http://www.kalamu.com/bol a conversation about black music Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:56:22 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en We start with prison work songs from Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas; then we dive down to Jamrock to catch up to reggae songstress Cherine Anderson; and we end with an exploration of "Work Song" by lyricist Oscar Brown Jr., composer Nat Adderley, Joe Williams, Michael Wolff, Terry Callier, Cannonball Adderley, ... http://www.kalamu.com/bol/2009/11/16/november-16-2009/ Sometimes the connections linking different styles of the music are not obvious, other times the relationships are directly stated. “Work Song,” a jazz classic by cornetist Nat Adderley with lyrics by Oscar Brown Jr., represents a conscious effort to acknowledge the debt modern jazz owes to an earlier form of ... http://www.kalamu.com/bol/2009/11/16/various-artists-%e2%80%9cwork-song-mixtape%e2%80%9d/ Eternal question: how to leave the rock, how to rock the rock? We no want to go away, we a want to stay. Love home, rep home. But yard hard. No soul want a be forever down, stepped upon. We assert ourselves against authority. We our own authority. But everyday ... http://www.kalamu.com/bol/2009/11/16/cherine-anderson-%e2%80%9ccherine-anderson-mixtape%e2%80%9d/  The United States has the largest prison population in the world—yes, even larger than China, a country whose population is much larger than the population of the United States. Why? Why should the richest country in the world have the largest number of convicts in the world? Is crime endemic ... http://www.kalamu.com/bol/2009/11/16/various-artists-%e2%80%9cprison-work-songs-mixtape%e2%80%9d/ This is a deep week. We kick off with Miles Davis & John Coltrane, live performances from 1960, the last time they performed together in concert. Then we cross the pond to check out British media personality and songtress Mica Paris. Then check your passport because we go all over ... http://www.kalamu.com/bol/2009/11/10/november-9-2009/ We’ve already discussed this song on BoL, and also discussed Annie Lenox’s version in particular, BUT, as this Mixtape hopefully makes abundantly clear, there is still a lot more to be sung/said about Bob’s great “Waiting In Vain” song. So here goes a major revelation of beaucoup versions of this song ... http://www.kalamu.com/bol/2009/11/10/various-artists-%e2%80%9cwaiting-in-vain-mixtape%e2%80%9d/  She’s stayed on the scene for over two decades. Moving from concerts and recordings, to radio, to stage, to television, to print—constantly moving but always being herself. But even with all of that, you may not have heard or heard of Mica Paris.Her scene has been Great Britain even though ... http://www.kalamu.com/bol/2009/11/10/mica-paris-%e2%80%9cmica-paris-mixtape%e2%80%9d/ They took us somewhere else! Literally and imaginatively, made us see things that were not in front of us but which we could reach in our futures if we dared grasp all the implications and inspirations of their music. As both men and musicians, Miles and Trane encouraged us to ... http://www.kalamu.com/bol/2009/11/10/miles-davis-john-coltrane-%e2%80%9cmiles-trane-mixtape%e2%80%9d/ Let’s do church with Kirk Franklin—he’s black Baptist so we’re going to be there a minute. Then let’s do struggle with Massive Attack, Macy Gray, Grace Jones, Lamya, Jhelisa, Jean Grae, Ani DiFranco, Nina Simone, Meshell Ndegeocello, The Pretenders, and Erykah Badu. And let’s close out with Concha Buika and ... http://www.kalamu.com/bol/2009/11/02/november-2-2009/  I’ve explained before (here and here) that Concha Buika is one of my favorite singers. I’ve also looked at the problem of fame for a musician. How do you follow a hit? Do you make your next album like the last album or can you come up with something equally ... http://www.kalamu.com/bol/2009/11/02/concha-buika-%e2%80%9cel-ultimo-trago-mixtape%e2%80%9d/