Fat Tunesday

I'm gonna just go with a very on-the-nose selection today from The Hot 8 Brass Band. Now show me your tits...



... and I'll show you mine. My podcast, that is! HEY-YOOOOOOO!

Shuffleupagus Radio Ep. 19 by Shuffleupagus Radio on Mixcloud

It's The Newwwww Styyyyyyyle!

So, in an effort to get more posts in, I'm gonna go with a simplified Soundcloud vibe for a while. As much as I love the format I've kept to on this blog for six years now, the internet powers that be keep making it less easy for me to roll like that. It's like they don't want you to give away their music for free anymore, WTF?!? Plus those old posts took a good long time to put together, what with all the links and HTMLs and hoohahs and geegaws... and I quite frankly just don't have the time for that shit these days. I think the ever-dwindling post count speaks to that. And even though I'm all super-focused-on and vehemently encourage you to get on board with Shuffleupagus Radio, because it's gonna be fuckin' awesome, I just can't let the original Tonegents page go away completely. So I'm gonna save the traditional randomness for the radio show and redirect Tonegents to hip you to my current obsessions. And here's one now. You're not gonna hear me rave about new Jazz vocalists too often (with the exception of my boy Jose James), but damn... this Gregory Porter cat is the truth. Dig it...



So stick around... we'll still have some fun up in here. And dick jokes, of course. There will always be dick jokes...

R.I.P. Donald Byrd

You tellin' me you ain't heard the Byrd? Oh you've heard the Byrd, whether you know it or not...



Donald Byrd's music was like a musical gateway drug for me... as soon as I heard it, I started shooting black tar heroin. JUST KIDDING! I didn't touch that stuff until I got into Dan Fogelberg. JUST KIDDING AGAIN! I never got into Dan Fogelberg. But then again, I was never a '70s housewife. For reals though, the man's music opened the gateway to the world of funky Jazz, a world which you may have noticed I tend to frolic in quite often. He's been covered in this space multiple times, so there's not much to add except that he will be missed. A true innovator, scholar and legend. Dig it...

Donald Byrd - Places & Spaces (ysi)

Here's the man layin' it down with Guru's Jazzmatazz from the Red Hot & Cool documentary... start 2:00 in unless you love credit sequences...



The truth. RIP...

Yet somehow Donald Trump is allowed to live...

Bummer post today, unfortunately...



Tragically, up-and-coming Jazz piano phenom Austin Peralta passed away over Thanksgiving weekend at the age of 22, which is pretty fucking awful. I actually had the opportunity to see him last summer at a Brainfeeder showcase outside in MacArthur Park and he was an absolute bad-ass. Boo...

Austin Peralta - Ode To Love (ysi)

Have a great weekend...

Someone think of the geese!

Sorry for the slow week... I was once again in the same room as David Hasselhoff on Monday and it takes a brother some time to recover from that...



Saxamaphone legend Pharoah Sanders is known mostly for his Free Jazz freakouts, which, let's be honest, aren't for everybody. The sound of a flock of geese on acid being strangled for twenty minutes isn't exactly pleasing, ya know? But when my man settled into a Soul Jazz groove, like on this record... pure bliss. Dig it...

Pharoah Sanders - Thembi (ysi)

Here's a groovy live TV performance of the same song featuring the keyboardist's haircut and outfit...



Anybody know what show that's from? Sez 1990. Hmmm... anyhoo, have a great weekend...

For Neil...

Here's a true story for you. The other night I was sitting on my stoop, checking out a particularly big and bright moon over the LBC. And I think to myself, "Wow, dudes were walking around up there. That's pretty awesome." The next morning, Neil Armstrong died. The lesson of this tale? Don't think of anyone, ever...

For Neil by Tonegent on Mixcloud

Land of the Rising Nutbags

Busy-ass week. Not to be confused with a busy ass week. That's something maybe Kim Kardashian has (that and the herpes). The hyphen makes all the difference, you see? Anyhoo, we pick back up on the international vibe with this...



As we've discussed before, no one does batshit crazy quite as well as the Japanese, and today's record is no exception to that rule. There's not a whole lot of info out there (not in English anyway) on drummer Takeshi Inomata, so I'll just let this funky Free Jazz/Prog Rock weirdness speak for itself. Literally. There's some dude that just keeps rambling on in Japanese. Who knows what the fuck he's talking about... probably Pokemons or some shit. You laugh... you say "Pokemons weren't even invented in 1971"... but you never know with these people. They're fucking batshit, I tells ya...

Takeshi Inomata - Blue (ysi)

Now you may, after listening, say that wasn't all that crazy, but it's easily the most normal song on the record. This is not a bad thing, just be warned...

-----------------------------------------------

And now, on a totally unrelated note, here's another bonus submission from the Facebook page. One Era is a project of Mr. Matt Coogan & friends from sunny Philadelphia. Lush Downtempo Electro-Pop with dude vocals. A lot going on in this one. Me likey...



Keep 'em coming folks... as long as they don't suck.

A Friday Blog Post Of Some Jazz Music

It's been a hot minute since I posted some straight-up Jazz. Let's remedy that, shall we?



Piano man Andrew Hill certainly isn't one of the most famous members of the Blue Note stable, but I've got about a half-dozen of his records now and they are all solid steez. This nice mellow jam, as an added bonus, features a healthy dose of Bobby Hutcherson... which 9 out of 10 doctors recommend as a part of your daily nutritional requirements...

Andrew Hill - Reconciliation (ysi)

Have a good weekend, folks...

Of unfortunate metaphors and stupid puns...

Just in case you missed it, be sure and check out the brand new holiday mix before you read on. Go ahead, I'll wait...

...

...

That shit is merry as fuck, ain't it? Damn skippy! Anyhoo, moving on...



So what happens to a Jazz standard when it falls into the hands of a Free Jazz lunatic? I'd imagine that in some cases results aren't pretty... that the tune is roofied, taken behind the shed and thoroughly defiled... but here Sax man Archie Shepp treats this Duke Ellington classic like a lady. The worst he does is show her a little porn... but it just kind of excites her a little and she goes to bed thinking naughty thoughts and maybe uses a banana for something...

Archie Shepp - I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good) (ysi)

But seriously, go get that Christmas mix. DON'T BE A GRINCH, BINCH! Get it? Binch! Ha!

I hope Nancy Reagan doesn't read this...

Actually that's a lie. I can use all the readers I can get...



Gene Shaw is a relatively lesser-known trumpeter from Detroit with a sick, sick tone who once told Charles Mingus to go fuck himself... which is only one of the interesting parts of his story. Click on his name up there for the full down low... just know that it also involves white women, metaphysics and carpentry. No drugs, though, which is odd for a Jazz musician. I mean, it doesn't mention drugs... but there was probably at least a little drugs, right? Probably. Anyhoo, despite the possible lack of drugs, this is fantastic album for the Jazz dancers. Check the vibe...

Gene Shaw - Street Dance (ysi)

Long out-of-print. Google that shit.

In all seriousness, though... I really do want my musicians to be on some sort of drugs. Because you know what you get when you have musicians who don't do drugs? You get this...



Just say no?


I believe I have proven my point... and I bid you good day...

Thank goodness THAT's over with...

Hello again! And we're finally back to normal around here. I gotta tell ya, it's not soon enough... especially after the DMCA police bukkake-d all over my last two weeks of posts like they were a willing Japanese girl. Well, I've got just the thing to end that trend right here...



... and that would be some super-obscure, super-rare, super-out-of-print regional private press Jazz steez from a dead guy. Yep, that should do it. Here we got a live record from Motor City drummer Bert Myrick, about whom I could only find any bio information through his recent obituaries and this rather informative forum discussion. DMCA that, bitches, and I will admit defeat. The sound quality isn't amazing, but the playing is...

Bert Myrick - The Latin Bit (ysi)

And I suppose I should make a final note on Coachella, which would be... everything I said was right. All you needed to see was Kings of Leon followed directly by the Chemical Brothers to realize that. I hope those losers stuck around after their set, watched the Chems burn the place to the ground and then went home to their hotel suites and cried themselves to sleep on their high thread count pillows with the sudden realization of just how fucking boring they really are. And that's all I have to say about that...

One For Japan

I should probably be working on Blog-achella... I know, I know... but this happened, so deal with it...

Shibuya Station by Tonegent on Mixcloud

Enjoy...

Tone's Ten Top Of Ten - Part 2

And now for the second chapter of this ten-headed beast, in which things get a bit more jazzy. Hence the title...

Part 2: New Jazz Hustlers




I know, I know... I complain here all the time how new Jazz is mostly shit... but that's not completely true, of course. But here's the thing... I listen to a lot of K-JAZZ quite a lot in the car (it's Mrs. Tonegent's favorite) and instead of playing the new good stuff, they play a whole hell of a lot of new stuff that wouldn't sound out of place at your local Howard Johnson's lounge on a Friday night. I don't know how else to say it, so I'll just say it. The shit is so damn WHITE! And then you get a bunch of pasty Europeans like Nostalgia 77 and Portico Quartet and lots of other names you'll hear on Gilles Peterson's show making amazing Soul Jazz that harks back to the good old days and cutting edge black artists of the '70s. What gives? But hey, there's at least one American Jazz artist getting it right and that is trumpet genius Christian Scott, who as a bonus is actually black himself. I saw him perform without previously knowing about him a few years ago and have been following him ever since as he gets better and better. His 2010 record, Yesterday You Said Tomorrow, is fantastic, full of really vibrant original compositions... so of course I give you the Thom Yorke cover, because I am a Radiohead WHORE...

Christian Scott - The Eraser (ysi)

But DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED about the vocal Jazz one hears on the radio now. The shit makes Manhattan Transfer seem gangsta, it's so cliched, cheesy and other derogatory adjectives beginning with "C". But again, another young American (albeit with some help from across the pond) is here to save the day, and that would be Brooklyn's own Jose James, who should be familiar to you if you come around here often... and really, you should come around here often. Jose released not one but two genius albums this year. For All We Know was a straight-ahead, all standards vocal and piano duo with Belgian ivory-plinker Jef Neve, released on the legendary Impulse! label... but I will, of course, go with his more beats-oriented record Blackmagic on Brownswood, because I am a Gilles Peterson WHORE as well...

Jose James - Detroit Loveletter (ysi)

That one was produced by the one and only Moodymann, by the way, so the Detroit propas are SOLID, yo!

I have the feeling both of these young cats are gonna be around for a very long time, so get to know 'em now. Coming next... I'm not sure, but it will certainly be Part 3...

That's a fucking harpsichord, isn't it?

Hey all, I have returned from hiatus with the freshest, most cutting edge jams in my bag...



Did I ever mention that I used to play the clarinet? Nope? Well hey, guess what? I used to play the clarinet. All the way through high school AND college. (College marching band = free football games and road trips. Don't hate.) And lemme tell you this... there is no way to look more masculine than to walk around blowing a two-foot long, black, phallus-shaped object. No way at all. But then again, Artie Shaw was a lot cooler than me so I think he made it work. Really interesting dude... he was the first white bandleader to tour the South with black musicians, for instance... but check the Wiki for the full deets for I am lazy. And, what the-- is that a fucking harpsichord????

Artie Shaw - Special Delivery Stomp (ysi)

IT WAS! That was totally a fucking harpsichord. You don't hear that every day, now do ya? Well, unless you live in the Baroque Era, that is, HEY-OOOOOOO!

I am about to be really fucking old.

On this, the last day of my thirties, at least the shuffle had the common decency to land on a record that's older than me...



We are enacting the Honorary "Fuck Gorilla Vs. Bear" One Year Rule again today (the one where I try to only post an artist once per calendar year) and welcome trumpeter Donald Byrd back 'round for another go. And once again we go back to the early years... 1961 to be exact... for another sweet little ditty from "before they was funky". Dig it...

Donald Byrd - You're Next (ysi)

So yep, turning 40 tomorrow. Don't be surprised if I post some Lawrence Welk jawns. Seriously, I have no idea what could happen...

I pity da foo that don't like this record

All I need is a snappy opening sentence for today's post and I'll be ready to go...



There's not a ton of information out there about sax man/jazz flute playa Rudolph Johnson... he released two records on the esteemed Black Jazz label and that seems to be it. Don't know why there were only two considering the quality of the tunes, because they are Soul Jazz hotness... I like to think that shortly after recording the second one he left the music business to pursue a career as a crocodile wrestler, because that would be pretty damn badass, don't you think?

Rudolph Johnson - The Highest Pleasure (ysi)

Go ahead on over to the newly re-animated Black Jazz website to buy this and pretty much everything else you see. Foo! (Sorry, watched some A-Team re-runs this weekend...)

Wait... this dude's white?

Sorry I missed y'all yesterday. The computer from which I blogify got this nasty virus on it. Which makes me wonder... how much do you think companies could save in paying IT dudes if they'd just BUY SOME FUCKING MACS?!?! A gazillion? Two? "I'm a PC!" Oh, really? Well, FUCK YOU then. FUCK YOU RIGHT IN THE FIREWALL! (The porno that was popping up on my machine yesterday demonstrated some very unique positions for you to use...)

Now that I have that off my chest... I had planned to post my DJ set from Sunday night for you yesterday... btw, NAILED IT... but I forgot to hit record before I started, because that's how I roll. You'll just have live with the pain of missing it live. And instead you get this...



Detroit Jazzman and musical member of the Reggie Cleveland All-Stars Lyman Woodard is the man of the day today. Quite a legend in the Motor City scene and another one of those guys much like Dexter Wansel whose contribution was probably much greater out of the spotlight than in it. But like Dexter, when he put stuff out under his own name, it was straight fire. Never mind the lo-fi-ness of this recording, this one here is a banger, a killer, a straight up Jazz/Funk monster... but enough words. Dig it...

The Lyman Woodard Organization - Cheeba (Parts 1 & 2) (ysi)

I was not joking, was I? But again, I never joke. Just the percussion section alone... and that bassline. To paraphrase Jimi, 'scuse me while I sample this guy. Ok, gotta run...

One for the Jazz dancers...

The two most popular Google search terms for this blog are "Broken Beat" (unsurprisingly, since I rocks da good shit) and "Japanese Jazz"... the second one being kind of odd as I haven't posted a ton of such tunes. Must not be a lot of blogs out there posting the J-Jazz. THAT'S BECAUSE OTHER BLOGS SUCK! But you knew this...



So today's J-Jazz heat comes courtesy of J.A.M, who are in fact the piano trio parts of the mighty Death Jazz maniacs Soil & Pimp Sessions. It is, by nature, not quite as crazy as S&P... there are no skronky horns or blood-curdling Japanese shouting... but it still cooks like very little Jazz made today. Get down...

J.A.M - New Things (ysi)

And as if these guys weren't cool enough already, there's also a jawn on there with my main man Jose James. Check the vid for "Jazzy Joint", and by the sheer number of huge furry animal heads realize that these guys could never be anything but Japanese...



... because yes, when I think piano trio, I think dudes in giant chihuahua heads. Man, Japanese people are so entertaining...

Apparently there's this house in New Orleans?

I'm going to start off today by welcoming Feed Me Good Tunes back to the blog-o-sphere. This was one of the first and best mp3 blogs I discovered when I was first discovering such things and their selection of tunes has always been nothing short of fantastic. They went away for a while but they're back like Zombie Jesus. Bookmark that shit... pronto. Then read on...



If you start getting into '70s Soul Jazz... which you should... you will find sprinkled into most albums of the era many, many cover versions of Pop songs. Which makes sense, because in those ancient days, before people had computers or horseless carriages or Jonas Brothers, people actually bought Jazz records. So it didn't hurt to throw in a couple Pop tunes along with the originals. And nowadays, well... there really aren't too many Pop songs worth covering. Don't really wanna hear a Jazz rendition of "Poker Face", oh... ever, no thank you. Anyhoo, um, what was my point? Oh! That done wrong, these covers often sounded like bad muzak, but done right... well, some cats just had the chops to really take a Pop tune to a whole different level (gah... I hate that phrase, but it's appropriate). Drummer and New Orleans institution Idris Muhammad was one of those cats. Here he takes a Classic Rock staple (one that has been covered by approximately 17,000 times, 16,997 of those awfully) back behind the woodshed a gives it a hot, sweaty funkin' like it's never had before. This is how you do a it, folks...

Idris Muhammad - House Of The Rising Sun (ysi)

Mr. Muhammad is still active (although getting close to hanging up his sticks), playing mostly these days with pianist and fellow badass legend Ahmad Jamal. Dig it...



See ya tomorrow with something that might just blow your mind a little bit...

Super heavy metal

Now here's some shit an old band geek like me can really get behind...



I would be talking about the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, straight outta Chicago. And just like yesterday's act, the name tells you exactly what you need to know... except they coulda replaced "Hypnotic" with "Dayum Fonkay". But either way... you got 8 horns and a drummer. Oh, and that album title is no joke... they are all actual (half) brothers, sons of a Jazz musician (no, really?) whom I had never heard of and won't pretend to in order to seem cool. Get ready for a brass-gasm...

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble - Venus (ysi)

And here's an example of why both this band and NYC are very, very good things...



Yeah, if that doesn't float your boat... well then, I hope your boat sinks...