No, I never heard of him, either. But when three legends (Chucho Valdes, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and the guy I can’t remember) get together to pay tribute to someone they consider a legend, well … let’s just say he must be at least kind of important.
top 10
Eighties Funk
By the time the 80s morphed into the 90s, the hard “thump” of funk had given way to the smoother “bip-bap” of hip-hop. This is a tribute to the last great group of funksters, who kept things interesting by adding plenty of new wave synthy weirdness. It was fun while it lasted …
Dream Pop
Basically my excuse to get “Life in a Northern Town” on a list. That is a great song.
Donny Hathaway
How much do I love Donny Hathaway? I even love his Christmas song—which, if you know how I feel about holiday music, is a very big deal. And yes, I’m including it. It’s December, so sue me.
Don Cherry
It takes a special kind of awesome to build a 50-year career out of playing a mini-trumpet. Throw in the fact that his step-daughter is Neneh Cherry—on whom I had a crush in the 80s, even though she is a girl—and that’s awesome squared.
Devo
If your brain didn’t immediately bust out with, “Whip it! Whip it good!,” you are either under 30 or over 100. And even the 100+ crowd was probably bopping along with Devo when they were 70-something whippersnappers.
Dee Dee Bridgewater
How cool is my kid, part 1,000. When we were driving from Austin to San Antonio a few years back, Daveon was fiddling around with Sirius radio, and stopped when he heard “If You Believe” from The Wiz (a family favorite). Turns out it was an hour-long interview/listening session with Dee Dee Bridgewater, who played Glinda on Broadway. He kept the station on for the entire show, with both of us learning a lot about Bridgewater and her music. That’s how cool he is.
Crew-Cut Rock
AKA, “Songs my mother is referring to when she calls herself a rocker.” I hesitated on this one for a long time, but since I finally gave in on Elvis, I figured it was hard to argue that “Rock Around the Clock” wasn’t influential. Even if “influential” means, “Convincing record companies that they could make money by having white people sing songs originally done by black people.”
Clark Terry
Even setting the awesome music aside, how could you not love a guy who used to do a routine as an old blues dude named Mumbles?
Chucho Valdes/Irakere
Of the many things I am thankful for, I am thankful that Marcia more or less cajoled me into seeing Chucho Valdes at SF Jazz about a year ago. I still get shivers thinking about that show. And the one this past year with Gonzalo Rubalcaba was, if anything, even more fun. Thanks, Chucho!
Playlist of the Day 