A Playlist From My Father

My dad died last week after a short illness. He was 87. Processing his death is not coming naturally to me. What is easier to do right now is think about what he gave us – my sister and me – and one of those things is a love of music. He always listened to music on our family road trips. By simply by enjoying the music he loved, my father revealed it to us as a source of joy and solace.

Our musical tastes rarely overlapped. He was a staunch classical music enthusiast. He loved his orchestral easy-listening records (Percy Faith, James Last, Henry Mancini) and was an avid collector of MGM, Rogers & Hammerstein, and Gilbert & Sullivan musical soundtracks. The big band era was another favourite – Glenn Miller especially. He recounted as a young lad in the late 1940’s, whenever “In the Mood” (His Master’s Voice, 1939) could be heard emanating from the family radio, he would rush forth and listen intently. As my musical taste broadened, jazz became our common ground. Ahmad Jamal’s At the Pershing: But Not For Me (Argo, 1958) was among the vinyl in his proud collection and one of my favourites too.

So, this is not a playlist for my father but rather from him. Why do I love the music I love? Did it stem from those long road trips and vibrations heard through my childhood home? What germs of orchestration, melody, and mood were implanted in me to later flourish in my own musical library? My father’s taste was an essential ingredient in forming my own. My selections reflect that DNA.

This is not a playlist for my father but rather from him. His taste was an essential ingredient in forming my own. My selections reflect that DNA.

Playlist From My Father (listen on Spotify)

Part I: Orchestral

I find the lush sound of a 50-piece orchestra familiar and comforting. Be it classical, easy-listening, or jazz, my father often gravitated toward the sound of strings, big horn sections, and the grandeur of a large orchestra. In my youth, I often found it boring, not really appreciating the delicate balance arrangers must strike to make the orchestra work as one while featuring the right elements at the right time. Over the years, I came to appreciate what skillful orchestration can do for a tune and developed an affinity for great string arrangements in any genre.

1. Lujon, Mr. Lucky & Mr. Lucky Goes Latin, Henry Mancini (BMG, 1960)
2. Fuji, Breeze from the East, Cal Tjader (Verve, 1964)
3. Give Me a Song with a Beautiful Melody, The Essential Sarah Vaughan, Sarah Vaughan (CoolNote, 2006)
4. Lost My Love, Clap, Clap! The Joyful Noise, Kenny Cox (180 Proof, 2013)
5. Islands in the Sky, The Many Moods of Murry Wilson, Murry Wilson (Capitol, 1967)
6. Scary Times, Untitled (Rise), Sault (Forever Living Originals, 2020)
7. Antiquity, Timeless: Suite for Ma Dukes, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson & Suite for Ma Dukes Orchestra (Mochilla, 2022)

Part II: Jazz

My taste in jazz is constantly developing. My father’s influence exposed me to the big band sound and my taste leans heavily toward jazz-funk and anything Herbie Hancock touches. Lately, I’ve been following newer musicians like Ashley Henry, Kamaal Williams, and Makaya McCraven. With each step in my exploration, I’m thankful for the nudge my father gave me toward jazz and its expanding universe.

1. Poinciana, Ahmad Jamal Trio at the Pershing: But Not For Me, Ahmad Jamal (Argo, 1958)
2. Like It Is, The Blue Yusef Lateef, Yusef Lateef (Atlantic, 1968)
3. Les Fleurs, Maiden Voyage, Ramsey Lewis (UMG Recordings, 1968)
4. Gentle Thoughts, Secrets, Herbie Hancock (Columbia, 1976)
5. Wind Parade, Places and Spaces, Donald Byrd (Blue Note, 1975)
6. Ahmed, Beautiful Vinyl Hunter, Ashley Henry (Sony Music, 2019)
7. Autumn in New York, Deciphering the Message, Makaya McCraven (UMG Recordings, 2021)
8. Better Late Than Never, About Time, Malcolm Strachan (Haggis Records, 2020)
9. 1974, Jukka Eskola, Jukka Eskola (Free Agent Records, 2005)
10. High Roller, The Return, Kamaal Williams (Black Focus, 2018)

Part III: Latin

My father emigrated from India in the late 1950’s, around the time Mongo Santamaria was changing American pop music forever. The Cuban percussionist brought Afro-Cuban rhythms to the continent and inspired popular musicians of the day to adopt the style and record prolifically in the genre. My father’s collection features a vinyl recording of Malaguena, which I always loved. It set me on my journey of discovery of Latin music and an even deeper love of music from Brazil.

1. Malaguena, Malaguena: Music of Cuba, Percy Faith & His Orchestra (Sony Music, 1959)
2. Indestructible, Indestructible, Ray Barretto (Craft Recordings, 1973)
3. Guaraguao, Rey del Bajo, Bobby Valentin (Craft Recordings, 1974)
4. Canto de Ossanha, Os Afro Samba (feat. Vinicius de Moraes), Baden Powell (Baden Powell Producoes Artisticas, 2008)
5. Recado Bossa Nova (Remastered), Dippin’, Hank Mobley (Blue Note, 2005)
6. Super Strut, Deodato 2, Deotato (Sony Music, 1973)
7. Amajour, Touching You, Touching Me, Airto Moreira (WEA International, 1979)

Part IV: Vocal Performance

One could not be thirty-something in the 1960’s, as was my father, and not have more than a few Frank Sinatra records in their collection. Sinatra was a sure thing whenever he appeared on the car radio on our family road trips. I also have a faint memory as a child of getting a kick out of High Hopes (Capitol, 1959) because of the lyric, “anyone knows an ant can’t move a rubber tree plant.” Sinatra was my gateway to many other iconic vocalists including Sarah Vaughan, Nina Simone, and more recently, Gregory Porter and Michael Bublé.

1. Baubles, Bangles and Beads, Sinatra/Jobim: The Complete Reprise Recordings, Frank Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim (Frank Sinatra Enterprises, 2010)
2. Waters of March, Giants of Jazz: Mark Murphy, Mark Murphy (Savoy Records, 2004)
3. I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free, Silk & Soul, Nina Simone (Sony Music, 1967)
4. That’s All, Crazy and Mixed Up, Sarah Vaughan (Fantasy, 1982)
5. See You When I Git There, Unmistakably Lou, Lou Rawls (Sony Music, 1977)
6. Kissing a Fool, Michael Bublé, Michael Bublé (Reprise, 2002)
7. Giving You the Best That I Got, Giving You the Best That I Got, Anita Baker (Atlantic Recordings, 1988)
8. 1960 What? – Edit, Still Rising – The Collection, Gregory Porter (Gregory Porter, 2021)

Eipilogue

Whether by accident, intention or a bit of both, my son has become an accomplished musician, recording under the moniker, Stellar Echo. My playlist closes with a song composed, performed, and produced by my father’s grandson.

1. December Morning, Sometimes It Rains, Stellar Echo (Stellar Echo, 2022)

My Philly Sound Playlist

Playlist: The Philadelphia Sound

Philadelphia Soul is not so much a genre as it is a sound. The “Philly Sound” is described pretty well by its Wikipedia entry, Producers Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff (pictured) are the pioneers behind much of the music with this moniker but it is not restricted to Gamble & Huff or the Philadelphia International Records label.

Since I wanted to learn more about the sound, its history, and the producers and musicians who made it come to life, I thought a playlist was just what I needed to traverse its soundscape.

1. Mister Magic – Grover Washington Jr., Mister Magic, (UMG Recordings, 1974)
2. K-Jee – MFSB, Universal Love (Philadelphia International Records, 1975)
3. I Love Music – The O’Jays, Family Reunion (Philadelphia International Records, 1975)
4. People Make the World Go Round – The Stylistics, The Stylistics (Avco, 1971)
5. Lady Love – Lou Rawls, When You Hear Lou, You’ve Heard it All (Philadelphia International Records, 1977)
6. One on One – Hall & Oates, H2O (RCA, 1982)
7. Me and Mrs. Jones – Billy Paul, 360 Degrees of Billy Paul (Philadelphia International Records, 1972)
8. Work it Out  (single) – Breakwater,(Arista, 1979)
9. Minute by Minute – The Doobie Brothers, Minute by Minute (Warner Bros., 1978)
10. Nights Over Egypt  (single) – The Jones Girls, (Philadelphia International Records, 1981)
11. Funkfoot – Grover Washington Jr., Live at the Bijou (Kudu Records, 1977)

I’ve bookended the playlist with Grover Washington Jr. The closing selection is from his brilliant live album, Live at the Bijou. You can read my review of that here. Although his breakthrough was 1980’s Winelight (Elektra Entertainment), Grover Washington Jr.’s rise arguably began 13 years earlier when he landed in Philadelphia as a sideman. I wonder if the warm bass and keyboard textures on Mister Magic were the product of or inspiration to recordings in the Gamble & Huff songbook?

MFSB and the O’Jays are two acts that were firmly in the Philadelphia International Records stable. MFSB (or Mother, Father, Brother, Sister) featured prominent string arrangements and squelchy guitars that would win them a place on the now classic Saturday Night Fever soundtrack (RSO, 1977), released two years after K-Jee was recorded.

The Stylistics showcase a falsetto vocal, prominent in many classic Philly Soul recordings. This tune was used beautifully in the opening montage of Spike Lee’s film, Crooklyn. Vocals are also featured on the next three tracks, beginning with the relaxed smoothness of Lou Rawls. Philadelphia natives Daryl Hall and John Oates, were undoubtedly influenced by their surroundings and carried the torch admirably well into the late Eighties. The next track, Me  & Mrs. Jones, was covered by Hall & Oates but I’ve selected Billy Paul’s original here, written by Gamble & Huff themselves.

The next two tracks by Breakwater and The Doobie Brothers are not officially associated with the Philly scene. But this is proof the “sound” escaped the confines of Gamble & Huff’s realm and influenced so many artists past and present. Minute by Minute was an uncharacteristic album for a “country rock” band like the Doobies but it was their greatest success. I posted a short review of that album here.

The Jones Girls were another staple with Philadelphia International Records. Nights Over Egypt was not their biggest hit but has weathered the years better than most other songs in their catalogue. Nights was written by Dexter Wansel, a close collaborator with Gamble & Huff.