Sat nite...arrived...confused...tired...called up a fellow aj-list
member, lo-ki (told him Id be down and he gave me his phone #)...went
over to his place and chilled out w/ a 40 of Bud....and some other buds....
Sunday nite....hit the BLUENOTE...(probably the most expensive nite of my
visit...but well worth it)...had a front/center table and listened to the
jazzy sounds of Terrance Blanchard on the horn and Jackie McRae on
sax....double feature......chilled out and lovely!
Monday nite.....as you may have already heard from lo-ki...was METROSONIC
with chillfreez and other djs....(peace out to lo-ki for the free
passes!) It was chilled out at the beginning, but it picked up well later
on...spoke to chillfreez for a bit...he told me he was hopefully coming
to Toronto (Paul may know something about this) in July/August....a good
place to go on a monday in New York for all you jazzheadz!
Funky,latin-ee, and trippy - all in all very nice.
Tuesday nite......FRED WESLEY and his Amalgum band were giving up FOOD
for FUNK at SOBs in Grenwich Village.....FRED WESLEY reminds me a lot of
MACEO in the sense that he knows how to play to a crowd and even get them
involved - a true performer. KARL DENSON played with Fred (check him out
on his new album Chunky Pecan Pie - I think thats what its called).
Wednesday nite.....probably the best night of the week...I saw ROY AYERS,
the master of the vibes, do his thing again at SOBs. First off, I was a
bit concerned about what I had heard about his new album, "Naste" in the
sense that it was on the R&B tip, and not so much as funky as his older
stuff we all know (and love!). I was not disappointed in the least. He
performed his new stuff first, which was decent....he had a pretty hot
looking dancer to keep the guys entertained....especially when she danced
for his "Naste" song........now, I dont know if was due to the fact that
I went to his late set (this one started at 12am) but there were a lot of
locals in the audience, and they were shouting out requests left right
and center. ROY took notice...and half way through his 2.5 hour
performance he switched into da FUNK mode, starting off with EVERYBODY
LOVES THE SUNSHINE....all the liiiighters in the air......arms were
swaying carelessly! He then performed SUPERSTAR, which the crowd
loved.....but the last two I'd have to say moved the crowd the most was
WE LIVE IN BROOKLYN (remember I was in NYC...lotsa Booklyn locals in
effect!) and an almost half hour version of RUNNING AWAY to end the
show....people were still yelling ROOOOOOYYYYY!!! when he left.
ROY AYERS still has got the magic, believe me. I heard he may come to
Toronto this summer....I'll gladly drop some more cash to see him again.
This man is not to be missed by anyone!
Thursday nite.......it was GIANT STEP at the "Bank". The record label,
FUNK ESSENTIALS was kicking off its record releases with a bunch of new
compliations including the best of OHIO PLAYERS, best of LOVE UNLIMITED
ORCHESTRA, best of THE DELLS, and SLOW TRAIN (slow funk ballads i
think?). Everybody got posters and a 16 track promo disk of the stuff. I
think I might pick up the Ohio Players comp...sounds good! Anywayz,
Chillfreez was the dj once more, playing with a couple of live musicians
and a poet.....pretty good, I guess.....I met this rasta-man outside the
guys bathroom and he wanted to know if I wanted to buy some good
cigarettes for 10.00....I said sure, and, well....that was GIANT STEP!
Its not all its hyped up to be, but if you are visiting NYC, its
something to check out on a Thursday.
Went out during the day and hit up some record stores....XXXXXPENSIVE!
The selections were pretty good, but I knew I could always get stuff back
home for about the same (if not cheaper) price. I would, however, highly
recommend to any collectors out there to check out the used vinyl stores
and flee-markets in the West Village. Some things may be pricey, but you
may stumble over some wicked gems for a steal. Examples: I saw a
mint-condition orginal JBs album (Monarail?) for 100.00 - whaaat?! But I
picked up an amazing Iris Muhammed album for 5.00. So you just gotta look
around!
Well, thats my trip to New York....I had I fantastic time (special thank
you and a shout out to LO-KI who met me the night I arrived, and got me
on some guest lists with my hostel buds).
I know this was a long message, but when you visit New York City for the
first time, you tend to see A LOT! Only one warning...bring LOTS AND LOTS
AND LOTS OF MONEY.....its an expensive place to be!
thats all baby!
jeffery
<peace out to the Headz!>