It was a close contest between this and another Clark Terry tune, “Mumbles” but the fact that I am addicted to 60’s soul jazz and Latin-soul jazz, won the day for this classic. It’s the title track to the album that these two legends made in 1966 for Impulse Records. The album itself is good (not great) overall, but this tune’s groove is near-perfection, and the humorous bilingual patter between the two leaders is priceless. Terry gives us, what turned out to be, his wife’s recipe for the dish and then talks O’Farrill into a cab up to Harlem, to sample some, at “Fat Mama’s Soul Food”. Pure boogaloo fun and even a belch (gross!) from C.T., near the end. I’ve hear it a million times and it still never fails to make me smile!
There are a lot of “challenges” on the web these days. Most, I will not participate in, for good reason. The “30 Day Song Challenge” lists that are going around, however, captured my interest. For one, it doesn’t involve public humiliation, for another, I do not have to risk injury to be involved and finally, it involves something that I am always interested in – music. I also decided to blog my daily choices because the brief articles around each choice, would force me back into the habit of writing, on regular.
I hope that you will join me for this month-long journey, and I hope that I can introduce you to some new music, in the process. It will be mostly jazz, of course but when necessary, we will go “beyond”, such as on this first selection.
I had never heard of this intoxicating duo out of Austin, TX, until the concert celebration, on the night of the new President’s Inauguration. In the middle of all the stars, they stood out, for their quiet passion and smooth soulfulness. “Colors” is the song that they performed that night. It reminded me of my all-time favorite soul singer, Al Green, when he was in his estimable prime. And they have a band that sounded Willie Mitchell (Green’s producer), had returned to lead The Roots.
As soon as they finished performing, I jumped on to Spotify, to hear more from Eric Burton, Adrian Quesada, and their musical colleagues. They’ve got a brand-new fan, in me. And I’m certainly not the only one, as they have been nominated for three 2021 Grammy Awards.
Black Pumas – If you haven’t heard them yet, I recommend that you come for “Colors” and then stay for the rest of their beautiful, rootsy, soul music.
Tomorrow, Day 2 – A Song That Always Makes Me Smile
Curt's Jazz Cafe 