DJ Sandrinho : Berimbau
taken from the Baile Funk Masters EP on (2007)

Nickodemus : Conmigo
taken from the Mi Swing Es Tropical Remix 12″ on Candela (2007)

Spiritual South : Hullabaloo
taken from the Hullabaloo 12″ on Raw Fusion (2007)

Boys And Girls Club : Summer In The City
taken from the album A Simple Night Of Dancing With… independently released (2007)

Just setting the mood for the BIG PARRRRRTY this Friday at Cielo. I’ll be DJ-ing alongside Nickodemus, Chris Annibel, and Derek Beres in celebration of the Vieux Farka Toure Remixed: UFO’s Over Bamako record release party. The album is fire (my remix of “Ana” is on there), proceeds go to help fight malaria in Mali, and the party itself will no doubt be reeedonkulous.

All of today’s tunes come from singles that you really ought to have, produced by indie artists that you really should support. Brazil’s DJ Sandrinho is making that boom for your butt. Nickodemus continues heating things up with this new single, the flipside contains a perfect reggae remix of “Mi Swing Es Tropical” (which became the new iTunes ad not that long ago). The remix allows Dj’s like myself to play this dancefloor favorite again without feeling like we’re just jumping on the iTunes bandwagon- COP IT. Spiritual South has also been really consistant with their “Worldwide Future Music” output lately- more gumbo funk greatness. And this last track from The Boys And Girls Club helps wind down the night smoothly. Lookout for more from these cats, associated with the Nuclear Family right here in Brooklyn.

Ray Rivera : Guava, Sumptin’ Like Dat & Afro Girl
taken from the album “The Now Sound Of The Ray Rivera Orchestra” on MGM (1970)

Ray Rivera : Night Flight To Puerto Rico & Mambo At The Corso
taken from the album “Puerto Rico To Soulsvill” on Zanzee (1972)

I’m not even going to try a proper post right now. Just upping some tunes I’ve been meaning to share for a while now. Not your standard latin soul, certainly not salsa, and too funky for latin jazz – this album lays in that little niche between them all. On Soulsvill (no “e” on the end is how he spelled it), Rivera is joined by fellow latin groove maestro Pucho as well as Brazilian fusion don Eumir Deodato. Wishing I was on that flight to PR right about now…

Congratulations to Tim Kearns & Joe Galante who e-mailed me: Hector Juan Perez Martinez- “La Voz” Lavoe’s birth name.

Willie Colon & Hector Lavoe : El Dia De Mi Suerte
taken from the album “Lo Mato… Si No Compras Este LP” on Fania (1973)

Willie Colon & Hector Lavoe : Aguanile
taken from the album “El Juicio” on Fania (1972)

Spanish Harlem Orchestra : Sacala Bailar
taken from the album “United We Swing” on Six Degrees (2007)

Over the past year and a half I’ve become so engrossed in the world of Latin music that I’ve actually had to struggle to keep from turning this into a strictly salsa and boogaloo blog. Luckily, there’s a lot of other good music out there to keep me from doing that, but I’ve found that increasingly the records I buy tend to be vintage Latin. And when I’m doing housecleaning or cooking dinner, it’s usually a salsa record that I throw on. Not to mention that my most consistent gig for the past two years has been my weekly Latin night at Bembe (come check it out if you haven’t yet!). That being said, when I first saw the preview for El Cantante, I knew that I would have to see it, despite what I may think about J-lo and Marc Anthony. This past week I saw it (a weekly frequenter of my Thursday nights handed me a bootleg copy of the DVD), and I’ve gotta say, it exceeded my expectations. Marc can actually act, and sing, and aside from a little obligatory Hollywood cheese, the movie represented a powerful pocket in history that still gets so little shine in the mainstream. Of course, for any real fans of Fania, I also have to reccomend watching all these films as well – that’s the real deal raw version.

Seeing the movie prompted me to post some of my favorite Willie Colon & Hector Lavoe sides, and then I found out that some other cats out there beat me to it, and went about one hundred steps further by posting the entire Hector Lavoe discography!. Cop it while you can.

Seeing that blog reminded me that I’m well overdue in updating my own blogroll, so I went and did that (check the list on the right). And it also reminded me why I love the blogosphere so much, and just how big it is, and that it’s important for me to give ample respect to those that deserve it. I had to cut out some of the old blogs that don’t post music anymore, or do so very infrequently, but there’s always so many new ones popping up (and increasingly, they’re doing the whole album – mixed feelings about that). So in the upcoming week I’ll be posting some appreciation for these other blogs that I love, but I don’t really have time for that right now.

Instead, I wanted to share some music from one of the greatest groups keeping that classic Fania sound alive: The Spanish Harlem Orchestra. This group continues to put out music that is, to my ear at least, the most true to that Salsa gumbo first developed by Johnny Pacheco and crew back in the late 60’s and early 70’s. Also, I happen to have a couple of copies of their newest release to give away (say thanks to Six Degrees for that).

If you want the new album, answer me this:
What was Hector Lavoe’s birth name?

email answers to: captainplanet@bywayof.net

Third World All Stars : Repatriation Remedy, Rebel Rock
and Soothing In The Mind
all taken from the album “Rebel Rock” on Third World (1976)

Stumbled upon a little stash of reggae records on my lunch break yesterday. This instrumental roots LP was one of the ones I took home. The others will probably make an appearance here in the near future- Royals?? Dandy?? Audrey?? Some great discoveries for me.

The Third World All Stars lineup includes trombonist Rico Rodriguez (when that name caught my eye I knew I had to snag it) and Eddie ‘Tan Tan’ Thorton on trumpet. Rebel Rock fills a surprisingly small niche in the world of Jamaican music – consistant, jazzy reggae with simple, clean arrangements and nice production (although I’m not a fan of the somewhat grating effect they put on Rico’s trombone during “Soothing”). The soloing is compelling enough that I don’t miss having a soulful vocalist here. I have to admit though, one of my first thoughts after hearing “Remedy” was how perfect this song would be in a mash-up (uh-oh). Bottom line, I need to find more albums like this. Absolutely the perfect soundtrack to summertime laziness.

Danny Cox : Hot Down In Chile
taken from the album “Feel So Good” on Casablanca (1974)

Maze ft. Frankie Beverly : Time Is On My Side
taken from their self-titled album on Captiol (1977)

Jimmy Castor Bunch : Potential
taken from the album “Butt Of Course…” on Atlantic (1974)

Parliament : The Motor-Booty Affair
taken from the album “Motor Booty Affair” on Casablanca (1978)

Sometimes I have to remind myself to return to the basics. I look back on the days when I was just starting to search for dancefloor firecrackers, and although I didn’t know much about the breadth of the world’s musical pyrotechnics, I could tell what was fun to dance to. Funk provided a perfect starting point. The motivation behind the music may be quite straightforward- feel good, get loose, laugh a little- but the syncopated interplay between the different sounds reflects a complexity uncomprehendible. Jagged ups and downs pull the song in different directions at once. Guitar darts away from clavinet while both twist and bend through the manipulations of a bobbing foot pedal. Whether the singer is speaking about South American politics or a bootylicious femme, there’s an equal sense of humor and intense urgency. Goofy, absurd, cartoonish voices lead into epic screeches and grunts delivered from the bottom of the belly where rawness resides. To me, funk was never simply the soundtrack to Soultrain and blaxploitation films; it always held the potential for transcendence. Listening to some of my old favorites today (check the breakdown at the end of Motor-Booty!) I’m reminded of just how close I can get to heaven on Earth.

West African Cosmos : Emeraude
taken from their self-titled album on Marginal / CBS (1976)

Sombory-Jazz : Nananina and
Quintette Guineenne : Douga
taken from the album “Musique Sans Paroles” on Syliphone (1974)

I’m pulling out some of my rare-ish business today. None of these songs have been reissued, compiled or even bootlegged to my knowledge. This is the kinda music that I might normally be a be hesitant to post (even I get a bit protective/possessive sometimes), but lucky for you I’m feeling particularly generous. On Monday, when I arrived at the radio station to host my weekly show, I found two bags with my name on them- FILLED with great records from around the world. African, Brazilian, Arabic, Japanese… All donated by an anonymous music lover! If you’re out there reading this, shoot me an e-mail so I can properly thank you. For the rest of you, enjoy this music that I spent more that a few minutes looking for, and spent more than a few dollars acquiring. And give some of your favorite songs to a friend to keep up the good Karma.

I don’t know much about the Senegalese fronted West African Cosmos, but there’s a bit of personelle info here at the bottom of the page. Another song on this album, “Wuye Wuye”, was compiled on the Strut collection Club Africa 2. Fuzz guitar, rhodes piano, and echoed out vocals work really well together.

I am also short on info about this Musique Sans Paroles (“music without words”, I think) collection. Featuring a wide range of instrumental music, from traditional songs to more cutting edge wah-wah afro-fusion tunes, it sounds like a syliphone library album that may have been marketed towards film/TV/radio producers. There’s really no information on the groups featured here except little credits on the label, so if you know more than me please share the wealth.