Bridging the Gap October 30, 2024

*Usb & Ric: "Afternoon Blues" (Connected 2002) USB is Richard Les Crees (Rich Criso) is an Amer. DJ, prod. & songwr. from New Jersey. He began making hip hop and house tracks, later dropping the hip hop to focus on house music.

*Clutchy Hopkins: "Alla Oscar" (Walking Backwards 2008) CH is supposedly a multi-inst. prod. out of California. It's just that no one knows who he is... Some say he could be Shawn Lee, Money Mark or DJ Shadow.

*Bonobo: "Days To Come" (Days To Come 2006) Brit. DJ, musician & prod. Simon Green is Bonobo. His main focus is jazz & world based electronic music. Founded his OUTLIER label in 2020.

*Bella Brown & The Jealous Lovers: "Soul Clap (Radio Edit)" (Soul Clap Single-2024) Bella Brown is soul funk singer extraordinaire Carol Hatchett. She used to be a "Harlette" with Bette Midler, but shows here that she has her own front woman chops.

*Koko-Jean & The Tonics: "Down On My Knees" (Love Child 2024) Koko-Jean & The Tonics are a soul & blues band from Barcelona. Koko-Jean Davis fronts the band singing soul, funk & blues.

*Zonke & York: "Only You" (Zonke Meets York ) Zonke Dikana is a So. Afr. sing/songwr. Her first collab with composer & prod. York was with Culture Clan, based between Germany & So. Afr. This album features Amer. nu soul, Euro acid jazz & a pinch of African influences.

*Bebo Best & The Super Lounge Orchestra: "Samba Wonder" (Sitar & Bossa 2007) Comp. prod. eng. & musician Bebo Baldan is the force behind The Super Lounge Orch. He has worked with a who's who of artists around the world melding world, jazz, classical & pop music.

*The Bahama Soul Club: "Late Night Bossa feat. Pat Appleton" (Rhythm Is What Makes Jazz Jazz 2008) This German born Portugal based band is led by comp. prod. eng. Oliver Belz. PA: German sing/songwr.

*Bebel Gilberto: "Baby" (Bebel Gilberto 2004) Daughter of famed Brazilian musician Joao Gilberto & singer Miucha. Singer Bebel tries to infuse her bossa with fresh musical concepts.

*Bill Withers: "Kissing My Love" (Still Bill 1973) Amer. soulful sing/songwr. B Withers cut his first demos while a mechanic at Lockheed Aircraft Corp. He kept his job for a while because he didn't trust the mechanisms of the music business.

*Black Pumas: "I'm Ready" (Black Pumas 2020) Eric Burton (vox & guit.) was busking in Santa Monica  Ca. when he moved to Austin TX. He met A Quesada (guit. prod.) & they formed Black Pumas.

*Crowd Company: "Get Used To It" (Lowdown 2020) Modern take on 70s soul & funk. The band combines retro Hammond based sound with a virtuoso horn section & soulful lead & harmony vocals. 

*David Nesselhauf: "The Routine" (Afrokraut 2016) German bassist/comp. D Nesselhauf pairs krautrock & afrobeat in his 'afrokraut' sound. He is also a member of Hamburg Spinners & Diazpora.

HOUR 2

*De-Phazz: "Soulflakes" (Prankster Bride 2016) Downt. jazz from German-Austrian prod. sound painter Pit Baumgartner.

*Adrian Quesada: "DG On The Keys" (Jaguar Sound 2022) Austin TX based producer, multi-inst. & comp. AQ has collaborated with Shawn Lee & been in groups: Money Chicha, Spanish Gold, Echocentrics & Black Pumas.

*Anderson .Paak: "Make It Better (Inst.)" (Ventura (Instrumentals) 2019) Brandon Paak Anderson is an Amer. musician/prod. from Oxnard Ca. Formed Silk Sonic with Bruno Mars in 2021.

*Taj Mahal: "Blue Light Boogie" (Dancing The Blues 1993) Henry St. Claire Fredericks (TM) is an Amer. sing./multi-inst. & songwr. He chose his stage name after having dreams about India, Mahatma Gandi & social tolerance.

*Parov Stelar: "My Man feat. Lightnin Hopkins" (The Burning Spider 2017) Parov Stelar (Marcus Fureder) is a DJ & electronic prod. from Austria. He also founded Etage Noir Recordings. LH: Amer. country blues singer/guitarist.

*The Bahama Soul Club: "Never Roam No More feat. John Lee Hooker" (Bohemia After Dawn 2020) Comp. prod. eng. Oliver Belz showing the versatility of his group. JLH: Amer. blues sing/songwr. & guitarist.

*BADBADNOTGOOD: "Triangle" (III 2014) Canadian jazz group & prod. team from Toronto. They combine jazz musicianship with hip hop prod. perspective and have collaborated with artists like, Ghost Face Killah & Kendrick Lamar.

*Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad: "Black Love" (Jazz Is Dead 019 2023) Amer. comp. arr. prod. AY & ASM found Jazz Is Dead as "a global movement lived through community & culture."

*Aja West & Cheeba: "The Arrival" (Flash & Snowball 2005) Aja West & Cheeba are brother funk musicians from Seattle. They founded Mackrosoft Records. Aja was the leader of The Mackrosoft & Cheeba (Paul Cheever) is the leader of The Cheebacabra.

*Jimi Tenor: "Huumatun Pako feat. UMO" (Mysterium Magnum 2015) J Tenor (Lassi Lehto) is a Finnish musician, comp. & artist. His stage name combines his youth idol Jimmy Osmond & his chosen instrument: tenor sax. UMO is a Finnish big band.

*Jenova 7 & Eddie Shinn: "Intergalactic Noir" (A Cosmic Safari 2016) Jenova 7 is Boston multi-media artist Michael J. Sirois. Eddie Shinn is a Russian prod.

*Jah Wobble: "South London Dub Symphony" (The Electro Dub Extravaganza EP 2019) JW is English bassist, singer, poet & composer John Joseph Wardle. He was a founding member of post punk band Public Image Limited.

*Shawn Lee: "Jupiter's Jam" (Synthesizers In Space 2012) S Lee is an Amer. multi-inst. comp. & prod. 

from Wichita now living in London.