Eclectic Grooves

Well, I'm back from vacation with many ideas for this blog. I've been listening to all kinds of music and traversing the web for the latest and greatest blogs to feature on Eclectic Grooves. I will be updating the web links on the side of this page, as it has come to my attention that many of these blogs are defunct or have infrequent updates. In addition, I have a plethora of new sites that I have been checking out on a daily basis that I will be showcasing on here in a future post. I wanted to inform you that the fight for internet radio is still going on. Many people voiced their concerns over the past month, and let it be known that they will not allow their civil liberties and freedoms to be violated. Because of this, Pandora will have more of a fighting chance for survival in the internet radio business. Unfortunately, the fight isn't over yet, and we need to continue contacting our local representatives and state senators to support the passing of the Net Neutrality ...

Hello everybody: I don't know if having the freedom to read the type of news and download whatever type of music you want is important to you, but it is a high priority for me. If Congress approves the Net Neutrality act, all internet blogs, message boards, websites, etc. will be treated equally and will not be discriminated against by the phone companies and internet providers. This affects me directly since I have been maintaining Eclectic Grooves for the past year and depend on blogs, message boards and other independent sites to serve as my primary source of information. Here is an excerpt from the Savetheinternet.com site about Net Neutrality that goes more in depth on the subject. The nation's largest telephone and cable companies — including AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and Time Warner — want to be Internet gatekeepers, deciding which Web sites go fast or slow and which won't load at all. They want to tax content providers to guarantee speedy delivery of their data. Th...

Happy 4th of July to everyone who recognizes the 4th as a holiday! About a week ago, someone requested that I post a very rare Howlin' Wolf album. Ask and ye shall receive. Here is a review I posted during March on Ear Fuzz that hopefully gives you an idea of what it sounds like. Howlin Wolf was persuaded to record This is Howlin' Wolf's New Album for Cadet Concept in 1969. This label also released Muddy Water's Electric Mud which has a similar electric rock-n-roll blues sound designed to pull in bigger audiences for both bluesmen. Wolf's opinion of this record was emblazoned on the cover in bold letters- This Is Howlin Wolf's New Album. he Doesn't Like It. He Didn't Like His Electric Guitar At First Either. The idea of creating this album came to Marshall Chess after he toured with the Rolling Stones and realized that they were making money off of the blues legends who influenced them. He brought in the same band that was used in the Electric Mud sessio...

Thanks for the positive comments on the Steve Reid post. I enjoy turning people on to creative and interesting music that they might not have been exposed to yet. That's the whole reason that I keep this blog up and running. I know that I haven't exactly been a prolific poster, but I hope to post more frequently in the future. First, I want to expose your ears to the euphoric sounds of the ethno-spiritual free jazz sextet, the Evolutionary Jass Band . Evolutionary Jass Band's founding members Jef Brown and Michael Henrickson(formerly of the Portland avant garde collective JOMF ) started the Evolutionary Jass Band around 2001 with the idea of creating spontaneous music with heart and soul. They were originally named the Steele Street Revolutionary Jass Band, but Jef felt that the band should be more about change and evolving. With a similar open-door membership policy to JOMF , their band members have included many of the talented multi-instrumentalists that have been emerg...

When I picked up the latest issue of Wax Poetics , my head was overloaded with new musical ideas for this blog. For those of you who have never heard of Wax Poetics , it's one of the most artistically creative and entertaining zines focusing on jazz, funk, soul and hip-hop from the past and present. Previous covers of Wax Poetics have featured such heavy hitters as James Brown, Isaac Hayes, The Meters and David Axelrod. The April/May issue of Wax Poetics features an engaging interview with Steve Reid , one of the most trailblazing drummers/percussionsists in the musical pantheon. Reid got his start in music at age seventeen when Martha and the Vandellas came to play at his high school. Their drummer was a no-show, so Reid sat in and eventually became a member of their touring band, even playing on a couple of Martha and the Vandella's hit songs "Dancing In the Street" and "Love Is Like a Heat Wave". After a year of touring and recording with Martha and the...

Howard Tate- Get It While You Can, 1995, Polygram I don't have a wealth of time or energy, but I wanted to post some new tunes on here. One of my friends mentioned to me that he would like to see more funk or soul on here. So, I'm pulling this one out of the archives. I had never heard of Howard Tate before his long lost classic S/T album from 1972 was reissued in 2001. Get It While You Can was originally released in 1966, but it was reissued on Polygram in 1995. Howard Tate possesses one of the most incredible falsettos in the soul pantheon and his lyrics cut to the bone with gritty tales of love and loneliness. Prolific and talented artists such as Janis Joplin, B.B. King and Jimi Hendrix have covered his songs to great effect. With a spectacular rhythm section and horn charts to boot, Tate seriously brings the funk on Get It While You Can. I have posted a review from Amazon.com. The greatest soul singer ever to fall below '60s pop radar, Howard Tate remains a tantalizi...

I wanted to let you know that one of the most amazing bands from the Congolese is coming to Portland. Konono No.1 has been mesmerizing crowds around the world with their unorthodox instrumentation and trance-inducing rhythms. Konono No.1 has often been compared to avant-punksters The Ex from the Netherlands who dedicated a song to Konono No.1 on it's latest album Turn . Beneath the power and distortion of the amplified likembes and distorted basslines lies beautiful African harmonizing that recalls Ladysmith Black Mambazo . I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be than at the Aladdin theater tonight. This show is going to be too good to miss. I have posted two songs from each record to give you an idea of what they sound like in both a live and studio environment. Konono No.1- Lufuala Ndonga and Kule Kule Congotronics [Crammed Discs, 2005] Buy It Here Konono No.1- Zeyisalangayizama and Ku Hollande Lubuaka [Terp Records, 2004]