Social media friend “Bart” — I’ll leave it at that since I don’t know how much he wants y’all to know about his kind and generous self — hit me with a Bilal vocal performance video that features Questlove playing drums, Robert Glasper on piano, and Burniss Travis keeping the pocket fresh with bass duties. […]
Read More Scene & Heard: Bilal — Live With Robert Glasper, Questlove, and Burniss Travis“Sounds influenced by George Benson” was my commentary after hearing Jazz-Funk guitarist Vladimir Cetkar for the first time more than a dozen years ago. Cetkar has excellent taste in influences, by the way. His high-energy Post-Disco “Ocean of Love” track from the 2007 OM Vibes, Vol. 1 compilation remains a pleaser, and I’ve kept an […]
Read More Scene & Heard: “A New Day” by Vladimir CetkarSaoul’s Popsicle may be one of the most sobering groovalicious parties in your ear this summer — a satisfying album in the face of “cookie-cutter” celeb culture and politico worship that have packaged themselves to become a new phallic north star for unicultural market appeal. Had enough of unhealthy celeb admiration, and public debates about […]
Read More Album in the Crosshairs: Saoul — Popsicle | 2023 | Phreakyamind IncI think you should get all of her Holiday releases … I just remembered that Patsy Moore releases annual Christmas music when she recently shared one in a social media update. I don’t feel great about that since I call myself a fan. Released about 11 years ago, “Winter Wonderland” (Volume I) is part of […]
Read More It’s the Day After Christmas — And You Still Need to Get Patsy Moore’s “Winter Wonderland” SongSAOUL TWATEAU 2022 SELF-RELEASED To my American friends — consider how most of you were recently asked, multiple times, to choose between a woman’s womb and the price of bacon in Walmart, while others remain willing to convince themselves that a bulky football legend wearing a post-domestic-violence court suit and possible brain damage can be […]
Read More An Album or Two in My Head (0065)A lovely place to begin, if you’ve been waiting for 17 months to restart the party … Hey, don’t fret We’re gonna make you sweat Don’t forget The funk’s within you, the funk’s within you — “Splash”, performed by Saoul I call Paint the World the must-listen sequel to SuCcumb, Saoul’s previous album. Where SuCcumb […]
Read More Album in the Crosshairs: Saoul — Paint the World | 2021 | Self-ReleasedFunk as a music genre is far from dead. For the moment, it’s spending time in the worthy hands of multi-instrumentalist Saoul in the form of “Maxine”, the funkiest track I’ve heard so far this year. What makes Saoul’s Funk so unique for 2020 is that he moves beyond the basic, lower-shelf grooves and immerses […]
Read More Aural Dive: “Maxine” by SaoulI dig songwriter-musician Saoul Bumbu’s latest album, The Juice, for a reason similar to why I have a problem with much of modern Pop music recordings: the songs — even the ones performed by highly competent musicians — sound like the artists are simply playing by the numbers. And you then wonder if the culprit […]
Read More Album in the Crosshairs: Saoul — The Juice (Independent Release)Recommended preparation for digging multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Saoul Bumbu’s music is to read how he describes it: “Good Songwriting is the real Pinnacle, no matter what Style or Genre. Write a Tune that still shines when there’s a Power [outage] and all you have is a 6-String and some Candles.” I’ll supplement his quote with […]
Read More Aural Dive: Saoul BumbuWhen placed in chains, they created spirituals that gave birth to much of the music you hear today. Gave them tough, green leaves — long thought to be degenerative cabbage shoots — and the resulting simmered collard greens they made have graced the menus of countless restaurants. Shut their writers out of the mainstream publishing […]
Read More Remembering David Mancuso, Loft Lord
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