|
|
Aston Familyman
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Erykah Badu
She grew up listening to '70s soul and '80s hip-hop,
but Erykah Badu drew more comparisons to Billie Holiday upon her breakout in 1997, after the release of her first album, Baduizm.
The grooves and production on the album are bass-heavy R&B, but Badu's langurous, occasionally tortured vocals and delicate
phrasing immediately removed her from the legion of cookie-cutter female R&B singers. A singer/songwriter responsible
for all but one of the songs on Baduizm, she found a number 12 hit with her first single "On & On," which pushed the album
to number two on the charts.
Opening for R&B acts as well as rap's Wu-Tang Clan,
Erykah Badu stopped just short of number one on the pop album charts in April. Her Live album followed later in the year.
In 2000 she returned with her highly anticipated second studio album, Mama's Gun, which was co-produced by Badu, James Poyser,
Bilal and Jay Dee and contained the hit single, "Bag Lady".
Albert Ayler
Albert Ayler
was born in Cleveland, Ohio on July 13th, 1936. His father, Edward, encouraged an early interest in music and taught Albert
to play the alto sax. His musical training continued at the local academy of music and John Adams High School, where he also
played the oboe. In 1951, at the age of 15, Albert joined his first group, Lloyd Pearson and his Counts of Rhythm, which led
to a job with Little Walter Jacobs. He spent the following two summer vacations on the road with the R&B band. In 1954,
Albert graduated high school and went to a local college but in 1956, due to lack of money, he left college and joined the
army. His musical education continued, playing in the military band for seven hours a day, then practicing with his fellow
musicians. In 1959 he was transferred to France for two years. In 1961 he left the army and after a short time in California,
returned to Cleveland.
He returned to America, settled in New York and continued
to play with Cecil Taylor until the work (and the money) ran out. He then returned to Cleveland for a while (a regular
pattern in his life, money was always a problem and he received economic support from his parents, and later from John Coltrane)
before moving back to New York. He played at a few jam sessions at Ornette Coleman's house around December 1963. On January
14th, 1964, Albert married Arlene Benton.
On his return from Europe, Albert embarked on his first
major recording contract, since John Coltrane had finally persuaded Bob Thiele at Impulse Records to sign him to the label.
It is difficult to overestimate the influence of Coltrane on Ayler, not musically, but in terms of support and encouragement.
Coltrane was constantly "cleaning the mirror", his music becoming more and more uncompromising.
On November 25, 1970, Albert Ayler's body was
found floating in the East River, at the foot of Congress Street Pier, in Brooklyn. He produced great albums such as
"Live in Greenwich Village" and "Love Cry",
"New Grass" and "Music Is The Healing Force Of The Universe.
Black Uhuru
The
most successful of the second-generation reggae bands, Black Uhuru maintained their high quality despite numerous personnel
changes in their 16-year history. The first reggae band to win a Grammy award, for their 1983 album Anthem, Black Uhuru was,
according to Reggae: The Rough Guide, "The most dynamic and progressive reggae act of the 1970s and early '80s." Black Uhuru,
whose name comes from the Swahili word meaning "freedom," was formed in the Waterhouse district of Kingston by Ervin "Don
Carlos" Spencer, Rudolph "Garth" Dennis, and Derrick "Duckie" Simpson. From the 1970’s
to 1990, Black Uhuru produced over 20 Albulms.
Aswad
Aswad
(the name is Arabic for "black") was formed in Ladbroke Grove, West London, in 1975. Originally, the group was a quintet featuring lead vocalist/guitarist
Brinsley "Dan" Forde (a native of Guyana
and a onetime child actor on the BBC), drummer/vocalist Angus "Drummie Zeb" Gaye, bassist George "Ras Levi" Oban, guitarist
Donald "Benjamin" Griffiths, and keyboardist Courtney Hemmings. Their sound was already rather eclectic from the beginning,
mixing elements of soul, jazz, and funk with hard roots reggae, lovers rock, and dub. In 1976, Aswad became the first British
reggae band to sign with a major label when they landed a deal with Island Records. Their debut single, the classic "Back
to Africa," was released that year and hit number one on the U.K.
reggae singles chart. From 1976-2000 Aswad produced over 25 albums.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Aston Familyman
Cobra Style
|
Albert
Alyer
|
|
Music is the Healing
Force of the Universe
|
|
|
|
Erykah
Badu
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
