I told you I was upping the ante this year, and if you thought last week’s Big Ups was dope, then you’re in for another treat. This week we have one of the hardest working DJs/ producers out there, Uncle NU, aka DJ Nu-Mark. Uncle Nu is known for not just being a dope DJ, but a producer and solo artist who pushes the envelope in his live shows. His last tour experimented with toys and toy instruments, and he constructed a live set around these toys. Always innovating and forging new trails as a DJ, we’re stoked to have DJ Nu-Mark in this week’s Big Ups.

More on Uncle Nu here.

Follow DJ Nu-Mark on twitter.

Keep Diggin’!

Funky Bijou – Funky Bijou Anthem, the video

Straight out of Rennes, France comes Stereophonk Records. Headed up by DJ Deheb and DJ Marrrtin, this French label is releasing some scorching Funk, Soul, and Hip Hop 45s. Funky Bijou’s “Funky Bijou Anthem” is their first, with a run of 800 which sold out immediately. I can completely understand why. A perfect B-Boy anthem: a sad guitar loop, some tabla and Indian percussion, funky flute, plus some drums of death which make this rocker complete that keeps all the dancers uprocking all night long. These guys have a facebook page where you can check out more videos and information on the Stereophonk posse. This particular track has been adopted as a B-Boy anthem, recently played at the Redbull BC One in Moscow in 2011:

It’s a scorcher, reminiscent of “The Baden Persuader” from Starla Records and one of my favorite sitar break records, “Mather” by the Dave Pike Set. They’ve also got some pretty great remixes too, a funk filled remix of “Ooh Baby” from Smokey Robinson , and Patti Drew’s “Tell Him” (for the romantic B-Boy in you!). The promo videos they have created for each track are a great collage and just like putting sliced truffles under the skin of game fowl, it’s a nice pairing to say the least. They’re tagline at Stereophonk is: French Groove Recordings, and they more than live up to their name. Keep an eye and ear out from this crew, as they will stay on your radar after you hear some of these sides and remixes.

Funky Bijou – Funky Bijou Anthem

Stereophonk on Soundcloud

Keep Diggin’!

A few years ago I was in a hurry to leave my local digging spot. I was supposed to make an appointment, and as usual I was neck deep in vinyl. Knowing I was really late, I was jogging to my car when I saw this box. It was a giant washing machine detergent box overflowing with 45s. I mean 7″s were on the ground, in the sand and tumbling out of this box. I tried to make a quick $10 dollar ploy for this monstrosity to the seller, a total dick record dealer, but the guy wouldn’t budge. He said $20, I said “bet” (and I still do), and off I went. I was driving home and digging through this box while driving. One eye on the road, one hand on the wheel, the other eye and hand on and in the box. What was in the box of goodness I found out, was a lot of rinked up, semi-playable, unsleeved 45s. At a light I pulled out Mickey and the Soul Generation’s “Iron Leg” on Maxwell. $20 well spent, and I was pumped. However, later on,, I got rid of all the garbage records when I was finally able to go through the box properly. The others I put in a bin, and kind of forgot about them for a few years. There were roughly 200 45s in the box, so that’s 10¢ a piece (plus the score of M&TSG). Yesterday, for no particular reason, I felt like looking in the box. The result is the mix you have before you. I wish I had done this before, but I didn’t. I was smart enough, however, to put all the James Brown and James Brown Production stuff on the top, and here’s what I came up with:

FMF presents: The $1 JB 45 Mix.

Let A Man Come In and Do The Popcorn Part 1.
Superbad, Superslick, Part 1
Escapism Part 1
Brother Rapp Part 1
It’s A New Day Part 1
Give It Up Or Turn It Loose
Mother Popcorn
Ain’t That A Groove
Bodyheat Part 1
Down and Out in New York City

Download or Listen to The 10 for a $1 JB 45 Mix mixed by DJ Prestige

10 JB tunes for a $1. Done in one take, live, and with some pops, clicks, and a skip or two. It’s JB and I got them for a buck. Nothing special, just the Godfather, the Minister of the New New Super Heavy Funk, and Soul Brother Number 1 on King, People, and Polydor. Enjoy.

Keep Diggin’!

I woke up yesterday shocked to hear of the passing of Soul Train legend Don Cornelius. Even more shocked that it was from a self inflicted gun shot wound, an apparent suicide. Seriously? Very sad indeed. Don Cornelius introduced me to so many different artists as a child. I mean, I watched the damn show with my family, and continued to check it out always as I was growing up. I watched it for the music, not the fashion (although quite funny) and of course that Soul Train line. As I got older and started digging, I always came across the Soul Train compilations, which were important to an up and coming DJ like myself. Highlighting people I was familiar with: Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield, The Spinners and the Dells (my dad’s favorite), I also got exposed to bands like the Natural Four, Bobby Blue Bland, and The Moments. This video highlights a lot of the great artists I got exposed to. Check out James Gadsen on the drums behind Bill Withers, and a gang of other great Funk, Soul, and Hip Hop artists that graced the Soul Train stage. Even Rosie Perez makes an appearance on the Soul Train line if you don’t blink.

Quest Love has spoken out on the passing of Don Cornelius. This is a really great, heartfelt article from a talented musician/ music historian. I am very sad that we’ve lost this legend. It seems like we’re losing a lot of them these days: Etta James, Jimmy Castor, and now Don Cornelius. A true innovator of television, human rights, and a music revolutionary. He changed the way we see music on tv, and exposed the world to some of the best artists we have ever known. We may not have Don Cornelius anymore, but we still have the thousands of clips all over the net of past episodes of Soul Train. You can also get a Soul Train like experience when you go to a Hot Peas and Butta DJ night, as Skeme Richards and company not only replicate the music, but play loads of Soul Train footage behind you as you dance the night away. Rest In Power Don, Peace and Soul forever.

Keep Diggin’!

The greatest thing about music, especially unreleased music, is that eventually someone finds it. Whether it’s some private press 45 in the trash, an acetate that was found at a garage sale, or as we found out this week from Jazzman Gerald, a lost master tape in a box in Texas, what one does with it is the important thing. Sites like mine and others that share these lost records help bring attention to the forgotten artists. Record labels like Minneapolis’ Secret Stash, go a step further. They not only find this forgotten and sometimes unreleased music, they put it out on vinyl. So far they have close to two dozen releases that range from African music to Russian and Peruvian Funk to Reggae interpretations of Miles Davis to lost Blaxploitation Soundtracks to Gospel Funk and more. The do it up right, give the Lp packaging the special deluxe treatment, and point blank put out good product.

“ We are dedicated to one thing, releasing great music in great collectible LP packages. ”

Their latest release is from Mickey Murray. Murray did his time on the Chitlin’ Circuit, as well as playing with Dyke and the Blazers, Wilson Picket, Staple Singers, and Aretha Franklin among others. Known for his hit single, the Otis Redding cover of “Shout Bamalama” from 1967, this Georgia native was slated to be the next James Brown. He released a record on King, People Are Together that never saw the light of day in proper retail stores. You know the rest. Fading again into obscurity, Murray has been out of the business for sometime. These days, singing at low key church functions and the like make up his schedule, as opposed to backing up the day’s best Soul singers and groups. Secret Stash have reissued this gem of a record, helping to resurrect the Soul legend’s career once again. The overall response for the record so far was overwhelming, and it’s first run with a bonus 45 has sold out already. It’s exactly the kind of stuff we like to see here at FMF. Reissues done properly, artists being taken care of, and lost music preserved. The secret is out, and you will most certainly hear from Secret Stash Records again in the future.

Stay tuned for an upcoming Big Ups interview with Secret Stash owner Eric Foss.

Check out Secret Stash on the web.

Secret Stash social media: twitter, facebook, myspace, and You Tube.

Check out Mickey Murray’s record release party photos from last week in MPLS.

Secret Stash stops at KFAI to talk about their Mickey Murray release.

Keep Diggin’!

Of all of the Big Up interviews (which btw have all been great in my opinion), this has been the most anticipated. Jazzman Gerald is a guy who does things the way he wants. In other words, he is the guy who set the bar for reissues and bringing the underdog artist to the public’s eyes and ears. He has been doing it well, taking care of the artists he reissues, all the while running a record label dynasty that is quite impressive. When not DJing rare music all over the world, he’s keeping all the record collectors, DJs, producers and artists scrambling to get his latest releases and compilations. Heard he’s a football supporter, but no mention of it in the interview. Gerald get at me on that! It is an honor for us to have Gerald in this latest installment of Big Ups. Enjoy!

Jazzman Records on the web.

TheJazzman Gerald Blog. See what he’s up to.

Follow Jazzman on twitter.

Keep Diggin’!

I got a tweet from John Book on twitter that I thought was interesting. NPR published an article by Egon about digging in the East Village here in NYC. It went on to explain that in today’s economy, it’s a buyer’s market for vinyl and that you can get some great bargains today because of it. Egon gave himself a $100 budget, reminiscent of his broke college day record buying, the days he didn’t have a lot of time or cash to buy records before he had to hurry catch the Metro North train back up to Connecticut. It was an interesting story, and since I’ve been getting a lot of requests for more of my digging stories (like I used to write), I figured I’d follow up on that request. From the list of records Egon got (Brazilian Jazz Fusion, Jazz on the Folkways label, 70′s Nigerian High Life, and a Scandinavian rarity) it looks like a good haul. Although I’d rather get 50 records for $100, most likely they would not be on the level of the records Egon got. I still get good records, don’t get me wrong, but they are not the Psych or Nigerian face melters, those are definitely found in the better record stores (which like to browse through also). I’m happy to write about records on NPR though, so get at me guys if you’re interested. Here’s an inside look of the on the cheap records I have dug up over the past week.

My budget is even tighter now, because I have a baby on the way in a few weeks, so I have been dollar bin shopping quite a lot. My man M.Fasis and I hit up Bleeker Bob’s dollar bin before last week’s Hot Peas and Butta JB Tribute party and I came away with some Motherlode, Gil Scott-Heron, Vincentico Valdes, and The Flying Machine 45′s left in the bin for a buck. I just can not pass up on records, I just have to get more creative and a bit more selective on what I buy. I buy records from private dealers and ebay once in a while (my last attempt on ebay I’m still waiting for: a super clean copy of “Ride Your Pony Girl” by Harry Ray on All Platinum. The seller is jerking me around of course. That’s why I’d rather dig) However, the deal with FMF is I like to find the stuff on the cheap. There is a Thrift store by me that has always come through. It has got me some good Hip Hop 12″s, and weird Jazz records in the past. Very hit or miss, I still check it on the regular. This past week was a dud, as my only pick up was Jimmy Z featuring Dr. Dre “The Funky Flute”. The video solidifies that this record is straight cheese, with Jimmy Z playing some funky flute way before Ron Burgandy let people know that the Yazz flute was nuttin’ to fuck with. Even pretty 80′s girls can’t help this record. To my luck, however, another consignment shop opened recently. When I went in sans portable, there were about 500 records sitting in the back of the store. I propped my ass firmly on whatever I could sit on and started to dig. What I came out with were some pretty great finds. I didn’t pay more than $3 a record, and for 30 bucks I got 10 records that were all quality.

Scholly D – Gangster Boogie

First up we have some Philly Hip Hop from ’86. Schooly D (mislabeled Scholly D here) on Place To Be Records out of Narberth, PA. PTB Records was busy also releasing “P.S. P.S.K. (I’ll Tell You What It Means!)” by the Philly Crew and other 12″ by Tic and Toc. Schooly went on to say this about the record: “Gangster Boogie was about getting over, smoking jays and pulling out 8’s and all that.” Fair enough. A good mint pull, even though it’s not the first pressing on Cut Masters (with the cool hand written bubble letters). I’ll take it.

Marley Marl – Scratch

I’ve reviewed this before, when I got one off of DJ Jack the Ripper. This 12″ features MC Shan, and is a great example of quality of the Marley Marl production we have all grown to love. All you other DJs are a bunch of jerks, a classic line jacked and used for tons of break records. I used to buy them like crazy. Do they even make break records any more?

Sammy Dread – Road Block Lp

On the whole, the Lp that Sammy was known for, other than the “Bad Boy” side. On Hit Bound and put out by Channel One, Sammy was backed by the Radics band. Features “Dreadlock Queen” and “Roadblock” among others. Besides the the good music, the cover, with Sammy on a Jah Rasrafari motorcycle is classic.

Patrice Rushen – Kickin’ Back Promo 12″

Out of all the records I got that day, this is my fave. I’ve never seen it on the field before, so for me it’s a good pull. A promo, and from what I have gathered, one of the first in a group of 12″ records put out (besides being a promo), this side has pulled high $200+ prices in the past. Not that that really matters to me, I just want to play the thing. A solid 7 minutes plus of Disco Funk from Patrice on Prestige.

Yamaha Skank – V/A Lp

I knew something was up with this record before I even checked to see the label. A Rupie Edwards/ Striker Lee production, this record is solid all the way through. Highlights include “Riding with Mr. Lee” by Chinna Earl Smith and “President A Mash Up De Resident” by Shorty the President, plus a gang of other good sides. No artist is even mentioned in the liner notes, which adds to the mystique of this Lp.

United Dreadlocks Vol. 1 V/A Lp

This Reggae compilation on Joe Gibbs Music features Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, and Junior Ross & the Spear among others. Roots music is a beautiful thing, and when you’ve got Sly Dunbar, Tommy McCook and Lloyd Parks in the backing band, it’s damn near perfect. This record cover, lithographed by the Stephensons, is going up in my wall in a frame. Bless Bless.

Kangal presents: Tiger Meets Yellowman Lp

First up, I am a huge fan of this Lp art. Even if it sucked musically, I would still buy it. My next Reggae mix is going to have some sort of graphic like this on it. I love me some Yellowman, and it has the side “Titty Jump” on it, so that’s a bonus. I lean more towards the Yellowman side, but the Tiger side is growing on me. Both backed by the Saggitarius band, Reggae in ’86 was still relevant, and a lickle Dancehall never hurt anyone.

Liquid Liquid – Optimo Ep

A record I never come across, let alone on 99 Records. Cover design by the great Richard McGuire. Original 1983 pressing. Mint, still in the original shrink wrap. Fun baby.

Marcia Griffiths – Naturally Lp

This early Marcia Griffiths on High Note has “Feel Like Jumping”, as well as the Bob Marley cover “Lonesome Feeling”. Backed by a band that includes Ansel Collins and Sly Dunbar, and you can groove to this today just as easy as in 1978 when it was released.

Z-3 MC’s – Triple Threat 12″

Despite the cheesy The Snakecharmer’s Song sample, this human beat box filled mid 80′s 12″ is not a bad score. Put out on Beauty and the Beat Records, straight outta Elizabeth, NJ, it’s Hip Hop in it’s infancy, raw and untainted. Not sure, but I heard this crew was out of Baltimore, MD. All and all a good come up for $3.

So for the people that were requesting some digging stories, here you are. If you do your research, have some patience, you too can get good records. I am in no, way shape or form claiming to be a record expert. I like what I like, and that’s good music. Egon is a music expert, running a label, reissuing lost gems, and constantly exploring different genres to expose these gems to the masses. I have the same philosophy here, as FMF tries to keep this music alive and well, while proving that you too, can dig for these records on the cheap, daily.

Keep Diggin’!

I promote a bunch of East Coast Funk and Soul and music events on these pages, but I need to give a shout to the left coast. I have been a fan of this series of different music nights for a long time. When it was the Root Down, I would try and get my friends in LA to send me the promo flyers because they were so dope. I know I have a few around somewhere. Funky Sole has definitely evolved in the past eleven years. They have had a who’s who of guests at all incarnations of the party (Keb Darge, J-Rocc, Adrian Younge, DJ Nu-Mark, Quantic, Chairman Mao, DJ Shadow, Skeme Richards(among others) and official DJs Clifton, Music Man Miles, DJ Chico, the gang of DJs known as the Soul Travelers, a rotating cast of LA DJs, and unofficial residents Cut Chemist and Egon who have blessed the turntables while opening people’s minds to all kinds of new, funky music from all over the world. Not commercial music. Not radio music. REAL MUSIC. The best part about it? It’s free, every week, and right smack in the middle of all the action.

“It wasn’t like Cut Chemist playing hits, or Egon playing hits, we were experimenting with different types of stuff. It wasn’t just Deep Funk, it was Ethiopian Soul, Psychedelic, Ghanaian, Salsa, Cumbia, Funk, Old School Hip Hop and obscure Cosmic Disco, twisted, dusted, psychedelia. Whatever we wanted to play. ”

I definitely wanted to shout out Miles and the Funky Sole crew, as they have been doing parties the way they should be done since day one. They do it and do it well. If you are out in LA and haven’t been to this party, I urge you to get there and get turned on to a whole different vibe. Miles describes the party itself as “A dance party where we celebrate mostly 60′s to early 70′s Funk Soul music, whether it’s instrumental or vocal. If it’s funky and it moves people on the dance floor, that’s what works at Funky Sole. And vinyl.” Sounds like my kind of place. Hit ‘em up when you’re in the LA area.

Funky Sole
Every Saturday
The Echo
1822 Sunset Blvd
LA, CA

Weekly Special Guests and Surprises

Funky Sole 11th Year Anniversary video directed and edited by Giovanni Solis

Keep Diggin’!

Follow Funky Soul on twitter.

For all you Funk and Soulsters in the Tri-State area, the good people over at Dig Deeper have got another hot show for you. In the past, they have brought you artists like Syl Johnson, Winfield Parker, Sugar Pie DeSanto, Willie West, Kings Go Forth, Marva Whitney, Darrow Fletcher and more. On January 28th they bring back Soul Sister Eula Cooper for the second time since 2008. Eula Cooper, known for her small string of sides released on Tragar and Note Records, as well as Atlantic, will be bringing her Georgia heat to the stage at Southpaw, backed up by The MAP Legends. Meah Pace will be the opener, and as usual, Mr. Robinson and DJ Honky will be spinning the Funk and Soul 45′s in between acts and late into the night.

Dig Deeper does a great job bringing these sometimes long forgotten Funk and Soul artists to NYC, many who have never performed here during their early careers. Their events have grown pretty huge, getting spotlighted in magazines like The New Yorker, and drawing audiences from pretty far. So if you’re in the market for some real, live, Funk and Soul, Dig Deeper have got your fix this weekend.

Dig Deeper
Southpaw
125 5th Ave
Brooklyn, NY
2,3 to Bergen/ B, Q to 7th
718.230.0236

Buy tickets to this event here.

Keep Diggin’!

Eula Cooper Live! at The 5 Spot in Brooklyn, NY 2008

Here’s a gem of a record I got in the dollar bin at some charity shop this past week. I also pulled out some more heavy Reggae, plus some 80′s private press Hip Hop 12′s, and some early 70′s 12″ Disco Funk. More on every one of those records in the upcoming months. For now, we’ve got Sammy Dread with “Dreadlocks Queen” from his 1982 Hit Bound Lp Road Block.

Born Stewart Farquharson in Greenwich Town, in Kingston, JA, he became Sammy Dread and never looked back. Catching a break to work with Sugar Minott singing back up, Sammy also had released a single of his own, “African Girl” on the Roots Tradition label. Recording for a variety of labels: Channel One, Heartbeat, Jah Life, Sammy Dread International, Black Solidarity, Black Roots, and Freedom Sounds among others, his 7″, 12″ and 10″ output is definitely impressive. Working with Reggae notables like Joe Gibbs, Dennis Brown, Tony Tuff, Tappa Zuike, Barrington Levy, Dennis Brown and more, Sammy Dread is a definite success in Reggae music. One tune that would get lots of play was “Bad Boy (M-16)”, and the subsequent M-16 riddim ensued. It wouldn’t hurt that he was name checked and big upped by The Fat Boys in their ’83 “Hardcore Reggae” record, which got the name Sammy Dread on people’s minds. Dread kept releasing records until the late 90′s, where he went MIA for a while only to reappear about 10 years later. Sammy Dread picked up where he left off, making music, spreading a positive vibe, and releasing good music.

“ Everybody is an artist in Jamaica, so you always have to find a tune that’s above other tunes. If you don’t do that, after three or four months, no one hears you. Look how long I’m in the business, and it’s just the love of people, my fans. ”

Known primarily for this 1982 Road Block Lp on Hit Bound (Channel One) which this side is from, “Dreadlocks Queen” uses Eric Donaldson’s “Cherry Oh Baby” riddim. Sammy Dread mashes up the lyrics as a tribute to the love for his dreadlock girl. A great use of this riddim, which has also been used by the Lone Ranger for “Sat Upon the Rock” (produced by Ernest Hoo Kim) among others. The side was recorded at Channel One and produced by SOJIE in Jamaica and backed by the Radics, which included Style Scott on Drums, Errol “Flabba” Holt on bass, Bingy Bunny and Dwight Pickney on guitars, Gladdy Anderson on piano, Steely on organ, and Christopher “Sky Juice” Burt with added percussion. In my opinion, they don’t make music like Sammy Dread did back in the early 80′s. In fact, Reggae music doesn’t have the stars like they used to, that’s why it’s important to preserve music like this, and keep the fires burning. Sammy Dread keeps the fire of Jah burning through this music. We’re just glad to help.

Download or Listen to Sammy Dread – Dreadlocks Queen from the Hit Bound Lp

Here’s a Sammy Dread interview from 2011 from MadVibez Radio out of Toronto.

Keep Diggin’!

As a young buck, I listened to music. A lot of music. Everything from Hip Hop to Punk rock to Classic Rock and beyond. I also played basketball. Let’s rewind. I lived basketball. I was a Philadelphia 76ers fan who got pissed when they traded Moses Malone for Jeff Ruland, so pissed that I became a NY Knicks fan and never looked back. The players I watched hoop it up: Doc, Moses, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Dominique Wilkins..I could go on, were how I remembered basketball. However, when I discovered soccer it was game over, no more hoops. That is for another story though. While I played, watched, and was a fanatic for basketball, I had a friend in high school named Mark. He was a year older than me. Mark, his brother (a few years younger than me) and I all played basketball for the same team in South Jersey. We all became good friends, and for most of high school and the summers after, I pretty much stayed at their house. We got into trouble, played hoops, drank beer, and listened to music. Mark knew I loved Hip Hop, so one day while we were all having lunch that his Mom made, he brought out a few cassettes his brother was into. One was The Surf Punks Locals Only!, the other Public Enemy’s It Takes A Nation To Hold Us Back.

When people ask you about pivotal times in your life, when certain music grabbed you and changed your outlook forever, this would be one of them. That record rocked my world. Of course his mother, Marge, would bust our balls and ask: “Why are you listening to that stuff for?”. She would then keep us in stitches with more ball busting, all the while feeding us until we couldn’t eat any more. I was treated as one of the family, not immune from the ribbing from their mother, and never forgot those times in my teens and early twenties at the Jersey Shore. As we all got older, and started to all be scattered all over the United States (both boys graduating from Notre Dame, a school their Irish mother was proud of), visits were fewer, and phone calls came about once a year from Mark. He got married, moved away and we fell out of touch. I last saw him when I was on tour in about 2004 in Atlanta, and we haven’t seen each other since. When I was in the area where I used to live, I always stopped in to see his mother Marge. Again she would open up her house to me like I was her son. Eventually I moved away and you know how the story goes: “life gets in the way”. I reached out to Mark’s mother last year so I could reconnect. When I called her and she found out it was me, she asked the same two questions she had always asked: “What the hell do you want”? (with a chuckle), and “Are you married yet?” (a question she was always relentless with). I informed her 1, I wanted to get in touch with her son, and 2, yes I was married. We reflected on old times, laughed, and I wished her well. As I stated earlier, life gets in the way, and Mark and I kept missing each other. I still consider him a good friend. A friendship transcends boundaries, and even though we’re older (and hopefully wiser), I look forward to a time when we see each other again.

On Friday, I found out that Marge passed away at the University of Pennsylvania from a long battle with lung cancer. When I heard the news I was instantly transported back to a teenager, blasting Public Enemy from a boom box and shooting threes off of the garage in her back yard. As sad as I am, I’m happy she isn’t suffering any more and is at peace. I will hold many fond memories of the time spent with her and her family, and how indirectly, even if she didn’t know it, she got me into Public Enemy.

Rest In Peace Mrs. O

Margaret (Welsh) Olkiewicz 1944-2012

Keep Diggin’!

I’m excited to announce that the next Big Ups interview will be, to me, the best digger and preserver of Funk, Soul, Jazz, and many other genres. A true defender of the underdog musicians throughout the world. A man that has dedicated his life to keeping this music we all love alive. I, along with countless others have bought these records, gained knowledge from Gerald, and enjoyed the many Lps, 7″s, and compilations he’s put out through the years. He was the first person to actually do a regional Funk compilation properly with Hard Texas Funk. While others were bootlegging, Gerald did his due diligence, put the legwork in, and came out with the official compilation. This set the bar for all of the future compilations. Label scans, rare photos, band info, studio info, and anything else that was relevant was included. All of this (for the most part) is common place these days. Everyone from Numero to Now Again to anyone else resurrecting and releasing these forgotten artists and music owes a debt of gratitude to Jazzman.

“ We’re validating a style of music that was already there but wasn’t being done properly. ”-Jazzman Gerald on Jazzman Records, 2011

Here is an interview done in December 2011 in Lausanne, Switzerland where Gerald speaks on Jazzman Records, how he got his start, and what the label is all about. It’s a great insight on the label’s philosophy, a brief history of the music he preserves, and why it’s important that it’s to be done properly. As I said earlier, I’ve got Gerald in a Big Ups interview that will drop next week. Here’s a little back ground for those who are or aren’t familiar. It’s a great insight into the life and views of the man they call Jazzman Gerald.

Jazzman Gerald Interview 2011

Keep Diggin’

I find that the best cover songs are usually in the Funk and Reggae realm. Early Reggae that was covering Motown and R & B that they heard on American airwaves, or from the records that were brought back from the States just can’t be beat. In the modern sense, it seems like a lot of Funk and Soul bands were resurrecting the sounds of artists like JB and Marva Whitney, but also dabbling in covers of Rock songs. Adam aka Lack of Afro has a cracker of a cover of Arctic Monkeys “When The Sun Goes Down”, and now our friends in Germany at Our Records have released a little Rock cover of their own. The most well known Blur song, “Song 2″, or the Woo Hoo song if you will, has been “reinvented as an uptempo Deep Funk tune by Diazpora with tight horns and featuring the vocal talents of Hamburg’s Nora Kinga Becker, who gives the song the soulful edge it deserves.” It’s the second record produced by Our Label’s own Gu, and it’s a belter.

Nora Kinga Becker channels N’Dea Davenport via Damon Albarn’s lyrics, while Diazpora’s tight drums, wah wah guitar, and horn section move your body and shake your ass to the groove. Lest we not forget the bass line, which will keep you dippin’ for the entire 2:12. As Keb Darge once said: “I play fucking records that I think are great, and that’s my style”. I couldn’t agree more with that statement in terms of this record.

Snippet of Diazpora – Song 2 on Soundcloud

Hear the full length on Our Records You Tube Channel

Buy this record here.

Keep Diggin’!

This week we have a special treat. Our Big Ups is none other than Jefferson Mao, aka Chairman Mao, co-founder of ego trip. If you have been living under a rock for the last 18 years, ego trip was the go to Hip Hop culture magazine in the 90′s. I think I may have shed a tear the day they stopped publishing it. Luckily, there is egotripland, your daily fix of the best Hip Hop music culture you will read, and I back that up 100%. Chairman Mao is a well known DJ, crate digger, writer, and all around good guy who knows his shit. We’re happy to have him aboard on FMF and Big Ups.

Check Out Chairmqan Mao’s radio show Across 135th St. on RBMA Radio.

Check out egotripland.

Keep Diggin’!

This morning we have some haunting Jazz organ originally from New Jersey, but reissued beautifully from the good folks over at Sticky Records in the UK. Larry Young Jr aka “The John Coltrane of the Organ” and Harold Martin originally released this floating 45 on an obscure NJ label London House Records out of Newark. Apparently this side was part of a concerto called Black Fantasy, although we have no other information if said concerto, master tapes, or anything even exists. If it does, it would be a major come up for some rare NJ organ Jazz.

Larry Young was an accomplished organist, and whether he was a band leader or sideman, made heads turn. He was known primarily for his side work with Grant Green on Verve and Blue Note, and Miles Davis on Bitches Brew. He had his starts on Prestige, and was a solid Jazz player. Young also released his own records, notably six Lps on Bluenote, which included the much applauded Unity record. Working with the aforementioned giants, he also played with John McLaughlin and Carlos Santana, as well as Lou Donaldson, Hank Mobley, and many more. Young died very prematurely at age 37 in 1978. It’s hard to say what kind of magic he would be working on these days if he was still alive. Suffice to say, this reissuing of the original early 70′s side with Harold Martin is a great discovery.

With a short run of only 400 being pressed, this is one side you may not want to let slip away. Sticky have been reissuing the best of Dub, Jazz, Sister Funk and more since 2005. It’s quite obvious these guys are serious about what they do, and they do it well. Reissued with permission by Harold Martin and Larry Young III (who owns a killer Jazz club in Newark, NJ), again, the lads at Sticky do it right. If some haunting organ Jazz is your bag, then this obscure Larry Young gem has your name written all over it.

Hear a sample of the record here.

More information about Larry Young here.

Keep Diggin’!