Ok, here we go, the first show is now available for your listening pleasure.
Setlist:
1. Bill Withers - Use Me
2. Macy Gray - I Try
3. The Emotions - Best Of My Love
4. Earth, Wind & Fire - Shining Star
5. The Staple Singers - I'll Take You There
6. The Jackson 5 - I Want You Back
7. The Brand New Heavies - Dream On Dreamer
8. Johnny 'Guitar' Watson - Superman Lover
9. Lauryn Hill - All My Time
10. Aaron Neville - Hercules
I want to add some further explanation behind my choices:
Before my list even sees the light of day, I'm already expecting to be accused of compiling my best 1000 Jazz-Funk & Soul tracks, as opposed to the best 1000.
Well, I may have missed a trick here or there, and I'm willing to be put right if I've made a glaring omission, but I'm quietly confident that my list will stand up to a rigourous level of scrutiny.
Having said all this, I must at this point admit to some of my biases; there are certain labels and artists that are pet loves of mine, and other ones that don't even get a look in, even if they have achieved significant levels popularity.
a) Motown shades it over Stax.
b) Loads of Stevie, Bill Withers, Curtis Mayfield, Al Green, Roy Ayers and Gil Scott-Heron.
c) The British Acid Jazz scene of the 1990's features heavily.
d) There is not one track from Tina Turner.
e) No covers - unless better than the original.
So, it's been a dream of mine to share my love of jazz-funk and soul music with others. I have 25,000 carefully selected songs in my media player, the vast majority of which fall into this genre of music.
In addition to my passion for music, I have to admit to being a bit of a slave to tech. With a tablet, a smartphone, a bluetooth speaker, a bluetooth connection to my pc and a bluetooth connection to my amplifier, I can stream my music whenever, and to wherever, I want.
A third passion of mine is sharing. Put simply, sharing with others is a better way to live. I want to share with others my musical discoveries, the highlights of a lifetime of endeavouring to separate the wheat from the chaff (I'm afraid a couple of disco tunes managed to slip through the net!)
I've never really been into podcasts, having never been a subscriber to anything, but after a little bit of research, I reckon this is as good a way as any to share my musical snapshots - and it's very simple for both myself, and the listener. If I understand correctly, a couple of clicks will enable you to download the first podcast, and all subsequent podcasts will automatically download to your device of choice.
So I'm currently consolidating my music into the very best 1000 jazz-funk and soul tracks - ever! It's a labour of love, and so far it's progressing pretty well.
In terms of my criteria, well they are very subjective. There are tracks here that could be described as jazz, funk, soul, rnb, fusion, rap, hip-hop, dub, dance, disco, acid jazz, nu jazz, nu soul, neo soul, house, electronic, electronica, lo-fi, blues and pop (at least that is what the genre column in itunes is telling me!). Defining the boundaries of this genre is about as scientific as predicting the future by studying the entrails of a goat. Needless to say, Amy Winehouse makes it in, but Adele doesn't.
Another observation, is that I have a significant number of both live tracks and remixes in my collection. Some of which are actually better than the original versions. However, to keep things simple, and in the hope that the sound quality remains high and consistent, I've kept these to a bare minimum.
The plan, when I'm finished compiling my list, is to release a ten-track podcast every week for the next couple of years. There'll be no annoying talking, either over or between tracks, no adverts and certainly no tracks cut before their natural conclusion.
I'll put a setlist on my blog together with a link to each new podcast.
All that is left for me to say is enjoy the music, enjoy the journey, and your comments are always welcome.
