Lonnie Smith Think! Original release 1969 Blue Note This 2019 reissue, Blue Note 80 Vinyl Reissue Series This week the world of music lost one of the greats of the jazz organ, “Dr.” Lonnie Smith. I regret never having caught him live during his return to the spotlight, as he had quite the career. He…
Mambos, cha chas, son montunos, pachangas, Latin jazz… Tito Puente played all of those, and he apparently never liked the catch-all term “salsa” (and he stayed out of Fania Records’ orbit, for the most part). And he has a point – each of the sub-genres and rhythms (and there are many more than those listed…
The Balfa Brothers Play Traditional Cajun Music 1967 Swallow Records – LP-6011 Vinyl transcription in 24-bit 192 khz || File sets in mp3, FLAC and 24-bit FLAC I had this record ready to post here long before there was a Cat 4 hurricane bearing down on the bayou. I’ve been rewatching some Les Blank films…
Luis Kalaff was one of the godfathers of merengue in the Dominican Republic. His sound took elements of the rural, accordion-based merengue típico and combined it with the style forged by the saxophone-led, big band merengue that came into style during the years of its efflorescence under dictator Rafael Trujillo, who essentially made the style…
Hermeto Pascoal E Grupo Lagoa Da Canoa Município De Arapiraca Original release 1984, Som da Gente This issue, 1988 Happy Hour Music HH5005-2 Normally, during this time of year, I like to post some forró pé de serra and baião to commemorate the marvelous Festas Juninas I came to appreciate when I lived in the…
Horace Tapscott Quintet The Giant Is Awakened 1969 original release, Flying Dutchman 2020, this reissue Real Gone Music RGM-1012 Juneteenth is now a federal holiday in the United States. I don’t wish to take away from the significance of that recognition, especially for those old enough to remember the days of Jim Crow. But you’ll…
