Junior's Cheesecake

Sing Sing Juniors is composed of the youth of the Faye family who are also known as the Sing Sing Family. Sing Sing Juniors was started in 2004 under the direction of Moustapha Faye, Doudou Faye and Isma Aw as a vehicle for the young generation of the family to present the music and dance traditions of the géwël. Ranging in age from mid-teens to mid-twenties, the full twenty-member ensemble of drummers and dancers skillfully use the sabar rhythms and movements to maintain and build upon the tradition they have inherited.

The historical details surrounding the recording session that became Buddy & the Juniors are almost as entertaining - and oddly satisfying - as the music itself. Released on Blue Thumb in 1970 on multi-colored wax, this session, was it not for a very real economic necessity due to Buddy Guy's feud with Vanguard Records, would never have happened. It appears that Vanguard wouldn't pick up the tab for Guy to fly to New York to mix an album he'd cut with Junior Mance and Gary Bartz - also produced by Cuscuna. Being an ever-enterprising genius, Cuscuna pitched the idea for a recording between Guy, Mance, and Junior Wells to Blue Thumb label boss Bob Krasnow, who jumped at the chance. The all-acoustic Buddy & the Juniors was recorded on December 18 of 1969, and on December 19, they mixed this album and the Vanguard date…