“Conference of the Birds” is my weekly radio program on WNUR-FM. It airs on Tuesdays from 5-7:30 am Chicago time (UTC-6). And, of course, when technology cooperates, you can just come here for the archives. You can subscribe to the podcast with this URL (click here to subscribe in iTunes).

This week I decided to go long on Highlife music, one of the the wonderful popular musics of West Africa. This isn’t a particularly scholarly show, although I was inspired partly because I started reading a book on the subject. Of course, long time listeners have heard some of this before, but this show is a little more directly focused on Ghanaian and Nigerian highlife. Nevertheless, it wouldn’t be a Conference of the Birds show if I didn’t directly contradict a theme, so there’s a smattering of loosely related music like Calypso and some even more loose relations. Don’t sweat it!

Enjoy!

Listen:

download program (141MB, 2 hrs 12 min)

Artist: “Track” – Album (Label)
Stargazers Band: “Masan Makwo” – Telephone Lobi: More Giants of Danceband Highlife (Original Music)
The Melody Aces: “Suru Lo Dara” – The Great Unknowns (Original Music)
E.T. Mensah: “Asembon Tie M’Ansem” – All For You (RetroAfric)
Akompi’s Guitar Band: “Onyame Na Oye” – I’ve Found My Love: 1960’s Guitar Band Highlife of Ghana (Original Music)
Occidental Brothers Dance Band International: “Mafiwo” – Odo Sanbra (Not on Label)
Rex Lawson and his Rivers Men: “Peri Special Mbanga” – Highlife Time – Nigerian & Ghanaian Sound (Vampi Soul)
George Brown: “Calypso Mambo” – London Is The Place For Me 5 (Latin, Jazz, Calypso & Highlife From Young Black London) (Honest Jon’s)
Victor Olaiya: “Yabomisa Sawale” – Marvellous Boy: Calypso from West Africa (Honest Jon’s)
Professional Uhuru: “Konkomba Medley” – Giants of Danceband Highlife, 1950s-1970s (Original Music)
Ramblers Dance Band: “Gyae Su Na Nkomo Dzi” – The Hit Sound of the Ramblers Dance Band (Flame Tree)
Buddy Pipp’s Highlifers: “Ghana Special” – London Is The Place For Me 5 (Latin, Jazz, Calypso & Highlife From Young Black London) (Honest Jon’s)
African Brothers Int. Band Of Ghana: “Yenko Yemma” – Okwaduo! “Wodee Wokoo Na Wonuanom” (Executive)
Prince Kayosun Dosumu & his Dandies: “Eso Pele” – Azagas & Archibogs: The Sixties Sound of Lagos Highlife (Original Music)
Black Beats: “Meda Ho Mawo” – Telephone Lobi: More Giants of Danceband Highlife (Original Music)
Oriental Brothers: “Anyi Aiala Ozo” – Heavy on the Highlife: Nigeria’s Dr. Sir Warrior and the Oriental Brothers International (Original Music)
E.T. Mensah & the Tempos: “You Call Me Roko” – Giants of Danceband Highlife, 1950s-1970s (Original Music)
Royal Brothers: “Ohia Woa Enwu” – I’ve Found My Love: 1960’s Guitar Band Highlife of Ghana (Original Music)
The African Messengers: “Highlife Picadilly” – London Is The Place For Me 4: African Dreams And The Piccadilly High Life (Honest Jon’s)
Tunde Oshofisan & his Rhythm “Fadakas”: “Jeje L’Omo Eko Nlo” – Azagas & Archibogs: The Sixties Sound of Lagos Highlife (Original Music)
Ramblers Dance Band: “Better Ni” – The Hit Sound of the Ramblers Dance Band (Flame Tree)
The Semi Colon: “Nekwaha Semi Colon” – Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds & Nigerian Blues 1970-6 (Soundway)
The Wellis Band: “Bindiga” – Ghana Special: Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds & Ghanaian Blues 1968 – 1981 (Soundway)
Dr. K. Gyasi & his Noble Kings: “Noble Kings (Yako Aba)” – Ghana Special: Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds & Ghanaian Blues 1968 – 1981 (Soundway)
Ensemble Etoile du Soir: “Messe Quatre Heures” – Haiti Direct (Strut)
Orchestre Tembo: “Yebo Edi Pachanga” – Racubah (A Collection of Modern Afro Rhythms) (Comet)
Ry-Co Jazz: “Siouvie Moin” – Bon Voyage! (RetroAfric)
West African Rhythm Brothers: “Adura” – London Is The Place For Me 2: Calypso And Kwela, Highlife And Jazz From Young Black London (Honest Jon’s)
Oscar Sulley’s Nzele Sounds: “Bukom” – Ghana Special: Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds & Ghanaian Blues 1968 – 1981 (Soundway)
Segun Bucknor: “You Killing Me” – Poor Man No Get Brother: Assembly & Revolution 1969-1975 (Afrostrut)
Imo Brothers International: “Mbata Aku (“The Coming of Wealth”)” – Ije Love: Nigerian Highlife Sound of Imo Brothers International (Original Music)
Black Santiagos: “Bani Wo Dzo” – The Great Unknowns (Original Music)
Orchestre Poly Rythmo de Cotonou: “Med Ma Gnin Messe” – Echos Hypnotiques, vol. 2: From the Vaults of Albarika Store 1969-1979 (Analog Africa)
L’Orchestre Super Vitesse: “Boiro” – Demo (self-released)

WNUR Conference of the Birds, 2015-05-05 [ 2:12 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

“Conference of the Birds” is my weekly radio program on WNUR-FM. It airs on Tuesdays from 5-7:30 am Chicago time (UTC-6). And, of course, when technology cooperates, you can just come here for the archives. You can subscribe to the podcast with this URL (click here to subscribe in iTunes).

It’s far from a theme, but while I was putting this show together, news of the rioting in Baltimore was spreading, which explains the scattering of tunes with that city’s name.

Enjoy!

Listen:

download program (145MB, 2 hrs 39 min)

Artist: “Track” – Album (Label)
Brownout: “Meter Beater” – Oozy (Nat. Geo Music)
The Meters: “Ease Back” – Funkify Your Life (Rhino)
The Tamlins: “Baltimore” – Darker than Blue: Soul from Jamdown 1973–1977 (Blood & Fire)
Medeski, Martin and Wood with DJ Logic: “Crosstown Traffic” – University of Pennsylvania, Harrison Auditorium, Philadelphia, PA, 12/13/1998 (taper)
Spaceways Incorporated: “Alice in My Fantasies/Cosmic Slop” – Thirteen Cosmic Standards by Sun Ra & Funkadelic (Atavistic)
Don Cherry: “Degi-Degi” – Brown Rice (A&M)
JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound: “Baltimore is the New Brooklyn” – Beat of our Own Drum (Vampi Soul)
The Unknown Drummer: “Port-Au-Prince Drumming” – Angels in the Mirror: Vodou Music of Haiti (Ellipsis Arts)
Ramblers International Dance Band: “Caramelo” – Doin’ Our Own Thing (Decca)
Ed Moxey’s Rake and Scrape Band: “The Timestable” – The Bahamas: Islands of Song (Smithsonian Folkways)
Jaime Simanca y sus Fandangueros: “Cumbia Negra” – The Original Sound of Cumbia: The History of Colombian Cumbia & Porro As Told By The Phonograph 1948-79 (Soundway Records)
Django Reinhardt: “The Younger Generation” – Djangologie/USA (DRG / Disques Swing)
The Coleman Family: “Peace on Earth” – Downriver Revival (Numero Group)
Bill Monroe & his Blue Grass Boys: “Shady Grove” – Friends of Old Time Music (Smithsonian Folkways)
Tennessee Ernie Ford: “Ain’t Nobody’s Business But My Own” – 2103 Music Issue (Tennessee) (Oxford American)
Les Paul & Mary Ford: “Dialog & In the Mood” – The Best of the Capitol Masters: 90th Birthday Edition (Capitol Records)
Sonny Treadway: “At the Cross (vocal)” – Sacred Steel (Arhoolie)
Carolina Chocolate Drops: “Why Don’t You Do Right” – Genuine Negro Jig (Nonesuch)
Gram Parsons: “Streets of Baltimore” – The Complete Reprise Sessions (Rhino)
Ornette Coleman: “Peace” – Beauty is a Rare Thing (Atlantic)
Ethnic Heritage Ensemble: “Moving of Seasons” – Three Gentlemen From Chikago (Moers)
Frequency: “Pitiful James” – Frequency (Thrill Jockey)
Sun Ra: “Outer Spaceways Incorporated” – Space is the Place (soundtrack) (Impulse)
Raymond Scott: “Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.” – Manhattan Research Inc. (Basta Audio-Visuals)
Fast ‘N’ Bulbous: “Blabber ‘N’ Smoke” – Waxed Oop (An Impetuous Stream Bubbled Up) (Cuneiform)
Misha Mengelberg Quartet: “Driekusman Total Loss” – Driekusman Total Loss (Varajazz)
Hanuman Jazz Quartet: “Carelian” – Soundhousing (Leo)
Glenn Horiuchi Quartet: “Precision” – Calling Is It and Now (Soul Note)
Steve Coleman And Five Elements: “Ramses” – Drop Kick (Novus)
Herculaneum: “Bears of Illium” – Orange Blossom (482 Music)

WNUR Conference of the Birds, 2015-04-28 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

“Conference of the Birds” is my weekly radio program on WNUR-FM. It airs on Tuesdays from 5-7:30 am Chicago time (UTC-6). And, of course, when technology cooperates, you can just come here for the archives. You can subscribe to the podcast with this URL (click here to subscribe in iTunes).

In the moment, this didn’t feel like a very ‘together’ show, but there are plenty of good tracks in the playlist so give it a listen and tell me the verdict.

Enjoy!

PS Sorry but the archive ends during “Celia” so you’ll have to get your Don Cherry elsewhere. (Like maybe the Nov. 19, 2013 show!)

Listen:

download program (145MB, 2 hrs 39 min)

Artist: “Track” – Album (Label)
Almon Memela: “The Things We Do in Soweto” – Funky Africa (Atlantic)
Adrian Quesada & Ocote Soul Sounds: “Dedication TV” – El Niño Y El Sol (Original Soundtrack To The Motion Picture) (Eighteenth Street Lounge Music)
Abdullah Ibrahim: “Calypso Minor” – Cape Town Songs – The Very Best Of Abdullah Ibrahim (Nascente)
Musa Adem: “Days and Nights” – Rain In The Hills: Beja Ballads Of Port Sudan (Original Music)
Baden Powell: “Candomblé” – À Vontade (Universal Sound)
Mississippi Fred McDowell: “When You Get Home, Write Me a Few Little Lines” – Sounds of the South (Atlantic)
Eric Dolphy: “The Madrig Speaks, the Panther Walks” – Last Date (Fontana)
Kahil El’ Zabar Trio: “Nia” – Love Outside of Dreams (Delmark)
Archie Shepp: “Mama Too Tight” – Mama Too Tight (Impulse)
Hirut Bèqèlè: “Almokèrkum Nèbèr” – Éthiopiques 3 : Golden Years Of Modern Ethiopian Music 1969-1975 (Buda Musique)
Lee Dorsey: “A Mellow Good Time” – The New Lee Dorsey (Rev-Ola Records)
Naked Truth: “The Shing-a-Ling-Thing” – Walkin’ the Duck: 23 Northern Soul Instrumental Tracks (Goldmine Soul Supply)
Curley Moore: “Soul Train” – Wardell Quezergue: Sixty Smokin’ Soul Senders (Funky Delicacies)
Cyril Neville: “Gossip” – What It Is! Funky Soul And Rare Grooves (Rhino)
Sly and the Family Stone: “Are You Ready?” – Dance to the Music (Epic)
Astrud Gilberto: “Felicidade” – Look to the Rainbow (Verve)
João Gilberto: “’S Wonderful” – Amoroso (Warner Bros. Records)
Balla et Ses Balladins: “Paulette” – Reminiscin’ in Tempo With Balla Et Ses Balladins (Popular African Music)
Bembeya Jazz National: “Mami Wata” – Hommage a Demba Camara (Syllart)
Herbie Hancock: “Doin’ It” – Secrets (Columbia)
Zaiko Langa Langa: “Bomwana” – Tout Choc Anti Choc (I.A.D.- Industrie Africaine Du Disque)
Dudu Pukwana: “Diamond Express” – Diamond Express (Freedom)
Super Biton de Segou: “Taasi Doni” – Anthology (Kindred Spirits)
Paul Bley Trio: “Ida Lupino” – Closer (ESP)
Arthur Blythe & David Eyges: “Randy Andy” – Today’s Blues (CIMP)
Chicago Trio (Ernest Dawkins/Harrison Bankhead/Hamid Drake): “You Just Crossed My Mind” – Velvet Songs To Baba Fred Anderson (Rogueart)
Chris McGregor: “Umsengi Mabele Lo” – Piano Song, v. 2 (Musica)
Ornette Coleman: “Monsieur Allard” – Hidden Man (Harmolodic)
Bridge 61: “Nothing’s Open” – Journal (Atavistic)
Charles Mingus: “Celia” – Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus (Impulse)
Don Cherry: “Complete Communion” – Complete Communion (Blue Note)

WNUR Conference of the Birds, 2015-04-21 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

“Conference of the Birds” is my weekly radio program on WNUR-FM. It airs on Tuesdays from 5-7:30 am Chicago time (UTC-6). And, of course, when technology cooperates, you can just come here for the archives. You can subscribe to the podcast with this URL (click here to subscribe in iTunes).

I totally winged this show, but I’m pretty happy with the song selection. Note that the “Shall We Gather at the River” compilation from which a couple of songs were featured is available for free download from the state of Florida, and the whole thing is really good…

Enjoy!

Listen:

download program (145MB, 2 hrs 38 min)

Artist: “Track” – Album (Label)
Almon Memela: “Pelican City” – Broken Shoes (Warner)
Tambours Croisés: “Mérilo + Didine makwélé (Tambours 2)” – Chapter 1 (Maloya, Bèlè, Gwo Ka) (Aztec Musique)
Fi Yi Yi & the Mandingo Warriors: “Who Got the Fire” – Fi Yi Yi & the Mandingo Warriors (Pertunia Foundation)
Liquid Liquid: “Rubbermiro” – Liquid Liquid (GR Entertainment)
Francis Bebey: “Sassandra” – Akwaaba (Original Music)
Konk: “Tonton Macoute” – Live At CBGB Nov. 6, 1981 (Unleashed Music)
Sublime Frequencies: “Hyderabad Fidelity” – Radio India: The Eternal Dream of Sound (Sublime Frequencies)
The Zombies: “Asazi Lutho” – Egoli (Atlantic City)
Africa Ritmos: “Agarrem” – Angola Soundtrack 2: Hypnosis, Distortions & Other Sonic Innovations 1969-1978 (Analog Africa)
Admiral Dele Abiodun & His Top Hitters Band ‎– : “Awa O Ni Legba” – Awa O Ni Legba (Olumo Records)
Alvarado Rodriguez Trio: “Yo Yo” – Black Feeling (Freestyle Records)
Magic Ember: “Tom on the Way” – Heart & Soul (Flame)
Letta Mbulu: “Bbanoyi” – Letta Mbulu Sings (Capitol)
Lula Cortes: “Nordeste Oriental” – Psychedelic Pernambuco (Mr Bongo)
Geraldo Azevedo & Alceu Valença: “Planetário” – Psychedelic Pernambuco (Mr Bongo)
The Dixie Hummingbirds: “Jesus is Coming Soon” – Shall We Gather At The River: African-American Sacred Music from the Florida Folklife Collection (State Archives of Florida)
Antioch Junior Choir: “Jesus Be a Fence Around Me” – Shall We Gather At The River: African-American Sacred Music from the Florida Folklife Collection (State Archives of Florida)
African Brothers International Band of Ghana: “Enne ye nna” – Okwaduo! “Wodee Wokoo Na Wonuanom” (Executive)
Ry-Co Jazz: “Blue Sugar” – Bon Voyage!! (RetroAfric)
Salamat: “Ya Tear” – Mambo el Soudani (Piranha)
Mucca Pazza: “All Out of Bubblegum” – L.Y.A. (Mucca Pazza)
Parliament: “Funkentelechy” – Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome (Casablanca Records)
Radio I Ching: “Let My People Go” – Last Kind Words (CD Baby)
Steven Bernstein: “Let My People Go” – Diaspora Soul (Tzadik)
Nicole Mitchell’s Black Earth Ensemble: “The Inevitable” – Intergalactic Beings (For Practically Everyone)
JCA Sax Quartet: “Monk’s Mood” – Why Do You Ride? (Leo)
Vijay Iyer Trio: “Break Stuff” – Break Stuff (ECM)
William Parker: “Move On Up” – I Plan to Stay a Believer (AUM Fidelity)

WNUR Conference of the Birds, 2015-04-14 [ 2:38:16 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

“Conference of the Birds” is my weekly radio program on WNUR-FM. It airs on Tuesdays from 5-7:30 am Chicago time (UTC-6). And, of course, when technology cooperates, you can just come here for the archives. You can subscribe to the podcast with this URL (click here to subscribe in iTunes).

Something got me into the songs with “bone” in the title and we milked that angle for more than half the show. And I mean that in the best way, there’s a lot of fun songs here from different angles—of course the gospel stuff, and the funky stuff, and at the end a couple of trombone songs just ’cause. And, as is generally the case when there’s a theme, there’s also just a bunch of songs at the end that aren’t in the theme, because doing it for the whole show would have been overkill…

Enjoy!

Listen:

download program (146MB, 2 hrs 40 min)

Artist: “Track” – Album (Label)
Blackfoot: “Groovy Bone” – Youth Power (Goodson)
Eddie Kirk: “Them Bones” – The Complete Stax/Volt Singles, Vol. 1 (Stax)
Heshoo Beshoo Group: “Lazy Bones” – Armitage Road (Columbia)
The Headquarters: “Lazy Bones” – Sweetie (Logo)
Melvin Jackson: “Funky Skull, Parts 1 and 2” – Funky Skull (Dusty Groove America)
Oliver Nelson: “125th St and 7th Ave” – Skull Session (Flying Dutchman)
James Brown: “Stoned to the Bone” – Make It Funky – The Big Payback: 1971-1975 (Polydor)
Afroskull: “Theme from Afroskull” – Monster for the Masses (CD Baby)
Sparkle Moore: “Skull and Crossbones” – Wild, Wild Young Women (Rounder)
Sons of Andros: “Dry Bones” – The Bahamas: Islands of Song (Smithsonian Folkways)
Mitchell’s Christian Singers: “Them Bones” – The Gospel Tradition: The Roots and the Branches, Vol. 1 (Legacy)
Bascom Lamar Lunsford: “Dry Bones” – Ballads, Banjo Tunes and Sacred Songs of Western North Carolina (Smithsonian Folkways)
Dave & Howard: “My Bones Gonna Rise Again” – Black & White Hillbilly Music: Early Harmonica Recordings from the 1920s & 30s (Trikont)
Carter Brothers and Son: “Old Joe Bone” – Oxford American Music Issue #13 (Oxford American)
Silver Light Gospel Singers: “Dry Bones” – Art of Field Recording, v. 2 (Dust to Digital)
Elder Charles Beck: “Dry Bones” – Elder Charles Beck Vol 2 1946 – 1956 (Document)
The Jubalaires: “Dese Bones” – The Singing Waiters:1947-1948 (Heritage)
Brother Bones: “Chinatown” – TR 4572 -7″ (Tempo)
Kid Thomas: “I Like Bananas Because They Have No Bones” – The Larry Borenstein Collection, vol 12 (504)
Poi Dog Pondering: “Collarbone” – Volo Volo (Columbia)
Handsome Family: “Dry Bones” – Singing Bones (Carrot Top Records)
The Coctails: “Skeleton (Prelude)” – Popcorn Box (Carrot Top Records)
Albert Mangelsdorff: “Marc Suetterlyn’s Boogie” – Tromboneliness (Sackville)
BassDrumBone: “Sambali” – Wooferlo (Soul Note)
Air: “B.K.” – Air Mail (Black Saint)
Fred Anderson/Hamid Drake: “Losel Drolma” – Back Together Again (Thrill Jockey)
His Name is Alive: “Capricorn Moon (live)” – Sweet Earth Flower: A Tribute to Marion Brown (HighTwo)
The Heliocentrics: “Sirius B” – Out There (Now-Again)
Amadou et Mariam: “Dogons” – Sou Ni Tilé (Tinder)
George Symonette: “Boat Pull Out – Bahama Mama” – Bahamas Goombay: 1951-59 (Frémeaux & Associés)

WNUR Conference of the Birds, 2015-03-31 [ 2:39:59 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

“Conference of the Birds” is my weekly radio program on WNUR-FM. It airs on Tuesdays from 5-7:30 am Chicago time (UTC-6). And, of course, when technology cooperates, you can just come here for the archives. You can subscribe to the podcast with this URL (click here to subscribe in iTunes).

After landing on one of the songs with “testify” in the title, I realized how many other interesting songs I had with the word in the title. Only two versions of the same actual tune—”I Wanna Testify”—originally from the Parliaments and then again by Johnnie Taylor. After that set, we lingered a little in the gospel zone, and then a classic CotB mix of soul, afropop, jazz and the like.

The archive of the show ends during “Symphony for Improvisors,” so this week instead of a bonus Nicole Mitchell track, you miss one…

Enjoy!

Listen:

download program (145MB, 2 hrs 39 min)

Artist: “Track” – Album (Label)
Cortez Greer: “Testify” – The Birmingham Sound: The Soul of Neal Hemphill, vol. 2 (Rabbit Factory)
The Pilgrim Jubilee Singers of Chicago, Illinois: “Testify” – The Old Ship of Zion (Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab)
The Swan Silvertones: “Stand Up and Testify” – Greatest Hits (Liquid 8 Records)
The Parliaments: “I Wanna Testify” – The Cream of Vintage Soul, vol. 1 (Life On Mars)
Johnnie Taylor: “Testify (I Wanna)” – The Complete Stax/Volt Singles, vol. 1 (Stax)
Steinski: “It’s Time to Testify (MC5 mix)” – What Does It All Mean? 1983-2006 Retrospective (Illegal Art)
Second Canaan Baptist Church Porter Singers: “I’m Gonna Testify” – Tambourines To Glory – Gospel Songs By Langston Hughes And Jobe Huntley (Smithsonian Folkways)
Brother Willie Eason and his Gospel Guitar: “I Want to Live (So God Can Use Me)” – Fire in My Bones: Raw, Rare & Otherworldly African-American Gospel, 1944-2007 (Tompkins Square)
Pilgrim Travelers: “Satisfied with Jesus” – Good News, vol. 4: Glory, Glory, Hallelujah (Proper)
The Soul Stirrers: “Free at Last” – Sam Cooke’s SAR Records Story 1959-65 (ABKCO)
The Original Five Blind Boys of Mississippi: “I’ve Been Weeping For a Mighty Long Time” – None But the Righteous: Chess Gospel Greats (MCA)
Big Joe Turner: “Rocks in My Bed” – Have No Fear, Big Joe Turner is Here (Savoy)
Sly and the Family Stone: “You Can Make it if you Try” – Stand! (Epic)
The Bahama Soul Club: “Sugar Cane (Lack of Afro Remix)” – One Way (Remixes and Rarities) (Freestyle)
Rotary Connection: “Tales of Brave Ulysses” – Psychedelic Jazz and Funky Grooves (Chess)
The Temptations: “Take a Stroll Through Your Mind” – Psychedelic Soul (Motown)
Bobongo Stars: “Joyce” – Makasi (Celluloid)
Orchestre Elegance Jazz: “Ngalula Marthe” – Bantous Zembe Zembe: Compilation De Musique Congolaise (1962-1973) (Sonodisc)
Keletigui et ses Tambourinis: “Bakary-dian” – The Syliphone Years: 1968 – 1976 (Sterns)
Opiyo Bilongo and Bilongo Golden Stars: “Okoth Achoki” – What Do People Want? (Kanyo)
João Nogueira: “Samba Rubro Negro” – Musica de Futebol (Mr. Bongo)
Tabu Ley Rochereau: “Pesa Le Tout” – The Voice of Lightness (Stern’s Music)
Gang Starr: “As I Read My S-A” – Step in the Arena (Cooltempo)
U-Black: “Jammy’s A Do It” – The Travellers: Black Black Minds (Pressure Sounds)
The Unemployed: “They Won’t Let Me” – Wardell Quezergue’s Funky Funky New Orleans (Funky Delicacies)
World Saxophone Quartet: “Take the “A” Train” – World Saxophone Quartet plays Duke Ellington (Elektra/Nonesuch)
Guy Klucevsek/Philip Johnston: “Diggin’ Bones” – Tales from the Cryptic (Winter & Winter)
Jenny Scheinman Quintet: “Stumble Light” – Live at Yoshi’s (Avant)
Tin Hat: “Anyone Lived in a Pretty How Town” – the rain is a handsome animal (17 songs from the poetry of E.E.Cummings) (New Amsterdam Records)
Joe Harriott Quintet: “Coda” – Free Form (Jazzland)
Johnny Dyani: “Portrait of Mosa Gwangwa” – Angolian Cry (SteepleChase )
Don Cherry: “Symphony for Improvisers” – Symphony for Improvisers (Blue Note)
Nicole Mitchell’s Sonic Projections: “Running the Rooftops” – The Secret Escapades Of Velvet Anderson (RogueArt)

WNUR Conference of the Birds, 2015-03-24 [ 2:38:30 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

“Conference of the Birds” is my weekly radio program on WNUR-FM. It airs on Tuesdays from 5-7:30 am Chicago time (UTC-6). And, of course, when technology cooperates, you can just come here for the archives. You can subscribe to the podcast with this URL (click here to subscribe in iTunes).

No theme to this week’s show, but a good number of obscure gems.

Enjoy!

Listen:

download program (141MB, 2 hrs 34 min)

Artist: “Track” – Album (Label)
The Rhythm Machine: “The Kick” – The Funky 16 Corners (Stones Throw)
Hot Sauce: “I’ll Kill a Brick (About My Man)” – The Complete Stax / Volt Soul Singles, Vol. 2: 1968-1971 (Stax)
Verckys et l´Orchestre Vévé: “Matinda Comono” – Congolese Funk, Afrobeat & Psychedelic Rumba 1969​-​1978 (Analog Africa)
Flow Dynamics: “Bossa for Bebo (Lack of Afro Remix)” – One Way: Remixes and Rarities (Freestyle)
Gnonnas Pedro: “Adigbedoto” – Africa Boogaloo: The Latinization of West Africa (Honest Jon’s)
Nomo: “Three Shades” – Ghost Rock (Ubiquity)
Jane Birkin: “French Grafitti” – Lolita Go Home (Fontana)
Chuck Strong: “I Got Married Too Soon” – The Birmingham Sound: The Soul of Neal Hemphill, Vol. 1 (Rabbit Factory)
Elia y Elizabeth: “Ponte Bajo el Sol” – La Onda De Elia y Elizabeth (Vampi Soul)
? and the Mysterians: “Love Me Baby (Cherry July)” – Cameo Parkway 1966-1967 (ABKCO)
Meridian Brothers: “Doctor Trompeta” – Salvadora Robot (Soundway)
Funkadelic: “Can’t Stand the Strain” – Cosmic Slop (Westbound Records)
Sam Cooke: “Having a Party” – Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963 (RCA)
Bobby Dobyne & the Barefacts: “Strickly Soul” – The Birmingham Sound: The Soul of Neal Hemphill, Vol. 2 (Rabbit Factory )
Bobby Womack & Peace: “Across 110th Street” – Pimps, Players and Private Eyes (Sire)
Bill Withers: “Use Me” – Live at Carnegie Hall (Columbia)
The Toreadors: “Gwinyitshe” – Next Stop Soweto, Volume 2: R&B, Funk & Psych Sounds From the Townships 1969-1976 (Strut)
Konk: “Honey Moon” – Live At CBGB Nov. 6, 1981 (Unleashed)
Mucca Pazza: “Boss Taurus” – Safety Fifth (Electric Cowbell Records)
Konono Nº1: “Landu Mambu” – Live in Tokyo EP (Crammed Discs)
Tambours Croisés: “Black Boat Poeple + Ma vélou za (Tambours 1)” – Chapter 1 (Maloya, Bèlè, Gwo Ka) (Aztec Musique)
The Four Pals: “Maselino Yaya Yoyayu” – Origins of Guitar Music In Southern Congo and Northern Zambia (SWP)
Barel Coppet, et Ses Antillais: “Moin Ni On Loto Nef” – Vintage World No. 169 – EP: Dansez Aux Antilles (Vintage Music)
Golden Arm Trio: “Swift Ship Sailing” – Why the Sea is Salt (Shamrock Record Co.)
Atomic: “Boom Boom” – Boom Boom (Jazzland Recordings)
Jeb Bishop Trio: “Anticipation of an Embrace” – Bishop/Kessler/Mulvenna (Okka Disk)
Ernest Dawkins’ New Horizons Ensemble: “The Time has Come” – Chicago Now – Thirty Years Of Great Black Music Vol.1 (Silkheart)
Malachi Thompson: “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” – Lift Ev’ry Voice (Delmark)
Duke Ellington: “Chocolate Shake” – Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band, 1940-1942 (Columbia)

WNUR Conference of the Birds, 2015-03-17 [ 2:34:04 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

“Conference of the Birds” is my weekly radio program on WNUR-FM. It airs on Tuesdays from 5-7:30 am Chicago time (UTC-6). And, of course, when technology cooperates, you can just come here for the archives. You can subscribe to the podcast with this URL (click here to subscribe in iTunes).

Last Sunday was “International Women’s Day.” In honor, today’s show features women musicians.

Enjoy!

PS if you make it all the way to the end, there’s a bit of bonus music from Steven’s show: “Today, Today” by Nicole Mitchell’s Ice Crystals.

Listen:

download program (140MB, 2 hrs 33 min)

Artist: “Track” – Album (Label)
Ana Tijoux: “Desclasificado” – La Bala (Nacional )
Gladys Knight and the Pips: “Friendship Train” – Beg, Scream and Shout: the Big Ol’ Box of 60’s Soul (Rhino)
Mavis Staples: “This Little Light of Mine” – We’ll Never Turn Back (Anti-)
Oumou Sangare: “Dugu Kamelemba” – Ko Sira (Nonesuch)
Astrud Gilberto: “Berimbou” – Look to the Rainbow (Verve )
Billie Holiday & Lester Young: “Let’s Do It” – Lady Day & Prez: 1937-41 (Giants of Jazz)
Gal Costa: “Divino Maravilhoso” – Gal Costa (1969) (Phillips)
Judy Henske: “I Know You Rider” – Judy Henske (Collector’s Choice)
Aretha Franklin: “Save Me” – I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (Atlantic)
Lyn Collins: “You Can’t Love Me if You Don’t Respect Me” – James Brown’s Original Funky Divas (Polydor)
Stereolab: “Anamorphose” – Mars Audiac Quintet (Elektra)
Erykah Badu: “Certainly” – Baduizm (Kedar Entertainment)
Indigo Trio: “Stand Strong” – Live in Montreal (Greenleaf Music)
Björk: “Human Nature” – Debut (Elektra)
Juana Molina ○○ Alejandro Franov: “La Más Grande” – A○○B (A∩B)
Mary Lou Williams: “Play It Momma” – Zoning (Smithsonian Folkways)
Carole King: “I Feel the Earth Move” – Tapestry (Ode)
Elis Regina: “Zazueira” – In London (Philips)
Charming Hostess: “Hangman Devil Man” – The Bowls Project (Tzadik)
Bernice Johnson Reagon: “Had, Took, Misled” – Give Your Hands to Struggle (Smithsonian Folkways)
Lorraine Chandler: “I Can’t Hold On” – Pied Piper Presents a New Concept in Detroit Soul (Ace)
Etta James: “You Got It” – Tell Mama: The Complete Muscle Shoals Sessions (MCA )
Letta Mbulu: “Sexwaxwa” – Letta Mbulu Sings (Capitol)
Vicki Anderson: “Don’t Throw Your Love in the Garbage Can” – James Brown’s Original Funky Divas (Polydor)
Lijadu Sisters: “Gbowo-Mi” – Double Trouble (Shanachie)
Joyce Mogatusi: “Zola” – A Tribute to Joyce Mogatusi (Electric Jive)
Miriam Makeba: “Ibande” – Keep Me in Mind (Reprise)
Sister Rosetta Tharpe: “Strange Things Happening Every Day” – Goodbye, Babylon (Dust to Digital)
Eloise Lewis: “I Need It” – Bahamas Goombay 1951-59 (Frémeaux & Associés)
The Go! Team: “Ladyflash” – Thunder, Lightning, Strike (Columbia)
Irma Thomas: “I’d Do It All Over You” – In Between Tears (Alive)
Alice Coltrane: “Los Caballos” – Eternity (Warner Brothers)
Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet: “All Manic” – Box (Horn Hut)
Carla Bley: “Song Sung Long” – Dinner Music (Watt)
Matana Roberts: “How Much Would You Cost?” – Coin Coin Chapter One: Gens De Couleur Libres (Constellation)

WNUR Conference of the Birds, 2015-03-10 [ 2:32:58 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

“Conference of the Birds” is my weekly radio program on WNUR-FM. It airs on Tuesdays from 5-7:30 am Chicago time (UTC-6). And, of course, when technology cooperates, you can just come here for the archives. You can subscribe to the podcast with this URL (click here to subscribe in iTunes).

Phoneathon week this week. I pulled out a few greatest hits but also found plenty of new (to the show) good stuff. I tried to keep the pitching to a minimum, but thanks to the listeners who did donate.

WNUR’s phoneathon is over, but you can still contribute online, if you’re so inclined. Your support is appreciated!

R.I.P. Minnie Miñoso, first black Major Leaguer in Chicago. Tucked in this week’s show is a tribute to him from the Numero Group collection “Cult Cargo: Salsa Boricua de Chicago.”

Enjoy!

Listen:

download program (146MB, 2 hrs 40 min)

Artist: “Track” – Album (Label)
Stanislas Tohon: “Dja, Dja, Dja” – Dans Le Tchink Système (Hot Casa)
Soul Rebels: “Foot Prints” – Let Your Mind Be Free (Mardi Gras Records)
Ray Anderson Trio: “Paucartambo” – Right Down Your Alley (Soul Note)
SDV Swing Band: “Taxi Jive 6 No. 2” – 78 Revolutions per Minute – Majuba Jazz from Mra to Bra, v. 3 (Electric Jive)
The Flaming Souls: “Alex Soul” – She’s Gone (Atlantic City)
Neville Nash: “Funky Feeling” – Wind Me Up (Nash)
La Solucion: “Mini Minoso” – Cult Cargo: Salsa Boricua de Chicago (Numero Group)
Viento de Agua: “Las Tarimas (the Stages)” – Materia Prima (Smithsonian Folkways)
O.V. Wright: “A Nickel and a Nail” – The Soul of O.V. Wright (MCA)
Sam Cooke: “Good News” – Keep Movin’ On (ABKCO Records)
Rev. Gary Davis: “Little Bitty Baby” – Say No to the Devil (Prestige Bluesville)
Fern Jones: “Didn’t It Rain” – The Glory Road (Numero Group)
Bill Monroe: “I Saw the Light” – 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection (MCA)
Aubrey Ghent: “Praise Music” – Sacred Steel (Arhoolie)
Meas Samon: “Joi Dondeung Kone Key (“Going to Get Engaged”)” – Cambodian Rocks (The Orchard House)
Jorge Barral: “Se Va Muriendo Mi Aldea” – 30 Años de música uruguaya, v. 9 (Sondor)
Foday Musa Suso & Mandingo Griot Society: “Kuumba Sora” – Creative Music Studio: Archive Selections, Vol. 1: World Music (Innova)
Baden Powell: “Consolação” – À Vontade (Universal Sound)
Lena Horne: “As Long as I Live” – Stormy Weather: The Legendary Lena, 1941-58 (Bluebird)
Janelle Monáe: “Tightrope” – The ArchAndroid (Wondaland Arts Society)
Selah Jubilee Singers: “I’ll Fly Away” – Selah Jubilee Singers, Vol. 1 (1939-41) (Document)
The Mellows: “I’m Gonna pick Your Teeth With an Icepick” – Golden Oldies (Essential Media)
Charles Iwegbue & His Archibogs: “Salim Ye (Ibo Slow Highlife)” – Azagas & Archibogs: The Sixties Sound of Lagos Highlife (Original Music)
Alport Astazio and the Kwana-Moto Band: “Rugare 2” – Rugare (Inter Africa Records)
Robert Marcel LePage: “Saharinette” – Les clarinettes ont-elles un escalier de secours? (Ambiances Magnétiques)
Joseph Jarman/Don Moye/Johnny Dyani: “Ode to Wilbur Ware” – Black Paladins (Black Saint)
Arthur Blythe: “Down San Diego Way” – Lenox Avenue Breakdown (Columbia)
Steve Lacy/Roswell Rudd Quartet: “Monk’s Dream” – School Days (hat ART)
DKV Trio: “Cerkno 2” – Sound in Motion in Sound (Not Two Records)

WNUR Conference of the Birds, 2015-03-03 [ 2:39:58 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download