2/15/16 WHAT THE FUNK!: Sly & The Family Stone – Higher And Higher Live (1969)

I Want to Take You Higher, a song by the soul/rock/funk band Sly and the Family Stone, which also featured Stand! on the B side. Unlike most of the other tracks on the Stand! album, “I Want to Take You Higher” is not a message song; instead, it is simply dedicated to music and the feeling one gets from music. Continue reading

2/14/17 O&A NYC WHAT THE FUNK- VALENTINE’S DAY: Ebony Eyes- Rick James featuring Smokey Robinson

Ebony Eyes by super freak Rick James and Motown balladeer Smokey Robinson for the Gordy (Motown) label. The song was first featured on James’ album Cold Blooded. Continue reading

2/14/17 O&A NYC MUSIC: Tribe Called Quest Grammy Performance

Tribe Called Quest gave the most politically charged performance at the 2017 Grammy Awards. Continue reading

2/13/17 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Foxy Brown Starring Pam Grier (Opening and Fight Scene)

A voluptuous black woman takes a job as a high-class prostitute in order to get revenge on the mobsters who murdered her boyfriend. Continue reading

2/13/17 O&A NYC WHAT THE FUNK! PUMPING IT UP FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH: Parliament Funkadelic: P-Funk Wants to Get Funked Up- Mothership Connection (Houston 1976)

What The Funk! O&A NYC honors the sound that defined the defiant 70’s. “Make my funk the P.Funk, I wants to get funked up”.  Continue reading

2/12/17 O&A NYC MILESTONE: Al Jarreau- Jazz Legend Dead at 76

Just days after announcing that he was retiring from touring after being hospitalized for exhaustion, legendary jazz singer Al Jarreau passed away Sunday morning in Los Angeles.The singer’s manager, Joe Gordon, released a statement:

Dear friends, family and colleagues,

Al Jarreau passed away this morning, at about 5:30am LA time. He was in the hospital, kept comfortable by Ryan, Susan, and a few of his family and friends. Ryan and Susan will hold a small, private service at home, for immediate family only. No public service is planned yet, but I will inform you if that changes. 

Ryan asks that no flowers or gifts are send to their home or office. Instead, if you are motivated to do so, please make a contribution to the Wisconsin Foundation for School Music, a wonderful organization which supports music opportunities, teachers, and scholarships for students in Milwaukee and throughout Wisconsin. A donation page is here.

Even if you do not plan to contribute, please list that page and give yourself a few minutes to watch a beautiful tribute video that Wisconsin Public Television produced to honor Al when he received his lifetime achievement award in October.

Dubbed “the voice of versatility” by the Chicago Tribune, Jarreau released 16 studio albums, a host of live albums, and several compilations. The consummate performer, Jarreau constantly toured the world, dazzling audiences with his magical voice. Jarreau passed away at a Los Angeles hospital early Sunday morning. The singer leaves behind his wife, Susan, and his son, Ryan. He was 76.

Al Jarreau 1940 – 2017

 

 

 

2/12/17 O&A NYC SUNDAY AFTERNOON JAZZ CONCERT: Nina Simone: Live at Teatro Sistina in Rome (1968)

Nina Simone: Live at Teatro Sistina in Rome (1968), is a 25 min video recording including  Black Is The Color of My True Love’s Hair, To Love Somebody, Suzanne, Save Me, and an impromptu medley of Porgy, I Is Your Woman Now / Today Is A Killer / I Loves You Porgy Continue reading

2/12/17 O&A NYC GOSPEL SUNDAY: Ain’t Gonna Let No Body Turn Me ‘Round- The Freedom Singers In Performance at the White House

(Ain’t Gonna let Nobody) Turn Me Round performed by The Freedom Singers at the White House Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement.
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2/10/17 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Mourner’s Bench- Talley Beatty Choreographer

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Talley Beatty choreographed and performed Mourner’s Bench in 1947. It represents the anguish and loss for former slaves, now free men, killed during the Reconstruction Era at the beginning of the rise of the Klu Klux Klan. Beatty explained to me, “People were murdered by the Klan and at daybreak their relatives would find their bodies in the fields still covered in the morning dew.”

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