#blackbyrds

Blackbyrds, The: Time Is Movin’“ b/w “Lady” Japanese 7″ (1976)

We just featured “Mysterious Vibes” off of their 1976 record Unfinished Business for our latest bonus Omega WUSB sampling and vinyl-finds broadcast; as it was covered by Japanese jazz-outfit Sunburst (’80) becoming one of our many favorites and used by Paris for “The Days Of Old” (’92). Before that, we choose to spin the B-side “Lady” as it resonates with my Brooklyn youth. It had to be Orville Saunders’ jangly licks, Kevin Toney’s late keyboards, and background vocals all across the board to make that happen.

Phil Upchurch “Black Gold”

Annette Peacock & Paul Bley “A Loss Of Consciousness”

Iodi “Sonrie”

Cal Tjader “Morning Mist”

Julius Brockington “Forty-Nine Reasons”

Ramsey Lewis “Skippin’”

Neil Richardson “The Riviera Affair”

Weldon Irvine “We Gettin’ Down”

Minnie Riperton “Baby, This Love I have”

RAMP “Paint Me Any Color”

Rufus & Chaka Khan “Your Smile”

Donald Byrd “Wind Parade”

John Tropea “Tambourine”

Phil Upchurch “Foolin’ Around”

Karla Bonoff “Restless Nights”

Joe Beck & David Sanborn “Texas Ann”

Clive Hicks “Deserted Factory”

Mysterious Flying Orchestra “Shadows”

Franco Micalizzi “Jessica’s Theme”

Joe Thomas “Gemini Flyin’ High”

Funky Nassau “When She Made Me Promise”

Wayne Henderson “Mysterious Maiden”

Don Patterson “The Good Life”

Vic Juris “Horizon Drive”

Emily Remler “Strollin’“

McNeal & Niles “Ja Ja”

James Clarke “Cine Mobile”

Bob James “Nautilus”

Blackbyrds, The “Mysterious Vibes”

General Lee & The Space Army Band “Magic”

Brothers Johnson, The “Tomorrow”

Ripple “Victorius”

Eddie Russ “Zaius”

Richard ‘Groove’ Holmes “Onsaya Joy”

A big ‘hello’ to our listeners from Omega WUSB. Our first of three* bonus summer broadcasts is underway as we fill-in for Purple Starlight once again. Our quarterly jazz / fusion, sampling, and crate-digging finds never quit and neither do we.

We not only feature rare finds and cuts used for classic television intros, but also showcase original samples used by many golden-era hip-hop artists as Tha Alkaholiks, Pharcyde, A Tribe Called Quest, Black Moon, Gang Starr, DJ Premier, Ghostface Killah, Paris, O.C., and Da Bushbaees.

Next Omega airs July 18, 2020 (10PM New york City) for our post-punk / d.i.y. showcase. Our second of three* bonus broadcasts airs August 3, 2020 (midnight) when we take over for Purple Starlight again for our quarterly golden-era hip-hop broadcast.

Paris “The Days Of Old” (1992)

Oscar Jackson, Jr. was born in 1967, during an era of political turmoil and social unrest. Though street violence had always been a component society deals with, Paris seen that his time growing up was simpler and not as risky as when he laid down “The Days Of Old” in 1992. Every area had its’ issues, but like many other rappers, he showed how some neighborhoods unlike others were subject with black-on-black crime, gang shootings, dealing, and more. People were killed for going to movie theaters, clubs, or shows; places where people once enjoyed themselves without worrying about violence (and on a much larger scale as we live in the right now). So for this single, Paris reached back and sampled The Blackbyrds’ “Mysterious Vibes” (1976). Hear it and maybe you’ll think back to a time when people had more room to breathe. All around them, they felt more carefree and not as worrisome for ther lives. I’m guessing that’s where Paris was heading when he sampled this, to give us a sense of where his mind was at when “Mysterious Vibes” was the soundtrack of his moment. Sampling Kevin Toney’s ARP synthesizer symbolized and represented that nicer, nostalgic aesthetic of the late Seventies. Paris used it to compare and contrast the gritty and meaner reality of the earlier Nineties, turning Toney’s sound into a bittersweet situation. That’s why you see on the single’s cover how fast times change.