Notes From The Bridge

Bridging the Gap December 24, 2025 *The Kinks: "Father Christmas" (Single-1977) Eng. rock band formed by brothers Ray & Dave Davies. They were part of the British Invasion of the early 60s. Father Christmas has a typically Brit. working class perspective as written by Ray Davies. *Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra: "My Favorite Things" (A Very Ping Pong Christmas...2007) Shawn Lee is an Amer. prod. comp. multi-inst. living in London. He has released 11 albums under the "Ping Pong Orch." name. *Bela Fleck & The Flecktones: "Jingle Bells feat. Alash Ensemble" (Jingle All The Way 2008) Bela Fleck is an Amer. banjo virtuoso & comp. playing jazz, bluegrass, classical & world music. Alash Ensemble is a Tuvan throat band from Russia. *El Michels Affair: "Dhuaan feat. Piya Malik" (Yeti Season 2021) EMA is an NYC funk, soul, hip hop band founded by prod. comp. multi-inst. Lee Michels in 2002. *Susheela Raman: "Vel Undu...

Bridging the Gap December 17, 2025 *Hattler: "Kraal Jam" (Warhol Holidays 2016) Helmut Hattler is a German bassist prod. & comp. who suffered years of forced violin lessons then, began experimenting with bass and it changed his life. *The Mackrosoft: "Headless Hydra" (Snakerhythms 2018) Aja West was a Seattle funk fusion luminary & leader of The Mackrosoft who loved synthesizers and spontaneous creation. He sadly passed away in 2022. *Misha Panfilov & Shawn Lee: "Deep Sea Oddities" (Paradise Cove 2020) Misha Panfilov is an Estonian prod. comp. & multi-inst known for his warm analog sound of soul, jazz & psych. grooves. Shawn Lee is an Amer. comp. prod. multi-inst. now living in London. *Mondo Grosso: "Astronauta Perdido feat. Hidefumi Ino" (Reborn Again And Always Starting New 2017) MG is Jap. prod. comp. musician Shinichi Osawa. His earliest major influence was Yellow Magic Orchestra and he grew up to collaborate with Riyuich...

Bridging the Gap December 10, 2025 *Booker T & The MGs: "Fuquawi" (Melting Pot 1970) Amer. inst. R&B & soul combo formed in 1962 and was the 'house' band for Stax Records for over a decade. Booker T. Jones organ, Steve Cropper guit. Al Jackson drums & Donald "Duck" Dunn on bass, he replaced Lewis Steinberg in 1963. *Steve Cropper & Felix Cavaliere: "Full Moon Tonight" (Nudge It Up A Notch 2008) Amer. songwr. prod. Steve Cropper 10/21/41-12/3/25 & Amer. sing/songwr prod. Felix Cavaliere of The Rascals. *Otis Redding: "Try A Little Tenderness" (Single 1966) Amer. soul sing/songwr & prod. Otis Redding died in a plane crash in 1967 at age 26. He was an influential soul & R&B icon who collaborated with Steve Cropper multiple times. *Kylie Auldist: "Still Into You" (Just Say 2008) Samoan-Australian soul & funk vocalist. She began as lead singer for the Aussie funk band The Bamboos. *Kinny: ...

Bridging the Gap December 3, 2025 *De-Phazz & Mo' Horizons: "Slow Down" (Single-2025) Prod. comp. Pit Baumgartner of De-Phazz teams with production/comp. duo of Ralf Droesemeyer & Mark "Foh" Wetzler.  *Zonke & York: "Walk On" (The Early Tapes Zonke Meets York 2023) So. Afr. sing/songwr. Zonke Dikana & multi-inst. prod York from Hannover Germ. create soul & groovy jazz sounds. *Kat Eaton: "Slow It Down" (Talk To Me 2021) Brit. sing/songwr. Kat Eaton writes with her guitarist husband Nick Atkinson whenever they feel "compelled" to. They endeavor to play the song live just as they did when they first wrote it. *Makaya McCraven: "Choo Choo" (The People's Mixtape-EP 2025) Amer. drummer keys & synth player Makaya McCraven explores improvisational jazz with a wide array of like minded jazz musicians. *Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad: "Cosmic Changes (Inst.)" (Jazz Is Dead 019 2023) A...