Rolled by: Me
For: A., J., D. and the rest
Late Summer 2018
TRT: 1h19m21s
There are a few instrumentals I’ve been putting on evry tape for years…Bar-Kays’ “Knucklehead”, Kool & The Gang’s “Street Corner Symphony” and Ike Turner’s “Funky Mule”. For awhile I’ve been thinking about a mixtape of all instrumentals. Normally I like making tapes that go off in all directions. I don’t usually do themes, altho I think of a lot of them. I have almost never done a tape of tunes from mostly just one genre. I like this one a lot tho. Maybe I’ll do more. Settle down a bit, stop childishly trying to impress you with my hard lefts & flying leaps.
Once I finally started, this tape came together super-quick. It wasnt hard to find another hour of funky jazzy soul-ey instrumental toons. I assumed, as you might, confronted with a mix calld Instrumental Soul, I’d eventually get around to some Booker T. and the M.G.’s. Somehow, tho, they are not here…but their influence is defnilly present.
I usually try to make my mixes fit on an old-school 74-minute ceedee…you know, just like the 9th Symphony. I like to use the most restrictive definition, even tho I’ll ultimately be dumping it onto an 80-minute CDR. Or, these days I’d as soon keep it as file, but my friends they all still like getting the “physical” disk, don’t ask me why. Anyway, this is all to say I broke that rule this time around. I already weeded out a bunch of stuff I wanted to put in to get it under the 80 minute mark (yes I’m already planning a Part 2), and I didnt want to lose any more.
Another thing I did different with this one is give the songs some room to breathe with a couple seconds of silence between each one instead of running them all together like I usually do.
Roger & the Gypsies “Pass The Hatchet Pt. 1”
Seven B 7001 (1966)
Happy hypnotic groover from New Orleans funkmaster Eddie Bo, a dude with really excellent hair. Like a lot of what’s on here, he came to my attention originally thru Funky16Corners. The original 45 costs mad cheddar but it’s on lotsa collections…various little indie N.O. funk comps and even the Desperado soundtrack. I took it from Mojo’s “Southern Soul” disc. I don’t think it’s on any of the main Eddie Bo collections, Funky Delicacies’ Funky Funky New Orleans or Vampisoul’s In The Pocket with Eddie Bo or etc. It’d be nice if there were something truly comprehensive out there, but ya know.
The J.B.’s “Pass The Peas”
From Food For Thought (People 1972)
Maybe part of the reason the JB’s have been looped so often is that they sound like a loop to begin with. No one can lock like they could. Long solo from leader Fred Wesley…I love a good trombone solo, but the player has to have a fabulous tone and mad technique, both which of course the legendary Fred Wesley has by the bucketful. What he doesnt have is the vocabulary of a jazz player—it’s pure funksoul; it stays inside its box. You might find that a little repetitious after some 36 bars but I don’t care I don’t care. Some organ in the background from the Creator himself. I playfully referred to the instrument as the “pipes,” as in, “Is that James Brown on the pipes?” and Jen would not have it. “It’s a Hammond organ!” she yelled, “There’s no pipes!!”
Some of my sources for this tape are vintage elpees and some, like this one, are slightly suspect vinyl re-issues. They look good but questions like Are they properly licensed? and Were they mastered from the original tapes or some inferior copy? are anyone’s guess. I don’t know, it sounds good to me. That’s how a lot of this type of material is available these days. Many of these albums never got any official re-issues, digital or analog. You can’t be too picky unless you want to lay out for first pressings.
Dizzy Gillespie “Matrix”
From The Real Thing (Perception 1970)
The jazz legend (is legend a strong enuf word?) ’s soul-flavord The Real Thing album gets my highest recommendation. A heat rock if ever there was one. You wanna hear Dizzy Gillespie and his fine collaborators blow over hard beats from a funky rhythm section? Yes you do.
Eddie Harris “Listen Here”
From The Electrifying Eddie Harris (Atlantic 1968)
Some cool elevator jazz from the electric saxophonist once referenced in a Beastie Boys hit. Is it fair to call it elevator music? Does that term even mean anything other than an offhand dis? When I say it, I’m talking about something specific, at least in my own head. Elevator music, like disco, is something I wasnt supposed to like but which I now have a growing appreciation for. Maybe I shud make a tape of all elevator music, like the stuff I used to hear at Kohl’s when I was a kid. Maybe I’ll make it for my friend J. who likes to listen to the smooth jazz station when he’s hungover.
This tune evokes a train moving underground, and it might inject some joy in yer commute if you put it in your headphones.
J. C. Davis “A New Day (Is Here At Last)”
New Day 1373 (1969), remixed and re-issued on A New Day! The Complete Mus-I-Col Recordings Of J. C. Davis (Cali-Tex 2005)
My brother A. put me on to this dude. The saxophonist and bandleader (not to be confused with the other J. C. Davis who played guitar with Hank Ballard and the Midnighters) backed James Brown in the early 60s and around ’69 released a few singles on his own label. Around ’05, Josh Davis AKA DJ Shadow went back to the studio in Columbus, Ohio, where those records were made and he remixed them “on the original mix board” because he’s the king of the nerds. That irresistible smooth, slightly edgy sax sound crooning over haaard mutherfuckin drums begging to be sampled—and they have been!—with that cool 60s chickenwing funk guitar & organ.
Tom Scott and the L.A. Express “Sneakin’ In The Back”
Originally from their self-titled album (Ode/Epic 1974), later appearing on volume whatever of the Ultimate Breaks ’n’ beats (Street Beat 1990)
A little misterioso now. This smoothie I got from my bootleg version of Lenny Roberts & Lou Flores’ collection of evry essential breakbeat ever. No doubt Tom Scott & the L.A. Express would find their way to my elevator music tape too.
Willie Bobo and the Bo-Gents “Do What You Want to Do”
From Do What You Want To Do… (Sussex 1971)
Of course it was Larry who first introduced me to this album. Try to be unhappy listnin to this sawng. Try. Classic example of that East Side salsa n soul I love.
Freddie Hubbard “Backlash”
From Backlash (Atlantic 1967)
Again, a great jazz artist doin’ a record in a funksoul-influenced style. Freddie Hubbard is one of my favorite trumpet players, and this tune scorches.
Bar-Kays “Knucklehead”
The flip side of “Soul Finger”, Volt 168 (1967)
I bought the Soul Finger album (yet another suspect re-issue) becuz the title track is essential, but this hard hitter is my faverit tune on it. The B side wins again!
Dizzy Gillespie “Soul Kiss”
From The Real Thing (Perception 1970)
Another tune from The Real Thing, a more frantic one, with kissy noises from the trumpet. By the way, if you sound like this when you kiss, I’m pretty sure you arnt doing it right.
The Mohawks “The Champ”
Pama PM 719 (1968)
It’s called “Champ” but it sounds more like “tramp” a la Carla Thomas. The band is doin’ the Booker T., and that screamin organ riff by Alan Hawkshaw (sampled many, many times of course) over top of it is un dee nigh uh bull.
Zap-Pow “Soul Revival”
Jaywax 45 (1974?). Also on the album Revolutionary (Roosevelt 1976?), but most likely to be found on the compilation Funky Kingston: Reggae Dance Floor Grooves 1968–74 (Trojan 2002)
Another gem brought to my attn by Funky16Corners. Heard it on the blog and had to run out right away and buy the comp just for one song. Probably the tightest record on here next to the JB’s. Usually filed as reggae due to its place of origin, but this is str8 funksoul.
Kool & The Gang “Street Corner Symphony”
From Light Of Worlds (De-Lite 1974)
I love it when Kool & The Gang does their fake jazz thing. Got soul-jazz from both sides of the fence on here. At the end the sax quotes “My Favorite Things” (a nod to Trane I assume) which always cracks me up.
Ike Turner & the Kings Of Rhythm “Funky Mule”
From A Black Man’s Soul (Pompeii 1969)
Ike & Tina Turner made a lot of really cool records and a lot of mediocre ones (and I wish I knew which was which), and these days they are scattered across a hundred seedy bargain compilation ceedees. The act has never been anthologized properly, maybe due to Ike’s reputation (which I’m sure is well-deserved…recent attempts to rehabilitate him kind of piss me off…tho also irritating is the popular image of him as a cartoonish monster, mostly due to the movie, which even Tina said didnt happen like that. Evrybody does good and bad things in their life. The good things don’t take away the bad things and vice versa, and you can dig music with eyes open to the fact that some of the ones who made it were not cool people). I pickt up one such random comp choosing it mostly for the title: I Smell Trouble!!! (yes with three exclamation points !). It included this hard funk instrumental that cracked my head open wit a axe. It’s one of those songs where they just crammd in evry badass riff they could think of. Again, hard, hard muthafuckin drums, driving horns growling and belching smoke, funkee geetar, a busy bassline dancing underneath it all. Wish I knew who the players were but no credits given.
Dr. Octagon “Bear Witness”
From Dr. Octagonecologyst (Bulk 1996)
Dr Octagonecologyst is a goofball boom-bap classic. I remember hearing Blue Flowers on AMP. For a while that was the best or one of the only good things on MTV, and it turnd me on to a lot of cool stuff. This instrumental showcases DJ Q-Bert’s scratching and a bevy of funky breaks. The sampled battlecry, “Creating rap music ’cause I never dug disco” sure sounds like Chuck D (thanks to some processing) but it’s actually an obsure MC from the 80s called 4-Ever Fresh. Automator and a supercrew of DJ/producers including Prince Paul & Shadow would revisit this track a few years later on Handsome Boy Modeling School’s equally classic first album.
James Brown “Spinning Wheel”
From Sex Machine (King 1970)
James Brown’s mellow organ version of Blood, Sweat & Tears’ Spinnin Wheel is an unsung classic.
Bill Doggett “Honky Tonk Pt. 2”
King 4950 (1956)
Long ago, my former coworker K. turnd me on to Bill Doggett and this much-coverd happy, handclapping, sax-driven early rocknroll hit. I took it from this comp.
Doc Bagby “Crazy Chemistry”
Okeh 4-7098 (1958)
My good, good friend M. once gave me, for my birthday maybe, when I was like 20, a big stack of 45s from his own collection. I still prize them to this day. This was one. Demented carnival music with Wurlitzer organ and bouncy guitar.
The 45 King “Get Funky”
On The Lost Breakbeats Volume 1 & 2 (The Yellow Album) (45 King Records 1983)
Super duper beat maker the 45 King. Lotsa gems on this collection, which I got on bootleg download.
Hugh Masekela “Grazing In The Grass”
From The Promise of a Future (Universal City 1968)
It’s a gas. The original, instrumental version by South African trumpet player Hugh Masekela. Only 2 anna half minutes. Supposedly recorded just to fill time on the album. Huge hit. Gotta have more cowbell, more overdriven brass, more POP!
The Meters “Sophisticated Cissy”
Josie 1001 (1968), the band’s first single I think. Also on The Meters
Aww, such a badass slow groove, makes you say “UH!” KRS-One and Scott LaRock sampled this on “Essays On BDP-ism”, a very cool record made just before Scott LaRock’s death in 1987 and unreleased until 2000. I’m surpised it hasnt been sampled more. Great way to come in for the close.
Ray Charles “Doodlin’”
From The Great Ray Charles
Ray Charles and his associates do a sweet version of the Horace Silver tune, with a muted trumpet by John Hunt and tenor sax David Newman. I was first introduced to Ray Charles’s jazz material and this tune in particular via a tape in my brother’s car he was way into around, oh, twenty years ago. A tape he got from his friend G. probably. Ray Charles made a couplefew jazz albums. Highlights from them appear on this odd artifact, with its yellow cover and monochrome portrait that looks like a zeerox. With a title like The Best of Ray Charles, you might expect material like “What’d I Say” and “Georgia” rather than 6 instrumental jazz tunes. Nevertheless it is highly recommended.
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