Sunday, December 28, 2008

Alice Russell - Pot of Gold (2008)


New album from Alice Russell, one of UK's hottest singers!! She's recorded with the likes of Massive Attack, Mr. Scruff, The Nextmen and Quantic and performed live with The Roots and Quantic Soul Orchestra. Produced by long time collaborator, co-writer and band mate TM Juke, Pot of Gold mixes elements of classic Soul, Jazz, Funk, Rock and Blues into an irresistible concoction that will appeal to her many existing fans while reaching out to new audiences looking for the next "distinctive voice" on the music scene!! Couldn´t wait for her return!!

Text from Do Velho Ao Novo blog

Official Site

My Space Page

TwistedJazz fav did it again! High ranked in our best of 2008 list...of course!

Monday, December 22, 2008

The Bamboos: Deep Funk Masters


The Bamboos are Australia's masters of Deep Funk and Super-Heavy Soul.
Formed in 2001 and released the 7" single 'Eel Oil/Blackfoot', earning them international acclaim from the likes of Mr Scruff, Patrick Forge and Jazzanova. Their next release 'Tighten Up/Voodoo Doll' was signed by Kenny Dope (Masters At Work) and Keb Darge (Legendary Deep Funk) for their U.S-based imprint Kay-Dee Records.
Making their home at U.K's Tru Thoughts records in 2005, The Bamboos debut album ‘Step it Up’ was released jointly by Tru Thoughts and Ubiquity Records (US) in 2006. The second Bamboos long-player "Rawville' was released in 2007 and was described by IDJ Magazine (U.K) as " ...arguably the finest Funk album of the modern era"
In 2006 and 2007 The Bamboos toured Europe and the U.K, bringing their unmistakable sound to venues including The Jazz Café in London and countries including Germany, Spain, Ireland, Italy and Belgium. The Bamboos live shows have evolved into non-stop mixtape-style throw-downs that draw the links between Hip Hop, Soul, Funk and old-school Breaks.
The Bamboos have performed as a backing band for international artists including: Eddie Bo (US), Joe Bataan (US), Eddie Floyd (US), Alice Russell & The Quantic Soul Orchestra (UK)

Official Site

The Bamboos @ MySpace

King of the Rodeo video (feat. Megan Washington)

Menahan Street Band -Make The Road By Walking (2008)

* BEST RECORD of 2008 for TWISTED JAZZ *

The Menahan Street Band is a collaboration of musicians from Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings (Dave Guy, Homer Steinweiss, Fernando Velez, Bosco Mann), El Michels Affair (Leon Michels, Toby Pazner), Antibalas (Nick Movshon, Aaron Johnson) and the Budos Band (Mike Deller, Daniel Fodder), brought together by musician/producer Thomas Brenneck (Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Budos Band, Amy Winehouse) to record hits in the bedroom of his Menahan St. apartment in Bushwick, Brooklyn. With influences reaching beyond the funk/soul/afrobeat architecture of their other projects into the more ethereal realms of Curtis Mayfield and Mulatu Astatke, the Menahan Street Band creates a unique new instrumental soul sound that is as raw as it is lush. Their debut album, Make the Road by Walking will be released on Dunham Records, Brenneck’s new imprint of Daptone Records, a joint venture devoted to bringing the Menahan Street sound from Brenneck’s bedroom out into the world. The album is marked by eerily quirky arrangements, featuring vibes, horns, piano, organ, percussion and even a strange bling sound that Brenneck creates by tuning and plucking the strings of his guitar on the wrong side of the bridge. However, it is not the textures themselves that make the new sound of Menahan Street so exciting, but rather the way the sounds are incorporated into the heavy rhythms and bold melodies of the compositions.

The title of the album was inspired both by the eponymous community center below Brenneck’s apartment and the natural rhythm that has continued to move this project forward. Shortly after its release as Dunham’s debut 45rpm single, the song “Make the Road by Walking” was sampled by fellow Brooklynite Jay-Z for his smash hit from American Gangster, “Roc Boys (and the Winner is…)” (later declared by Rolling Stone to be the No. 1 single of 2007).

Make the Road by Walking is a soulful exploration by a talented young group of musicians into the possibilities of instrumental music; an original, personal, and uncompromised creation that embodies the sound of a select group of musicians in one distinct place, at one particular moment in time. “This album is kind of a window into our world on Menahan Street,” says Brenneck. “In a way, we’re simply the street’s unofficial house band.”

The song "Make the Road by Walking" is named after a membership-based organization named "Make the Road by Walking" which is located around the corner from Menahan Street (on Grove Street) which promotes social and economic justice for community, through organizing, lawyering and numerous forms of advocacy

Text from Wikipedia

Menahan Street Band @ Dunham Records

MSB @ LAST FM


MSB perform Make the road by walking live in Central Park @ Summer Stage 08