What Up February Day 28 Wonderful!

We close out February with a mini-Stevie Wonder concert.

Feeling lucky or unlucky? Here's Stevie Wonder's “Superstitious”



Feeling down in the dumps or are you soaring? Take Stevie Wonder's, "Higher Ground"



Another classic piece, "Living for the City"



From the wonderful collection, "Songs in the Key of Life," a childhood memory called, "I Wish"



Who? Oh, "That Girl"



At last? "Free…"

What Up February Day 27

This goes out to Aaron as he prepares for the Jazz Ensemble concert this Sunday at College of Lake County. For more about McCoy Tyner, listen in at NPR:
http://www.npr.org/programs/jazzprofiles/archive/tyner_mccoy.html

Here’s a McCoy Tyner piece jammed up.



As February comes to a close, we can’t forget “the Duke.” In our minds, picture an Ahmadinejad—and-mullah-free Iran as we float on a carpet to Isfahan:

What Up February Day 26 Mighty Fine

Let's give it up for two fine women, starting with Rose Royce, Wishing on a Star (1977)



Rose has that “Magic Touch” (1984)



Aaron's grandmother used to say, "There's no fool like an old fool." But love can make us all a bit stoopid. Here's Aretha with the classic, "Chain of Fools…" The graphics are pixel-ie, but the recording is pretty bitchin’

What Up February Day 25 (Me)shuggie music

Meet Shuggie Otis (son of Johnny Otis, father of Lucky Otis)…an unusual musician from the 1970’s…Here’s his slightly hypnotic Freedom Flight. Shuggie Otis wrote Strawberry Letter 23, which gave the Brothers Johnson a number one hit.



Meet the Brothers Johnson
To find out more about this song: http://www.soultracks.com/strawberry_letter_23.htm

What Up February Day 24 Mardi Gras!

Doin’ it up big! Laissez les bon temps roulez: “Let the good times roll”:

Let’s begin at the beginning…



A little commercial here for N’Awrlins



Bourbon Street: Mardi Gras 2009



Here comes Deacon John and the Ivories, “Let the Good Times Roll”

What Up February Day 23 War...What is it good for?

There was a whole battalion of African-American soldiers in World War I known as the "Hellfighters." A great percentage of them were decorated with highest honors: Read the following:

"Hell Fighters" From Harlem

Sechault, France, September 29, 1918.

From Harlem streets and other New York City neighborhoods they came, members of the only U.S. unit to get "over there" with their old State name -- the 15th New York. These black National Guardsmen soon found themselves with a new name, the 369th Infantry Regiment. Many months after their arrival in the war zone the 369th Infantry, as part of the French Army’s 161st Division, marched toward a date with destiny in the Meuse-Argonne offensive. On a fateful day, September 29, a regimental historian would later remember, "the day dawned clear and cool. There was expectancy in the air." A fierce artillery barrage preceded the attack by the 369th, nicknamed "Hell Fighters" by the enemy. After a brutal struggle during which heavy casualties were sustained Sechault was taken and the 369th soldiers dug in to consolidate their advance position. The action depicted earned the Croix de Guerre for the entire regiment. But the Meuse-Argonne claimed nearly one-third of these black fighting men as battle casualties. This distinguished National Guard Regiment left its proud mark on the AEF as "the regiment that never lost a man captured, a trench or a foot of ground..." Today’s 369th Transportation Battalion1, New York Army National Guard, carries on the traditions of the gallant "Hell Fighters" of yesterday. (1989) While this was true in 1989 (when the caption was written), the 369th Infantry is perpetuated in today's Army by the 369th Support Battalion.


Many blacks were drafted and shipped off to Vietnam...Here's a classic protest song from that era, but by a black artist, Edwin Starr: “War": What is it Good for?



Jimi Hendrix served in the Army in the 1960's. Here is a rare studio version of “Machine Gun,” followed by a brief continuation of same.



Continuation of rare studio version, shorter piece, “Machine Gun”


Bob Marley War

What Up February Day 22 The Best of Hip Hop

This is the first of at least three medleys featuring the Best of Hip Hop...



To close out Sunday afternoon as the sun dips down into the cold, wintry West, here's old school Earth, Wind, & Fire: Boogie Wonderland:

What Up February Day 21 Old Hip Hop

Afrika Bambaataa's Definition Of Hip Hop?
Hip Hop means the whole culture of the movement.. when you talk about rap..Rap is part of the hip hop culture..The emceeing..The djaying is part of the hip hop culture. The dressing the languages are all part of the hip hop culture.The break dancing the b-boys, b-girls ..how you act, walk, look, talk are all part of hip hop culture.. and the music is colorless.. Hip Hop music is made from Black, brown, yellow, red, white.. whatever music that gives you the grunt.. that funk.. that groove or that beat.. It's all part of hip hop....


Are artist from the West Coast and Miami
considered Hip Hop?
Too Short, E-40 all the brothers and sisters that are making that hip hop and coming from the funk part of it are all hip hoppers.. The Electro Funk which is that Planet Rock sound which is now considered the Miami Bass sound is also hip hop.. The GoGo sound that you hear from Washington DC is also hip hop.. New Jack Swing that Teddy Riley is R&B and hip hop mixed together...So hip hop has progressed into different sounds and different avenues.. People also have to recognize from hip hop music..inparticular the electro funk came House music and Freestyle music with a lot of our Pueto Rican hip hoppers...

The freestyle music really comes from Planet Rock..If you look at all the freestyle records its based upon Planet Rock.. If you look at all the Miami Bass records it's based upon Planet Rock.. It's all based upon electro funk... which came from hip hop music...

Hip Hop has experimented with a lot of different styles of music and there's a lot of people who have brought different changes over time with hip hop.. which have brought out all these funky records which everybody just started jumpin' on like a catch phrase.. For example when 'Planet Rock' came out you had all of the electro funk records.. When you had Doug E Fresh with the show and 'La Di Da Di'.. a lot of rappers went that way...When Eric B came out with 'I Know U Got Soul'... all the way up to Run DMC and Wu-Tang. All these people brought changes within hip hop music... Unfortunately today a lot of the people who created hip hop..meaning the Black and Latinos do not control it no more...

Afrika Bambaataa
Sept 23 1996

http://www.daveyd.com/whatisbam.html

Well, that's the breaks...A little humor too from Kurtis Blow, "That's the Breaks," though it's kind of hard imagining half the country getting pink slips dancing to "That's the Breaks"; can't hurt?



We close out today's jam with a reminder/wake up call from James Brown, "Get Up Offa That Thing,"

What Up February Day 21 Have a little class

The first item we will watch today was produced by the Chicago Police Department's Chaptain, Kevin Dean. This series was produced shortly after 9-11 as a training and educational video on the various religious communities in Chicago, in order to promote understanding and sensitivity.



A little fun on the Four Noble Truths



The Four Noble Truths in rap...

What Up February Day 20 Don't moan: It's Friday!

Jazz organ…Jimmy McGriff shmoozes plays a bit and then shmoozes some more



Another great jazz organist is Jimmy Smith. Here he is with a full fat sound big band doing the jazz classic, “Moanin…”



While on the topic of jazz organ, might I recommend to you Joey DeFrancesco? He recently came out with a jazz version of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," which I heard for the first time on WDCB.

As we finish out February, we'll start shifting over to rap and Hip Hop.

What Up February Day 18 Live and Be Well!

Aaron's mom is sick, and she suggests a home remedy:

A bowl of matzo ball soup...make that Funky Chicken matzo ball soup courtesy of Rufus Thomas…



and throw in some Green Onions, courtesy of Booker T. and the MG’s:

What Up February Day 18 RIP Freddie H

What Up February Day 18 RIP FREDDIE

Will Friedwald wrote a great OB titled, “Taps for Freddie Hubbard” in the Wall Street Journal January 3, 2009. In the 70 years that he was with us, Freddie Hubbard, who died on Dec. 29, was known primarily for one thing: playing the trumpet harder, faster and with more pure chops than virtually anyone else who ever picked up the horn. Hubbard was regaled as the most prolific, the most prodigious, the most celebrated, and probably the longest-lasting trumpet king of what came to be known as the hard bop era, performing a style of jazz that has exerted a disproportionately large influence on the young jazzmen of the Marsalis generation and beyond.

You can visit the official website: http://www.freddiehubbardmusic.com/ Here's one of his best known pieces, "Red Clay." RIP Freddie.

What Up February Day 17

Awhile back we featured Horace Silver’s “Song for My Father.” The Temptations bring us another kind of father, “Papa was a Rolling Stone.” Dig the hair. And the moves.



Here’s another (later, and more cool?) version. Posted to you live from the Harper College Mega lab.

What Up February Day 16 Holiday Jam

Talk to Chuck? ‘How about listen to Chuck. Since we skipped What Up February Day 15, here’s a President’s Day holiday jam moving through time featuring three Chucks with a lot to say.

Chuck Berry Johnny Be Goode
1958


Meet Chuck Brown “Godfather of Go Go,” out of Washington D.C. Most of the videos featuring Chuck are not that good (filmed outside). Oh well. This dates back to a DC concert in 1988. Would appreciate any recommendations if you can find a better clip. Chuck is still around! I learned about him from a recent interview on NPR.



Chuck D on Music in the Civil Rights & women in Hip Hop

What Up February Day 14 Love is in the Air

Valentine’s Day is usually thought of in terms of horizontal love…person-to-person. What about “vertical” love? Loving God? Perhaps John Coltrane’s most well-known piece is “A Love Supreme.” Here are some of the liner notes on his approximately 35-minute LP:

During the year 1957, I experienced, by the grace of God, a spiritual awakening which was to lead me to a richer, fuller, more productive life. At that time, in gratitude, I humbly asked to be given the means and privilege to make others happy through music. I feel this has been granted through His grace. ALL PRAISE TO GOD.

This album is a humble offering to Him. An attempt to say "THANK YOU GOD" through our work, even as we do in our hearts and with our tongues. May He help and strengthen all men in every good endeavor.

The music herein is presented in four parts. The first entitled "Acknowledgment", the second, "Resolution", the third, "Pursuance", and the fourth and last part is a musical narration of the theme, "A Love Supreme" which is written in the context: it is entitled "Psalm".

Very little has survived of live recordings of John Coltrane, so this clip is short and not of particularly good quality. But it is the genuine article.



Here is Wynton’s brother Branford Marsalis and his quintet performing the first of the four movements, “Acknowledgement”:

What Up February Day 13

You are in Luck this Friday the 13th...
A double dose of swingin’ Friday for all workin’ and studyin’ stiffs:

Oscar Peterson and Count Basie
This one is dedicated to Aaron: two phenoms playing two gorgeous pianos

Jumpin’ at the Woodside



and not to forget the gee-tar...
Here’s George Benson and Count Basie Jam Blues

What Up February Day 12 Abe Lincoln Day

Freedom…Love…a man and a woman… Precious Thing…



And here's some rare footage that only takes a minute to view...

What up February Day 11

In Chicago, it’s a rainy, washed out, gray day. To make something out of it, we’ll just have to use our imagination.

Here’s two songs using imagination as intuition/vibes and as a means to survive, to keep on keeping on. We’ll start with the Temptations' classic, and then end our double-dose of jam with a little “Knight” vision: (a very young) Gladys Knight and the Pips. ("The Pips"? ‘how about "the ultimate sidemen"?)

What Up February Day 10

"Well, they call it Stormy Monday, but Tuesday’s just as bad."
Here’s a theme song for all Monday-thru-Friday-and-weekends-too working stiffs. What this piece has in mind, however, is bustin' rocks on a chain gang or “work farm.” Here’s the Cannonball Adderly Sextet doing “Work Song.”

What Up February Day 9

Monday February 9, 2009 is brought to you by two hard workin' women.

My vote? Deva Donna, and not Deva Diana (Ross):



She earned some gold this great R&B singer: Evelyn “Champagne” King

Born in the Bronx, raised in Philly, Evelyn helped her mother at a night job cleaning. It just so happened they were cleaning a recording studio, and 16-year old Evelyn just happened to be singing as she scrubbed floors and emptied trash. Interesting way to get an audition! The rest is 1970's R&B / Disco history. Well, there ain't no shame in workin'.

Here's ECK doing, "Shame":

What Up February Day 8

Here's a B&W montage, "Civil Rights Movement Music Video" featuring the Renegades of Funk followed by a little bit of "netiquette"...



A great hand shake

Dear Alex Rodriguez

Dear A-Rod,

or A-Roid
or Ster-Rod
or A-Fraud.

I wanted to take a minute to thank you for destroying my faith in Major League Baseball. You see, Mr. Rodriguez, you were supposed to be the one who brought dignity and legitimacy back to the Hall of Fame. You were the chosen one. You were baseball's Messiah. You were baseball's Neo. You were the Anakin Skywalker of professional baseball - you would bring balance to the record books.

Instead, you have brought shame and grief upon America. Michael Phelps may have made some mistakes, but he, unlike you, was not a cheat. No, Alex, the pain you have caused America is different. Amidst an economic crisis, you have cheated your way into making over $500 mil. Amidst the steroid crisis, you stood firm and tall, representing all that is good and pure about America's pastime. Like many others, I had thought that the time to put the Steroid Era in the past had come. I had taken a liking to the premise that within the next 10 years, Barry Bond's Home Run Facade would have been broken by a legitimate athlete. That was supposed to be you, Alex.

I'm not sure which song is song is more appropriate for you, A-Fraud.

Tainted Love, by Gloria Jones:


or Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice

What Up February Day 7

A quick word so you can "move on up" with Curtis Mayfield




Listen to an older Curtis Mayfield doing “Little Child” at the famous London club, “Ronnie Scott’s”:

What Up February Day 6

It's Friday! Everybody get up and dance.

To learn about Chicago-born jazz great, the legendary saxophonist Eddie Harris, visit http://www.eddieharris.com/ Here’s EH’s Freedom Jazz Dance, very nicely arranged by Josh Freedman

Your Daily Dose of Jam 2-5-09

I've always been fascinated by Monks. Need proof? My favorite TV show? Monk (see left). If I weren't so ADD, my favorite pastime would be Tibetan sand art with Monks (see above). Hopefully someday I can become half as good as one of my favorite jazz pianists, Thelonious Monk (see below). Here he is with Ruby, My Dear.

He always wore a hat, and not just some brim, fedora, or beret, but funky, goofy, eccentric hats. Sometimes "shades." From what I’ve read, he was moody, maybe unpredictable like his notes. Awkward stage presence. And he never liked playing outside New York. But while that’s part of the lore, appeal, and mystique, it’s the “wrong notes” the “piano dissonance” that is synonymous with the one-of-a-kind Thelonious Monk. According to the acclaimed official monk site (http://www.monkzone.com/), in 1961 tMonk hinted at the method in this musical madness,“You know, anybody can play a composition and use far-out chords and make it sound wrong. It’s making it sound right that’s not easy.”

What Up February Day 5

Thanks to Matt Kaplan for a great post. Everyone get the word out to check out themaassmedia.blogspot.com. Tell your friends; tell your foes; share your good times; express your woes.

Here's an interesting blog also worth checking out. Excellent research, but the white on black print can get to you:

http://thisdayinjewishhistory.blogspot.com

Back to our February Focus:

I can still hear it in my mind’s ear, Pete Seeger singing, “I ain’t scared o’ yo jails cuz I wan my freedom, I wan my freedom, I wan my freedom…” You'll have to go to You Tube to listen to the protected official Woodstock clip of Richie Havens’ memorable performance at Woodstock with his “Freedom” song that segues into and merges with the classic folk song, “Motherless Child.”

What follows are the lyrics of a freedom song adopted from an African American spiritual, "I Woke Up This Mornin'":

{Well I} woke up this mornin' with my mind
stayed on freedom.
Woke up this mornin' with my mind,
stayed on freedom.
Woke up this mornin' with my mind
stayed on freedom.
Hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah.

Oh well I walked and talked
talked and walked
with my mind
stayed on freedom.
Walked and talked
talked and walked
with my mind
on freedom.
I walked and talked
talked and walked
with my mind
stayed on freedom.
Hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah.

Thought for Day 5: Maybe we can’t know the price of freedom until we lose it, or it is taken away.

The Land of Contrasts and Promises: One Writer’s Journey to the Holy Land

Matt Kaplan here. Seeing as Aaron recently returned from a trip to Israel with my older brother Adam, I feel that this entry is appropriate.

5:00 a.m. At least I think it was. I had lost my watch by this time, and the sun had yet to rise over the desert. I crawled out of my sleeping bag and rolled out of the tent. Thankfully, the trip from the touristy oasis “campsite” to the site of the morning sunrise hike lasted only five minutes. The sun started to illuminate the surrounding hills during the short trek to the peak.

On top of the ancient desert mountain fortress of Masada, I saw the sunrise shed light on the 2000-year-old stones and sparkle off the turquoise waters of the Dead Sea and the hills of Jordan in the distance. Down below, cars zoomed past old Roman camps on the highway while on top, armed guards nonchalantly patrolled the area. Just another morning in Israel .

Masada , and seemingly everywhere else in the country, showcased what our archaeologist tour guide Gadi referred to in his endearingly broken English as “mish mash.” Ancient and modern, secular and religious, East and West have all (sometimes violently) collided with each other to the point where separating Israel ’s long history with its tumultuous present proves tricky. At Masada , a modern tram takes visitors from the four-lane highway to the ancient fortress.

Sometimes, this mish mash presents itself almost humorously. The ruined Roman capital of Caesarea sits next to a coal-powered power plant. Pottery shards and litter lined a nearby beach. But, this being the volatile Middle East , the mish mash does present its share of issues.

For most of my morning on Masada , however, I was not concentrating on the area’s mish mash. I kept my eyes glued to the ground. I had a promise to fulfill. Before I left, my friend told me of his tradition of how whenever someone goes to Masada , they should take a rock. When someone else goes to Israel , give that rock to them so they can return it to Masada .

The tradition makes little sense to me, but I wanted to follow it. After about an hour, I settled on a small rock with the word “ Masada ” written on it in permanent marker, just in case anyone ever forgot where the rock originally came from.

The rock fulfilled my second obligation. I fulfilled my first promise with a twenty-dollar bill at a synagogue in Safed, in the north. Another friend, before leaving, asked me to donate money to charity while abroad. I unceremoniously dropped the bill in a plain metal canister, eager to rid myself of my obligation as soon as possible.

Thankfully, I had completed my promises and found the perfect rock early, so I had plenty of time to soak in the ruins and the warmth. Hiking Masada early in the morning allows the traveler to not only see the sunrise on top of a world heritage site, but also avoid strenuous activity during the daytime heat. I went in winter, but Masada is still in the desert, and it gets hot in the desert regardless of the month. I initially welcomed the heat, but I soon dreaded it as I started sweating during the hike down the mountain.

After the morning hikes, swimming in the Dead Sea at a Florida-esque, high rise-laden resort complete with a McDonald’s, provided needed relaxation. Despite all of the country’s history, Israel is a thoroughly modern Western country. Gas stations and strip malls line the highways. Even though I received warnings about the tap water and diarrhea, Israel ’s up-to-date water filtration system ensured that I received no such discomfort.

At the Dead Sea, the scenery and buoyancy served as the only reminders that I was swimming in Israel and not Florida , as the beachside resort looked thoroughly American to me. But the swimming proved a little more difficult in the Dead Sea as opposed to the Atlantic Ocean . For starters, sharp salt crystals make walking on the Dead Sea a treacherous affair. Unlike the ocean, comprised of three percent salt, the Dead Sea is 30 percent salt, making swimming difficult but making floating and lounging as easy as breathing.

After hours of salt, fresh water proved a welcome sight up the road at Ein Gedi, a desert oasis teeming with waterfalls and ibexes, a deer-like animal with curved horns.

Following a relaxing afternoon of floating and animals, the day took a different tone driving through the West Bank, the contentious region claimed by Israel and the Palestinians, en route to Jerusalem . In the midst of all Israel has to offer, ignoring the region’s political situation proves difficult.

The region’s volatility is especially evident in the Golan Heights, the mountainous region in the northwest that Syria controlled before 1967. Even forty years after the Six Day War, minefields, bombed-out buildings and old bunkers dot the region.

A few days later in Jerusalem , I noticed that one storeowner displayed three small metal pieces in his store window, metal that originated from a suicide bombing attack the occurred in front of the store. In Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, pedestrians must pass by a police checkpoint to enter an outdoor market. Armed guards stand at the entrances of many stores.

Despite the country’s necessary preoccupation with security, Israel does not feel like a police state. Israelis carried out their daily lives, shopping in the crowded outdoor markets and frequenting shops, seemingly oblivious of the array of armed personnel. Traveling the country, I felt a sense of hope from the people, a hope beyond the violence. All the Israelis I talked to spoke proudly of their country.

That night, as I drove into Jerusalem , I looked out onto the hills and the Old City with a sense of awe I had not experienced since youth. Something about how the old stones and the golden dome shimmering in the night struck a chord with me.

If one location describes Israel , it is the Old City . Armed guards protect the entrance to the Western Wall, one of the holiest sites in Judaism. In front of the wall, bearded men in black felt hats fervently prayed, while the flash from the digital cameras of tourists reflected off the wall, filled with vines and countless notes. Above it all, the gilded Dome of the Rock sparkled in the sunlight.

A few days after Jerusalem , I returned to the United States . When I finally arrived back in Boston , I talked to family and friends on the phone. I had one last promise to keep: I promised them that I would not die while in Israel .

What Up February Day 4

Here's "Slave Song" by Sade

What Up February Day 3

Later in February we'll feature more John Coltrane, but for Day 3, the emphasis is on the event behind John Coltrane's "Alabama": Birmingham Sunday, when a church was fire-bombed, and three little girls in Sunday school were killed. Folk musicians also wrote about this immense tragedy in the fight for civil rights. For a helpful timeline see "A Chronology of Jazz and Civil Rights in the US" at this website:http://evapaterson.com/chronology/ ... Now, here comes "the Trane"...

What Up February Day 2

Howard Mandel maintains that jazz artists were in the forefront of the civil rights movement, which you can read at this link.
http://www.artsjournal.com/jazzbeyondjazz/2009/01/civil_rights-jazz_document_196.html

Last month now-ousted Governor Rod Blagoevich used the word “lynching” to describe the tactics of his opponents. He had no right to use that word, especially with no offered qualification. Billie Holiday’s song is about lynching, and is perhaps one of the first anti-racism songs. Here’s rare footage of “Lady Day” singing “Strange Fruit.”

What Up February Day 1

Starting off on February 1 with Marvin Gaye, “What’s Going on/What’s Happening Brother?”