Author Archive: dereksmusicblog
CULT CLASSIC: KEITH MANSFIELD-CONTEMPO.
Cult Classic: Keith Mansfield-Contempo. Nowadays, Keith Mansfield is regarded as one the doyens of library music, and original copies of his 1976 album Contempo are now highly collectable. That’s the case with many other KPM Records’ releases. Everyone from sample-hungry hip hop producers and crate-digging DJs to film producers collect library music. They remember hearing …
CULT CLASSIC: THE OHIO PLAYERS-ECSTASY.
Cult Classic: The Ohio Players-Ecstasy. It wasn’t until The Ohio Players signed with Westbound, and released their sophomore album Pain in 1972, that commercial success their way. The group was founded in 1959 and originally was known as The Ohio Untouchables and had a chequered history. Initially, The Ohio Untouchables lineup featured drummer Cornelius Johnson, …
CULT CLASSIC: SNIFF ’N’ THE TEARS-LOVE/ACTION.
Cult Classic: Sniff ’n’ The Tears-Love/Action. By 1981, Sniff ’n’ The Tears were about to record their third album Love/Action with Mike Howlett taking charge of production. However, the last few years had been eventful. So much so, that the only original member of the band was lead singer and songwriter-in-chief Paul Roberts. He was …
CULT CLASSIC: LEE MORGAN-THE RAJAH.
Cult Classic: Lee Morgan-The Rajah. In 1964, twenty-six year old hard bop trumpeter Lee Morgan’s career was transformed when he enjoyed a crossover hit with The Sidewinder. Instantly recognisable and incredibly catchy, it became a jazz standard and nowadays, is regarded as Lee Morgan’s best known composition. Buoyed by the success of the single, Blue …
CULT CLASSIC: DONALD BYRD-BYRD IN FLIGHT.
Cult Classic: Donald Byrd-Byrd In Flight. When Donald Byrd signed to Blue Note Records in 1958, he was twenty-five and had already recorded five solo albums and had collaborated on albums with Art Farmer, Phil Woods and Gigi Gryce. The Detroit-born trumpeter was also in demand as a sideman and had already worked with some …
CULT CLASSIC: GENE RUSSELL-TALK TO MY LADY.
Cult Classic: Gene Russell-Talk To My Lady. As 1973 dawned, LA-based Black Jazz Records had already released nine albums since 1971. Its first release was Gene Russell’s critically acclaimed sophomore album New Direction. However, another two years passed before the LA-born pianist returned with the followup. Gene Russell spent the spent the rest of 1971 …
CULT CLASSIC: HERBIE HANCOCK-MY POINT OF VIEW.
Cult Classic: Herbie Hancock-My Point Of View. By the time Herbie Hancock signed to Blue Note Records, the Chicago-born pianist was just twenty-two, and had already worked with Donald Byrd and Coleman Hawkins. On May the ‘28th’ 1962, he recorded his debut solo album Takin’ Off which featured the jazz standard Watermelon Man. The album …
CULT CLASSIC: PATCHWORK-MEAN AND DIRTY.
Cult Classic: Patchwork-Mean and Dirty. Nowadays, library music is highly collectable, especially the albums released by KPM, Amphonic, Conroy, Sonoton and De Wolfe between the late-sixties and early eighties. That is regarded by many collectors as a golden age for library music. This is ironic as the albums of library music were never meant to fall into the …
CULT CLASSIC: BOBBY HUTCHERSON-THE KICKER.
Cult Classic: Bobby Hutcherson-The Kicker. Less than three years after Bobby Hutcherson made his recording debut, the twenty-three year old vibraphonist recorded his debut album The Kicker for Blue Note Records in 1963. This was the start of the most prolific period of his long and illustrious career. Over the next fourteen years, Bobby Hutcherson …
CULT CLASSIC: DR. LONNIE SMITH-ALL IN MY MIND.
Cult Classic: Dr. Lonnie Smith-All In My Mind. Forty-six years after he left Blue Note Records, Dr. Lonnie Smith returned in 2016 and released a new studio album Evolution. It was released to critical acclaim and marked the homecoming of the last of the great soul-jazz organists. His career began in 1960, and in the …
LORD SHANGO ORIGINAL 1975 MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK BY HOWARD ROBERTS.
Lord Shango Original 1975 Motion Picture Soundtrack By Howard Roberts. Label: Tidal Waves Music. Format: LP. During first half of the seventies, Blaxploitation films started to grow in popularity and by soon, Hollywood producer saw the potential in what was a relatively new genre. However, there’s much debate about what was the first Blaxploitation film? Some critics …
CULT CLASSIC: MASAHIKO SATO-KAYOBI NO ONNA.
Cult Classic: Masahiko Sato-Kayobi No Onna. By 1969, Tokyo-born composer and pianist Masahiko Sato about to turn twenty-nine, and had been a professional musician since he was seventeen. He had started out accompanying magicians, singers and strippers in a cabaret in Ginza, a district of Tokyo. Now eleven years later he had just written the …
CULT CLASSIC: GRANT GREEN-NIGERIA.
Cult Classic: Grant Green-Nigeria. On January the ’13th’ 1962 Grant Green journeyed to New Jersey, and what were by now the familiar environs of the Van Gelder Studio. He was twenty-five and had already recorded eight albums for Blue Note Records since he signed for the label in 1960. Grant Green had his friend Lou …
CULT CLASSIC: NKEM NJOKU AND OZZOBIA BROTHERS-OZABIA SPECIAL.
Cult Classic: Nkem Njoku and Ozzobia Brothers–Ozobia Special. Tabansi Records was founded in Nigeria in 1952, and filled a void when major labels like Decca and later, Philips closed the doors on their Nigerian operations. Chief Tabansi, who lent his name to what would become Nigeria’s most important label, recorded artists and then pressed the records at …
CULT CLASSIC: ALAIN BELLAICHE-SEA FLUORESCENT.
Cult Classic: Alain Bellaïche-Sea Fluorescent. Alain Bellaïche was born in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, but spent his childhood in Cannes, on the French Riviera which was where he discovered music and played his first concerts. Initially, he played in friends’ houses where he was guaranteed a captive and appreciative audience. Soon, he had graduated …
CULT CLASSIC: STEVE POTTS-MUSIQUE POUR LE FILM D’UN AMI.
Cult Classic: Steve Potts-Musique Pour Le Film D’Un Ami. Sadly, musical history is littered with artists whose music never received the recognition that it deserved. Often, it’s only much later that their albums start to find the audience that they so richly deserve. That was the case with Alice Clark, Gram Parsons, Laraaji, John Martyn, …
CULT CLASSIC: THE AWAKENING-HEAR, SENSE AND FEEL.
Cult Classic: The Awakening-Hear, Sense and Feel. Of the twenty albums that Black Jazz Records released between 1971 and 1975, The Awakening’s Hear, Sense and Feel is a much prized rarity amongst collectors. Copies of the album change hands for hundreds of dollars. That is no surprise given the quality of music The Awakening recorded. It …
ART BLAKEY AND THE JAZZ MESSENGERS-THE WITCH DOCTOR.
Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers-The Witch Doctor. Label: Blue Note Records. Format: LP. When The Jazz Messengers were formed in 1954, the collective was led by Horace Silver and Art Blakey when they played live. However, it wasn’t until November the ‘23rd’ 1955 when they recorded At the Cafe Bohemia, Volumes 1 and 2. …
dereksmusicblog
dereksmusicblog 