Local Chicago Music
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Dance Dorchester!
dance locally to vintage sounds culled from Dorchester Projects’ Dr. Wax Collection heavily leaning on music that ‘jus grew’ out of our community: this friday, june 24th, 7pm til 10pm. bring your favorite summertime dish to share with friends 100% wax spun by dj ayana
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Minor Moods: ahmad jamal have i loved.
“Minor Moods” by Ahmad Jamal (1967) makes me happy, and yes I will play this at next week’s “groove conspiracy”. Ahmad Jamal is from Pennsylvania, but a lot of his Golden Age material (including this hipper-than-thou number) is straight outta Chicago. The Ahmad Jamal Trio was the house band of the Pershing Hotel (on the South Side) in the…
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You’re Tuff Enough: junior wells’ new breed blues
The title cut off this 1968 album is a bluesy monster produced by Charles Stepney with more than enough groove to stay squarely in the pocket. Also on this album is the local hit “Up in Heah”, another blues-infused party track. Both of the records will make sceptics rethink the blues. According to the back…
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Minnie Riperton: she was the black gold of the sun.
Minnie Riperton was, of course, so much more than her 1976 smash “Loving You”. I won’t even attempt to jam her legacy into a blog post. She was a mother (to SNL alum Maya Rudolph), a lover, (to Dick Rudolph) and a righteous songbird. Riperton (pictured above, 1968 [photo courtesy jeff lockard]) and her soaring soprano…
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The Ice Man Cometh.
Here’s a follow up to yesterday’s Jerry “The Ice Man” Butler post. Below, 1969’s “Walking Around in Teardrops”. Before Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes and the O’Jays hit the soul stratosphere, there was the late sixties Philly/Chicago fusion that was Gamble/Huff/Martin/Bell/Butler. Always one to use his starpower to help up-and-comers in the Music Business craft their…
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Windy City: Hey it’s (not) over.
First off, I LOVE this record. A little back story: “Hey, It’s Over” by Windy City is a record that came out in 1974 on local Innovation II records, later issued on Warner Bros. Produced by Willie “Mr. Brunswick”* Henderson and Arranged by James “The Soul Educator” Mack*, it has a great shuffly, brassy, breezy sound that fits…
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Nolan Chance and the Beach: i’ll never forget you.
(photos: Labor Day 1936 at 31st Street Beach, Chicago) found at bvikkivintage I love “I’ll Never Forget You” by Nolan Chance. Released here in Chicago in 1969, its creation was a collaboration between Curtis Mayfield, Donny Hathaway, and Leroy Hutson (arguably the patron saints of Chicago Soul for the decade that was to come). The song…
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Hip Chicago Jazz with Soul!
Darkjive has been on Summer Vacation, but always digging deeper… I’ve been really into swinging sixties jazz from Chicago, like “Coming to Atlantis” a hip mover produced by Monk Higgins and credited to Freddie “The Creeper” Robinson (on Lead Guitar). The Flip of this 45, called “Before Six” is wonderful, as well. During the late 1960’s, there…
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The Get Down: keep on singing
The Get Down is back! This Thursday, February 11, let’s celebrate what we love: feel good music! Soul, Funk, Disco, and Bluesy Groovers spun with love by yours truly (DJ Ayana). Expect a healthy helping of both rare and classic homegrown monsters, plus all the darkjive featured music you’ve come to love. Thursday, February 11 @ the…
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