John Coltrane | The Making of A Love Supreme [hosted by Mos Def]

The Making of A Love Supreme: Part 1 + Part 2

2(t)wo days ago WEAA 88.9 FM, Morgan State University's radio station, aired The Making of A Love Supreme hosted by Mos Def. Within a 5(f)ive minute car ride the documentary bewitched me to archive and blog the audio.

A Love Supreme is undoubtedly one of the most influential, spiritual and important jazz albums ever recorded. And the inside story on just how this album came into being, as told by many of those who were there, is a story that makes for two great hours of radio.

The Making of A Love Supreme is a 2(t)wo-hour exploration of Coltrane's 1964 masterpiece that aired on WNYC 93.9 FM via WBGO (public radio stations had between Nov. 1, 2002 and Oct. 31, 2003 to broadcast TMOALS) answers, among other inquiries:

• How did Coltrane with drummer Elvin Jones, pianist McCoy Tyner and bassist Jimmy Garrison accomplish this landmark album in one day in a studio in New Jersey?
• Why did Coltrane write a poem to accompany it?
• Why did they only perform the entire suite live one time?
• Why was Coltrane's music politicized by the world?
  

*MP3's courtesy of UTD
*Content sourced from WNYC

Octavia E. Butler | Happy Birthday [OEB Day]

Yesterday, Octavia Estelle Butler (June 22, 1947 – February 24, 2006) would have been 63-years old if not for her untimely death.

After her move to Seattle in 1999 Butler succinctly frames herself saying, "I'm comfortably asocial, a hermit in the middle of a large city, a pessimist if I'm not careful, a feminist, a Black, a former Baptist, an oil-and-water combination of ambition, laziness, insecurity, certainty and drive."

I had several fortunes of seeing her throughout Washington DC during her book readings in which I intentionally mentioned her first standalone book which (I fail to remember by name - damn!!!) she wasn't fond of, has taken out of print (unless her sister who has the rites to the book re-releases it) and will not discuss unless coaxed. I inveigled Butler continually to introduce her [other] fans to a book they would have otherwise not known existed. Butler was always gracious about expounding on her first, out-of-print, book but she never failed to mentioned that because she considered it her 'Star Trek' book it would never see the light of republishing while she was alive.

To one of the best writers ever, I miss you and continue to hurt over the lost of all of the books you did not have a chance to write. OEB happy belated birthday anniversary!


+OEB Bloodchild
++OEB Memorial Scholarship
+++OEB Quotes


*A conversation with Charlie Rose and science-fiction writer and MacArthur fellow Octavia Butler about her book "Parable of the Talents", currently nominated for a Nebula Award for Best Novel.

Tony Allen Delivers 'Secret Agent'

NPR: Weekend Edition Sunday [9 min 13 sec]

Akin to The Matrix deja-vu just this past weekend I was just scolding myself for not listening to Tony Allen more frequently and for not having a more robustly expanded TA's discography — then I heard this story while on-the-road today.

NPR discusses Tony Allen's, Fela Kuti's drummer, whom "without Tony Allen," Kuti once said, "there would be no Afrobeat", newest album titled Secret Agent.

Allen frustrated, as I, in a music landscape where electronic instruments routinely stand in for acoustic drums says, "There are no drummers these days anymore," he says. "Most of them are not even wanting to [play the drums] when the machine is there to do the job. I respect every drummer that I see keeping the drums going."

Keep heartbeat of music, the drum, alive (Afrobeat or not).


*Content sourced from NPR

Donny Hathaway | Neglected Heart Of Soul

NPR: Morning Edition (7 min 19 sec)

Born October 1, 1945 in Chicago I.L., singer-composer-arranger Donny Hathaway by the age of three, was already a professional gospel singer (*genius*).

Raul Midon is correct when he states, "...there are very few people that come even close to singing the way Donny did, or having the depth of sound and emotion in his singing."

Hathaway's extraordinary voice, writing, arranging and conducting skills are the Extension Of A Man that intimidated famous singers and boundlessly touched my heart and sensibilities.

Every other male singer comes a distance third (rate) to Hathaway; wherein, Marvin Gaye places a close second (imo).

Respect comes easy for a(n) artist/man who, "...think[s] of music in its totality, complete".


*Content sourced from NPR

Blaktropoils v2 | Aybee f. Omega - Every Kind of Way

AYBEE ft. Omega - In Every Way by deepblak

Peerless (I have heard no house music in at least a decade that is euphonically as honeyed) — repeat1 laudable.


+Aybee | Blaktropoils 2 | Deepblak

Luke Cage | Crazy Black Man

Luke Cage, born Carl Lucas is a fictional superhero, born and raised in Harlem, appeared in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Archie Goodwin and artist John Romita, Sr., he first appeared in 'Luke Cage, Hero for Hire' #1 (June 1972).

Because his fiction and my nonfiction converge he is eternally my favorite superhero - like he, I was born (created) in 1972, I am a Harlem native and I am frequently referred to as "a crazy black man" — "Sweet Christmas!"


+LC Wiki

Tone Trezure | My Destiny

As fir(1)st spotted at RIK

Tone Trezure is appreciatively reminiscent of Bilal's ecclectic soul yet she evokes my first listen of Georgia Anne Muldrow's debut album "Olesi: Fragments Of An Earth" (Stones Throw, 2006).

Completely galvanizing...