Today, as a part of ‘Free Radicals’ you can listen to ‘Under the Lemontree’ #4; A new part of an adventurous series with limitless programms in which the concepts ‘atmosphere and flow’ are central. Under the Lemontree takes its listeners along on a musical journey in which almost unnoticeably is switched between style and genre.
Before Weather Report got known with ‘Birdland’ and/or Jaco Pastorius, the band had already made some great records. Those get forgotten sometimes, therefore the ‘Boogiewoogie Waltz’; a swinging piece that even Boogiewoogie-expert Piet Mondriaan couldn’t have painted its sharp compositions. The percussion of the waltz forms an almost perfect match with that of Steely Dan. ‘Do it Again’ is about someone who throws himself in the nightlife and is addicted to sex and gambling. It is not clear whether the song has to be interpreted as an encouragement or as a warning.
Donald Byrd is much more clear in that. On the cover of his record ‘Street Lady’ real streetwalkers are portrayed. The record was released in the early seventies, the time that many jazzo’s switched to jazz rock and/or funk. The brothers Mizell, Fonce and Larry, were incredibly busy with composing, recording and producing; you can find their name on almost every ‘weird groove’ record from that period. In the early sixties it was the authentic music from Africa that held jazz in its grasp. Almost everyone went back to the ‘roots’, so did Art Blakey. His Afro-drum Ensemble existed almost completely from American-born musicians, but the ‘sound’ was quite authentic. Little did we know; it was long before the whole wave of world music came to us.
Cheikh Lô was born is Burkina Faso but moved to Senegal. There he was discovered by a not only local star: Youssou N’dour. In 1996, at the height of the boom of world music, he released Né la Thiass ; with – Western – succes. Eric Burdon, yes the one of the Animals and the house of the rising sun, first met Lee Oskar in America , a harmonica player from Copenhagen and through him the band Nightshift. During a spontaneous jam-session Oskar’s sound seemed to fit in well. Oskar introduced Burdon and after some changes in the wind section ‘War’ (music in stead of bullits, something for now also?) was a fact. It resulted in two beautiful records, a little bit of jazz, blues, funk, latin but also a lot of vocal temptation. Burdon didn’t compose anything of War, he only took care of the vocals. ‘Move on up’ doesn’t really need any introduction, it is one of the essential classics. The original long song was cut down to almost three minutes for the American single market. Eventually the single wasn’t released in America but in England. The song was in the hit parade for ten weeks, with as highest noting number 12.
Quincy Jones turned out to be more than an excellent arranger. He made numerous tracks, like the funky music for the blaxploitation movie (movies with ‘black’ actors, made for a ‘black’ audience) ‘They Call Me Mr. Tibbs’. It is a movie about a police inspector (role of Sidney Poitier) from San Francisco who tries to find the murderer of a prostitute, everything dished up with a lot of wind music.
1. Weather Report “Boogie Woogie Waltz”. (Joe Zawinul).
cd: Sweetnighter – Columbia/Legacy 485102-2.
2. Steely Dan “Do it Again”. (Donald Fagen/Walter Becker).
cd: The very best of Steely Dan – Universal 5320451.
3. Donald Byrd “Witch Hunt”. (Larry Mizell).
cd: Street Lady – Blue Note Rare Groove Series CDP 7243 8 53923 2 0.
4. Art Blakey and the Afro-Drum Ensemble “Obirin African”. (Garvin Masseaux).
cd: The African Beat – Blue Note 7243 5 22666 2 3.
5. Cheikh Lô “Boul di Tagale”. (Cheikh Lô).
cd: Né la Thiass – World Circuit WCD 046.
6. Eric Burdon & War “Pretty Colours”. (War).
cd: The Black Man’s Burdon – ARG Records 74321 30742 2.
7. Curtis Mayfield “Move on Up”. (Curtis Mayfield).
cd: Curtis – Movie Gold MPG 74026.
8. Quincy Jones “They Call me Mr. Tibbs”. (Quincy Jones).
cd: Can You Dig It? The Music and Politics of Black Action Films – Soul Jazz Records SJR Cd 214.
