat music with elements of jazz. 

*Fila Brazillia: "Monk's Utterance" (Jump Leads 2002) David McSherry & Steve Cobby began as Fila Brazillia in 1990 to escape the restrictive "write-rehearse-gig-record" treadmill of being in a regular band.

HOUR 2

*Fleetwood Mac: "Show-Biz Blues" (Then Play On 1969) Founded in London in 1967 by Peter Green (lead guit. vox, songwr.) & Mick Fleetwood (drums, perc.) were a major force in the UK blues scene. Due to P. Green's personal crisis in 1970 M. Fleetwood assumed leadership and the band began evolving in new directions.

*Peter Green: "Proud Pinto" (In The Skies 1979) After leaving Fleetwood Mac P. Green had many ups and downs in his struggles with drug use and later being diagnosed with schizophrenia and undergoing electroconvulsive therapy. He passed away on 7/25/2020.

*Phil Manzanera: "The Flex" (Diamond Head 1975) London guit./producer Phil Manzanera lived as a child in various parts of the Americas, (Hawaii, Venezuela, Colombia & Cuba). He first began playing with the electric guitar as an 8 yr old in Venezuela.

*Poncho Sanchez: "Tu Crees Que" (Soul Sauce (Memories Of Cal Tjader) 1995) Mexican-American conguero, latin band leader & singer Poncho Sanchez originally played guitar, but discovered his talent for singing. In high school he decided to pursue the congas as his primary instrument.

*Cal Tjader: "Mambo Mindoro" (La Onda Va Bien 1980) Amer. latin jazz musician & composer best know as a vibraphonist, but also accomplished on bongos & drums. He was the most successful non  Latino latin musician.

*Bobby Montez: "African Fantasy" (Jungle Fantastique 1958) West Coast vibist Bobby Montez created some of the most swinging sounds of the 50s and 60s. He was compared musically with the great Cal Tjader.

*Brenda Fassie: "Sum' Bulala" (Memeza 1998) Brenda Noluzola Fassie was an anti-apartheid So. Afr. afropop singer. She was dubbed "So. Africa's Queen of Pop." Sadly she passed away as a result of a cocaine overdose in May 2004.

*Margaret Singana: "Ubukhwele" (Nothing To Fear 1981) World renowned So. Afr. singing star. She had a stroke in 1978 but returned in 1986 to sing "We Are Growing," the theme song for the TV series "Shaka Zulu."

*Faya Tess & Lokua Kanza: "Bana" (Acoustic Africa) Faya Tess is a Congolese singer and human rights activist. She caused a scandal when she released "Selimo" denouncing forced arranged marriages. She received the prize for 'best singer in Central Africa' for her album Keba, which means "be careful, I'm coming." LK: Congolese sing/songwr. producer & multi-inst.

*Tosca: "Forte" (J.A.C. 2005) Austrian electronic/downt. duo of Richard Dorfmeister & Rupert Huber are Tosca. They met in school and began experimenting with tape machines, Indian music & poetry lyrics. They continue to release albums.

*The Mackrosoft: "1st Mack On The Moon" (1st Mack On The Moon 2003) Funk visionary Aja West formed The Mackrosoft to explore funk, fusion, soul, jazz & electronic music. He was incredibly prolific from 2000-2022 when he passed away in.

*Clutchy Hopkins & Shawn Lee: "Fish Sauce" (Fascinating Fingers 2008) Clutchy Hopkins is the mystery man whose tapes were supposedly found in the desert. On this release he teams up with multi-inst. producer, composer Shawn Lee for a typically quirky & funk filled album.

*Buscemi & Michel Bisceglia: "The Black Sea: " (Nosteratu 2017) Buscemi is Belgian DJ/producer Dirk Swartenboekx who makes funky records. He named himself after one of his favorite actors: Steve Buscemi.