Pee Wee Ellis - Bremen 2004

More funky sounds, this time by Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis, longtime member of the JB's, frequent collaborator of Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley, Ellis also played and arranged for as various musicians as Van Morrison, Omar Sosa, Oumou Sangare, Cheikh Lo, Miguel 'Anga' Diaz and Cachaito Lopez. He played on Ali Farka Toure's final album Savane and has more recently appeared with Farka's son, Vieux Farka Toure as well.

On this fine recording from Germany, Ellis is joined by a German band providing fine backings for his brand of smooth funk. It seems they played in Bremen from September 20-24 that year, and Minor Music released a selection from these dates on one of their Pee Wee discs. I haven't made any comparisons, but what you get here is a full night (or at least much of it), just as the music was performed!

And this includes what's likely the s-l-o-w-e-s-t version of "I Feel Good"! And so you will, after playing this music!



Pee Wee Ellis & Band
Bremen (Germany), Grosser Sendesaal, Radio Bremen
September 23, 2004

Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis – tenor saxophone
Joo Kraus – trumpet
Joe Gallardo – trombone
Ralf Schmidt – keyboard, electric piano
Martin Scales - guitar
Christian Diener – bass
Torsten Krill – drums

Disc 1/59:58
1. Jive Samba (14:28)
2. Ham (12:23)
3. My Neighbourhood (9:35)
4. The Everywhere Calypso (4:09)
5. Blue Bell Pepper (7:33)
6. Riff 39 A (4:52)
7. I Heard It Through The Grapevine (6:54)

Disc 2/48:08
1. Different Rooms (10:35)
2. You Haven´t Done Nothing (5:10)
3. All Four Seasons (5:45)
4. On A Slow Boat To China (6:32)
5. Chicken Soup (9:17)
6. Cherry Red (5:48)
7. I Feel Good (4:44)

Sound: A
Lineage: FM broadcast > ? > cdr > eac > wave > flac frontend
(align on sector boundaries Level 8)

Average White Band - Funky Monday!

Here's a change of pace again... that's good once in a while!

Two seventies shows by the Average White Band - what more could you ask for? So pick up the pieces and cut the cake!

I also posted a short 70s show by Tower of Power a while back, just in case you missed it!



Average White Band
Pittsburgh, PA (USA)
September 16, 1975

Alan Gorrie - lead & background vocals, bass, guitar
Hamish Stuart - lead & background vocals, guitar, bass
Onnie McIntyre - rhythm guitar, background vocals
Steve Ferrone - drums
Molly Duncan - tenor sax
Roger Ball - alto sax

CD1/34:26
1. Cut the Cake (Gorrie/McIntosh/White) 6:47
2. School Boy Crush (Ferrone/Gorrie/Stuart/White) 8:19
3. If I Ever Lose This Heaven (Sawyer/Ware) 7:11
4. Work to Do (Isley/Isley/Isley) 5:06
5. Cloudy (Gorrie/Stuart) 6:59

CD2/64:08
1. TLC (AWB/Gorrie) 22:02
2. Pick up the Pieces (Ball/Stuart/White) 18:56
3. Person to Person (AWB/Gorrie/Stuart) 7:42
4. I Heard It through the Grapevine (Strong/Whitfield) 15:28 [encore]

TT: 98:34

Sound: A/A-

Lineage: sbd reel master > reel > dat > cd wave > flac
reel transfer by the gman '96, tracking/encoding Rob Berger

received this in a recent trade. after a few seconds of listening
this tape forced me to grab my bass for a play-along
altough I haven't heard AWB since 15 years !
so here we are with a re-seed:



http://www.averagewhiteband.com/

last seen on dime in aug 2007
re-seeded by FBAUER 2009-05-28


:: dime comment ::

I think this was orginally recorded (and patially broadcast ) for the King Biscuit Flower Hour. I had the broadcast reels at one time, and the AWB set was abbreviated (of course). The odd thing about the original broadcast, is they were paired with Kiss. I was more interested in the Kiss part...and I am sure some of the Kiss show made it to Alive 1 with tons of added crowd noise.



Average White Band
Queens, NY (USA), Belmont Racetrack
July 23, 1978

Alan Gorrie - guitar, vocals
Onnie McIntyre - rhythm guitar, vocals
Roger Ball - keyboards, alto sax
Hamish Stuart - electric bass, vocals
Steve Ferrone - drums, percussion
Malcolm Duncan - tenor & soprano sax

1. Love Your Life (7:17)
2. Same Feeling, Different Song (5:44)
3. A Love of Your Own (5:45)
4. McEwan's Export (6:29)
5. Your Love Is a Miracle (7:05)
6. She's a Dream (5:34)
7. If I ever Lose this Heaven (8:58)
8. Pick up the Pieces (11:55)

TT: 58:48

Sound: A/A-
Source: WLIR & WPXN FM
Lineage: FM SBD (WLIR & WPXN NY) > CASS > ? > CDR (A/A-)
Transfer: CDR > EAC (secure/offset correct) > WAV > shntool > CDWave (retracked) > shntool (sector boundaries verified) >
Flac Frontend v1.7.1 (level 5) > FLAC by bcc32065 7/25/04


Here is a great AWB show from way way back: July 23, 1978.
From the venerable WLIR-FM, this set smokes. I am sorry that I have nothing more to add in terms of lineage, etc ... The original seeder's somments follow below the fold for your reference. Thank you twofthrs!
Here is what I have found about this show:

Enjoy!
tgb25nld

Tower of Power - San Francisco 1975

Some Oakland funk... Tower of Power is certainly one of the most exciting funk bands around, and yes, around they've been! Here's a short recording from the mid seventies, a homecoming gig in San Francisco's

All props go to the person who was kind enough to share this on dime - I'm merely spreading the message here!



Tower Of Power
S.N.A.C.K Benefit
San Francisco, CA (USA), Kezar Stadium
March 23, 1975

Lenny Pickett - tenor sax, flute, clarinet
Emilio Castillo - tenor sax, vocals
Stephen "Doc" Kupka - baritone sax, vocals
Greg Adams - trumpet, flugelhorn
Mic Gillette - trumpet, trombone
Chester Thompson - keyboards
Bruce Conte - guitar, vocals
Francis Rocco Prestia - bass
David Garabaldi - drums
Hubert Tubbs - lead vocals

1. Bill Graham Intro > Oakland Stroke > What Is Hip? (8:55)
2. Down to the Nightclub (Bump City) (4:41)
3. Sparkling in the Sand (9:31)
4. You're the Most (To Say the Least) (4:05)
5. You're Still a Young Man (6:18)

TT: 33:33

Sound: A-/B+
Lineage: FM.master.(PayLess)cassette>CDR>EAC>WAV>Trader'sLittleHelper>FLAC


Notes: A friend told me he had recorded the Tower of Power's S.N.A.C.K Benefit set on cassette as it was broadcast more than 34 years ago. He lent me the cassette (which needed some repairing) and here are the results. I'm sure there is higher quality of this show out there, but kinda cool to hear it as it was recorded live from the radio.
This was the opening set of the S.N.A.C.K. Benefit (Students Need Athletics, Culture and Kicks) and captures Tower of Power at the time of their most popular album's release, 1975's Urban Renewal. The intense rhythms, powerful horn section and tight vocal arrangements are all here...Tower of Power at their funkiest.
Following Bill Graham's introduction of the band, they launch into a hot jam on "Oakland Stroke" that rips directly into an incendiary "What Is Hip?" to open the set.
Following some tuning and commentary on how much they enjoy being home, they introduce their new vocalist, Hubert Tubbs, before kicking off into Bump City's "Down To The Nightclub." They next slow things down and venture into soul territory with "Walking In The Sand," featuring prominent contributions by Lenny Pickett on flute, and it's back to the funk for "You're The Most (To Say The Least)."
They end the set with one of the first songs Kupka and Castillo wrote together, the highly Motown influenced "You're Still a Young Man," which would eventually become one of Tower of Power's signature songs and their biggest hit. Enjoy!