Computer Incantations For World Peace

Ponty is the son of a violin teacher, who began his instruction before he moved on to the Paris Conservatory. By the mid 1960s he had moved towards jazz, recording with Stéphane Grappelli and Stuff Smith. Ponty's attraction to jazz was propelled by Miles Davis's and John Coltrane's music, which led him to adopt the electric violin. Critic Joachim Berendt wrote that "Since Ponty, the jazz violin has been a different instrument" and of his "style of phrasing that corresponds to early and middle John Coltrane" and his "brilliance and fire".

Ponty subsequently worked with Stéphane Grappelli, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Frank Zappa, and appeared on more than 70 recordings. His symphonic style to jazz fusion made him a popular fusion artist of the 70's. In 1972, he featured prominently on Elton John's Honky Chateau album.

In 1977 he pioneered the use of the 5-string electric violin, with a lower C string. He sometimes also uses a 6-string electric violin called the Violectra, with low C and F strings – not to be confused with the violectra he played from the late 1960s to the mid-80s which had 4 strings, but tuned an octave lower. Ponty was among the first to combine the violin with MIDI, distortion boxes, phase shifters, and wah-wah pedals. This resulted in his signature, almost synthesizer-like sound.

Jean-Luc Ponty - Computer Incantations For World Peace

So Funny...

It's funny the ignorance of some journalists...

...Nice party, very good organization, cool people dancing and enjoy my music.. until now all ok!, my surprise is when today i read the party article on a local newspaper...

"...varied songs like Beyonce..."

WTF??

The only thing i like on Beyonce is her ass!

So, just to you know miss journalist, what i play is the 1970 soul gem "Are You My Woman"
;)

I'll Always Love My Ana

Formed in the early sixties, The Intruders were four Philadelphians, Sam "Little Sonny" Brown, Eugene "Bird" Daughtry, Phillip "Phil" Terry and Robert "Big Sonny" Edwards. Singing together since 1961, the group blended Philly's street corner doo-wop tradition with black gospel influences that attracted Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff to sign them to their fledgling record company, Philadelphia International Records.

In 1968, "Cowboys to Girls," written by Gamble and Huff, was a break-out million dollar seller that was considered to be the prototype for the emerging Sound of Philadelphia. Followed up by "(Love Is Like A) Baseball Game," The Intruders became known as innovators of Philly soul.

Robert "Bobby Star" Ferguson joined the group in 1970 and re-ignited their string of hit singles with "When We Get Married" and "(Win, Place or Show) She's a Winner." "I'll Always Love My Mama", a collaborative writing effort by Gamble, Huff, McFadden and Whitehead, was released in 1973.

The Intruders were essential in the evolution of the Sound of Philadelphia. In 1973, they joined Billy Paul and The O'Jays in a European tour that brought the Philly Soul overseas. They are credited as being a cornerstone of the Philly Sound and remain close to their Philadelphia origins.

The Intruders - I'll Always Love My Mama (12" Mix)

El Conquistador

Actually nicknamed after his instrument, Johnny "Hammond" Smith was perhaps one of the more underrated soul-jazz organists of the style's heyday.
Born John Robert Smith in Louisville, KY, on December 16, 1933, Smith began learning piano as a child, idolizing Bud Powell and Art Tatum early on. After moving to Cleveland, Smith heard jazz organ pioneer Wild Bill Davis and decided to switch instruments; he made his professional debut on the organ in 1958, around the same time he was working as an accompanist for vocalist Nancy Wilson.

In 1959, he began recording as a leader for Prestige, an association that would last through 1970 and produce highlights like That Good Feelin', Talk That Talk, Black Coffee, Open House, Ebb Tide, and Soul Talk, among others.
As time passed, Smith's style got progressively funkier, and in 1971, he shortened his name to Johnny Hammond and moved to producer Creed Taylor's CTI label family.

Hammond recorded five jazz-funk albums over the next three years, including Breakout, Wild Horses/Rock Steady, and the Mizell Brothers-helmed Gambler's Life. In 1975, Hammond moved to Milestone and recorded the culmination of his move into jazz-funk, Gears, another collaboration with the Mizell Brothers that was reviled by purists and canonized by acid jazz fans. After a few more sessions for Milestone, Smith largely retired from jazz, settling in Southern California and investing in real estate. He began recording sporadically again in the '90s, but was stricken with cancer and died on June 4, 1997.

RIP



Johnny Hammond - Los Conquistadores Chocolates

Isaac Hayes Tribute

Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American soul and funk singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, arranger, composer, and actor. Hayes was one of the main creative forces behind southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served as both an in-house songwriter and producer with partner David Porter during the mid-1960s. In the late 1960s, Hayes became a recording artist, and recorded successful soul albums such as Hot Buttered Soul (1969) and Black Moses (1971) as the Stax label's premier artist.

Alongside his work in popular music, Hayes was a film score composer for motion pictures. His best known work, for the 1971 blaxploitation film Shaft, earned Hayes an Academy Award for Best Original Song (the first Academy Award received by an African-American in a non-acting category) and two Grammy Awards. He received a third Grammy for the album Black Moses.

In 1992, in recognition of his humanitarian work, he was crowned an honorary king of Ghana's Ada district. Hayes also acted in motion pictures and television; from 1997 to 2006, he provided the voice for the character "Chef" on the Comedy Central animated TV series South Park.

RIP



Isaac Hayes - Ike's Rap II

Still The Best

Vincent Montana Jr. (born February 12, 1928) is an American composer, arranger, and percussionist, most known as a member of MFSB and as the founder of the Salsoul Orchestra.

He is the spiritual father of the Salsoul Orchestra, the backing band for the many acts on Salsoul Records. The personnel of MFSB and the Salsoul orchestra overlapped substantially, and both groups were recorded at Philadelphia's famous Sigma Sound Studios.
By the dawning of the 1980s Vincent Montana had formed his own record label called Philly Sound Works (PSW) to put out his own product.

In recent years Mr. Montana has worked with famed house music duo Masters at Work, which has rekindled interest in his work. Ken Cayre, founder of Salsoul Records, has praised Mr. Montana's skill at scoring strings, brass, and diverse percussion in such way that it all worked within a dance recording. As Mr. Montana was among the first with his considerable training and skill to apply such scoring technique to disco-oriented recordings, it is safe to say he is a true pioneer in the field.

Montana and famed mixer Tom Moulton had a rocky professional relationship at Salsoul, most likely because Moulton was in the constant position of retouching Montana's work (this was Moulton's appointed profession). In reality, both men would seem to have little reason to be adversarial: They share a legendary status in dance music culture (Evidenced by Montana's invitation to work with MAW two decades after his peak period, the sleeve notes of Nuyorican Soul and the numerous web pages about Moulton).

Most recently, Vincent Montana Jr. has worked on 'New York City Boy' by the Pet Shop Boys.

Montana Orchestra - I'm Still The Best (Moogy Synth Mix)