Author Archive: dereksmusicblog
CULT CLASSIC: PETE LA ROCA-BASRA.
Cult Classic: Pete La Roca-Basra. Sadly, Pete La Roca’s career is another case of what might have been. The New York born jazz drummer only released a triumvirate of solo albums during an eventful career that promised much. During the early years of his career he worked with Jackie McLean, John Coltrane, Tony Scott, Bill …
CULT CLASSIC: DUKE ELLINGTON, CHARLIE MINGUS, MAX ROACH-MONEY JUNGLE.
Cult Classic: Duke Ellington, Charlie Mingus, Max Roach-Money Jungle. On Monday, September the ‘17th’ 1962, bassist Charles Mingus and drummer Max Roach made their way to Sound Makers Studio, in New York. The two friends were en route to a session where they would record an album with one of the giants of jazz, Duke …
CULT CLASSIC: ROY BUDD-THE INTERNECINE PROJECT.
Cult Classic: Roy Budd-The Internecine Project. By 1974, London born jazz pianist, arranger, bandleader and composer Roy Budd was twenty-seven, and had been performing professionally since the age of fifteen. A year later, he formed his own quartet, and in 1967, released his debut album Roy Budd At Newport. The young pianist was a prodigious …
CULT CLASSIC: JACKIE MCLEAN-A FICKLE SONANCE.
Cult Classic: Jackie McLean-A Fickle Sonance. On October the ’26th’ 1961, thirty year old alto-saxophonist Jackie McLean made the now familiar journey to the Van Gelder Studio, at 445 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, to record a new album with his quintet. The album became A Fickle Sonance, which was released in late 1962 and is …
CULT CLASSIC: LEE MORGAN-THE COOKER.
Cult Classic: Lee Morgan-The Cooker. When eighteen year old trumpeter Lee Morgan signed to Blue Note Records as a solo artist in 1956, he was already a prodigious talent and had the potential to become one of the greatest trumpeters of his generation. That talent was soon apparent. Introducing Lee Morgan. On November the ‘4th’ …
CULT CLASSIC: PIRANA-PIRANA.
Cult Classic: Pirana-Pirana. Although Australian progressive rockers Pirana were together for just over three years, they played live over 600 times and released two albums on Harvest Records. This included their 1972 debut album Pirana. It’s a cult classic and a reminder of a group that should’ve reached greater heights. Sadly, commercial success eluded Pirana, …
CULT CLASSIC: SUN RA-CELESTIAL LOVE.
Cult Classic: Sun Ra-Celestial Love. Nowadays, maybe music journalists are guilty of using the words innovator and musical pioneer all too freely, but that is the perfect description of the inimitable Sun Ra. He’s quite rightly regarded as one of the true pioneers of free jazz and a truly innovative and influential musician who pushed musical boundaries …
CULT CLASSIC:NIGHTMARES ON WAX-SMOKER’S DELIGHT.
Cult Classic: Nightmares On Wax-Smoker’s Delight. Four years after releasing their debut album A Word Of Science: The First and Final Chapter in 1991, Nightmares On Wax returned with their much-anticipated and critically acclaimed sophomore album Smoker’s Delight. It was released on the ‘24th’ of October 1995 by Warp and awas part of the soundtrack …
CULT CLASSIC: TEA AND SYMPHONY-AN ASYLUM FOR THE MUSICALLY INSANE.
Cult Classic: Tea and Symphony-An Asylum For The Musically Insane. When the original lineup of Tea and Symphony was founded in Birmingham, England, in the late-sixties, they were an acoustic group who have since been compared to Marc Bolan’s Tyrannosaurus Rex. The group was founded by Jeff Daw, James Langston and Nigel Phillips, but when they played …
CULT CLASSIC: HERBIE HANCOCK-THE PRISONER.
Cult Classic: Herbie Hancock-The Prisoner. In the summer of 1968 Herbie Hancock left Miles Davis Quintet to form his own group. This was a risky move, but one he felt he had to make to develop as a composer, bandleader and pianist. During the summer of 1968 Herbie Hancock also released his sixth album for Blue Note …
CULT CLASSIC: DR JOHN THE NIGHT TRIPPER-THE SUN, MOON AND HERBS.
Cult Classic: Dr John The Night Tripper-The Sun, Moon and Herbs. By July 1970, twenty-nine year old Dr John was about to begin recording his fourth album for Atco which eventually became The Sun, Moon and Herbs. He had written six new track and cowrote Familiar Reality (Opening) with Jesse Hill and he planned to record …
CULT CLASSIC: DEXTER GORDON-A SWINGIN’ AFFAIR.
Cult Classic: Dexter Gordon-A Swingin’ Affair. Tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon was only seventeen when he joined Lionel Hampton’s band in 1940, and for the next three years, played alongside Illinois Jacquet and Marshal Royal. However, by 1944 he was a member of the Fletcher Henderson band before featuring in Louis Armstrong and Billy Eckstine’s bands. …
CULT CLASSICS: TABANSI STUDIO BAND-WAKAR ALHAZI KANO AND MUS’EN SOFOA.
Cult Classics: Tabansi Studio Band–Wakar Alhazai Kano and Mus’en Sofoa. Philadelphia International Records’ house band was MFSB, while Motown the Funk Brothers and Fame Records had the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section between 1961 and 1969. These three house bands played an important part in each label’s sound and success. That was also the case with the …
CULT CLASSIC: HIDETO SASAKI, TOSHIYUKI SEKINE QUARTET +1-STOP OVER.
Cult Classic: Hideto Sasaki, Toshiyuki Sekine Quartet + 1–Stop Over. Ever since the sixties, rather than sign to a label, many artists and bands have released their albums as private pressings. However, the majority of the labels releasing private pressings during this didn’t have the same resources as the major labels or even an indie …
CULT CLASSIC: PHILOPSIS.
Cult Classic: Philopsis. Over the last few years, there’s been a resurgence of interest in library music, with British and European independent record labels releasing lovingly curated compilations that are welcomed by a coterie of musical connoisseurs who have a passion for library music. This includes DJs, producers and record collectors who are willing to …
CULT CLASSIC: NANCY PRIDDY-YOU’VE COME THIS WAY BEFORE.
Cult Classic: Nancy Priddy-You’ve Come This Way Before. Nowadays, many people remember Nancy Priddy as an actress who appeared in Bewitched, The Waltons and Matlock and later, alongside her daughter Christina Applegate in the television series Married…With Children and the film The Sweetest Thing. However, other people remember Nancy Priddy as a singer-songwriter who in 1968, …
CULT CLASSIC: BREAD, LOVE AND DREAMS-AMARYLLIS.
Cult Classic: Bread, Love and Dreams-Amaryllis. When Scottish acid folk trio Bread, Love and Dreams appeared at the 1968 Edinburgh Festival, David McNiven, Angie Rew and Carolyn Davis had no idea that the concert was going to transform their lives. In the audience that night, was Ray Horricks, a Decca Records staffer, who nowadays, is …
CULT CLASSIC: ART TAYLOR-A.T.’S DELIGHT.
Cult Classic: Art Taylor-A.T.’s Delight. One of the most influential drummers in the history of jazz is Art Taylor, who was born in New York, on the ‘6th’ of April 1929, and as a teenager, played in a local Harlem-based band that featured pianist Kenny Drew and saxophonists Sonny Rollins and Jackie McLean. Each of these …
dereksmusicblog
dereksmusicblog 