Old Quincy Jones Tracks

Jim Ayson (jra@europa.com)
Thu, 18 Jan 96 18:29 PST

Hello, it's great to be back on the AJ list after a long period of absence!
I have a question I'd like to post to the list, and it concerns matters of
taste and perceptions of "what is and what isn't" acid jazz. I'm currently
in a band which was founded supposedly to play acid jazz - trouble is, we
started to veer away from the concept and got too "poppy". So a call went
out for suggestions for some new material to cover. I had just heard a copy
of the new Quincy Jones album (Q's Jook Joint) and liked the remake of "Is
it Love That We're Missing". This one had Gloria Estefan on vocals. I
remembered the original version by the Brothers Johnson in a Quincy Jones
album from the '70s, so hearing the remake had some definite good vibes. The
new version is a lot slicker though, and programmed drums replace live drums
on this track. But there was a good guitar solo on it.

My suggestion was summarily shot down on the basis that it was just more of
the "pop" ilk we had digressed into and was not at all "acid-jazz".

I was ticked off enough by this to hunt down the original version of the
song and found my old battered vinyl copy of Quincy Jones' "Mellow Madness"
LP, circa 1975. After hooking up my old Technics turntable (and in the
process rediscovering all the vinyl goodies I had in storage) I plunked the
needle down and listened to the original version of "Is It Love That We're
Missin'", which had the Brothers Johnson (George and Louis) playing on the
track they co-wrote. I listened and listened, and as far as I can tell this
funky little track recorded in 1975 could pass for what we now call "acid
jazz" in 1995 (fair enough, most of what I hear labelled as acid jazz today
sounds like it emerged from a 20-year time capsule).

I'd like to ask opinions to anyone familiar with "Is It Love That We're
Missin'" - whether the original 1975 recording from the "Mellow Madness"
album or the remake on the 1995 album - and let me know if it would fit in
an "acid-jazz" set. I need some feedback so I can push my suggestion again.
Normally, I'd let it pass, but I've listened to funky-jazz for ages, and
discovering the acid-jazz category was realy a rediscovery of an old
familiar sound I had heard before. So it sorta ticks me off when my musical
taste in this area is put in question!

(personally, I'm getting sick of these labels - to me, if it's funky and has
a good vibe, it's all good music)

As an aside, for some really tasty funk drumming, check out "Trying To Find
Out About You" from the Mellow Madness album - another song I rediscovered
recently. This features Harvey Mason on drums - who gives a real education
on funk drums right there.

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jim ayson [ jra@europa.com ] ... quezon city, metro manila, philippines
The Philippine Cyberspace Review - http://www.europa.com/~jra/ph-cyber.html
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