Hugh Felder

Hugh Masekela kicks off the 70s with this wonderfully bold statement - a record that's light years from the shorter, simpler instrumentals of his earliest American years - and which really shows Hugh trying to reach out for a new groove! Masekela sings a bit on the set - often with this raspy tone that echoes his slight grimace on the cover - and instrumentation includes lots of work from other LA electric jazz giants, including members of The Crusaders - with Joe Sample on Fender Rhodes, Monk Montgomery and Wilton Felder on bass, Arthur Adams on guitar, and Larry Willis on piano.

There are two types of African music aficionados. There are those who delve deep into the music and unearth gems from across a continent whose musicality has essentially been ignored by the West and there are those who only know Fela Kuti and Hugh Masekela. This record is one that should both appeal to and teach something new to both of those camps.

Blue Mitchell - Bantu Village (1969) {Blue Note–Soul Brother Records CD SBCS 47 rel 2011}
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© 1969, 2011 Blue Note / Passion Music / Soul Brother Records | CD SBCS 47
Jazz / Soul Jazz / Jazz Funk / Trumpet

One of the funkiest albums ever on Blue Note – a set that mixes the trumpet talents of Blue Mitchell with some killer backings from Monk Higgins – all in a groove that more gritty edges than the best funky soundtracks of the time! Higgins keeps the backings full, but always quite lean – fusing all elements together into a sharp, tight rhythm that steps along with some of the slight African touches you might guess from the title – a groove that's not really that authentic, but which resonates with some of the best inspirations that Hugh Masekela was bringing to American music at the time.

William DeVaughn, a native of Washington, D.C., beat the odds when "Be Thankful for What You Got," scaled the charts and sold a million copies. You see, DeVaughn paid for the session. All artists who signed with Omega Productions paid to record. The title track, with its cool, shuffling beat and Biblical-influenced lyrics, was the summer jam of 1974. "Diamond in the back, sunroof top, digging the scene with a gangster lean" was the buzz phrase.

With a bizzare mention of the recording equipment used on the session on the back cover of Katy Lied, rumour was the two main men of the band were not happy with the finished product.

Building from the jazz fusion foundation of Pretzel Logic, Steely Dan created an alluringly sophisticated album of jazzy pop with Katy Lied. With this record, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen began relying solely on studio musicians, which is evident from the immaculate sound of the album. Usually, such a studied recording method would drain the life out of each song, but that's not the case with Katy Lied, which actually benefits from the duo's perfectionist tendencies. Each song is given a glossy sheen, one that accentuates not only the stronger pop hooks, but also the precise technical skill of the professional musicians drafted to play the solos.