Marchin’ On

First and foremost, I would like to apologize for the lack of posts as of late, Expect to see a lil more posting over the next little while. My good friend “Reza El Rico” has been expanding his food service empire….He just opened a homemade Ice Cream Shoppe in Toronto’s Kensington Market. It’s Called “Mr. Cream“….And it’s amazing. Go grab a waffle cone.

I on the other hand have a less reasonable excuse for my lack of work…I’ve been drinking.

You see, For the first time in a long time, I’ve been selfish with my time. Anyone who really knows me can tell you… That is not the norm.

I’m the go-to guy when your chips are down, when you need advice, a shoulder to cry and/or lean on.

My life for the last few years has been a whirlwind of outpouring my efforts into things that help other people… My family, My (Ex)girlfriend, My friends, hell….even you, (if you are reading this)…I make nothing from this website, I do it all for free and believe me brother…It has cost me a lot. I’ve been collecting records for over 20 years and i’ve paid for each and every one in more ways than you could imagine.

I had an epiphany while i was swimming in the Caribbean in January, So over  the last few months I’ve made a lot of changes to my life…

1. I realized that I hadn’t seen enough of the world…

-So I’ve been travelling as much as possible.

2. I realized that I wasn’t healthy…

-So I changed my diet.

Since March I’ve lost around 40-45 lbs, gone from a 36″ waist to a 30″ and I just joined a Gym and my very first Yoga class is next week. (Gonna fix that slouchy teenage posture…)

3. I realized that I wasn’t happy with the people around me…

-I cut them off, hard.  “So Bye-Bye to all you groupies and gold-diggers”…

It’s a lot easier to run when you let go of all that dead weight.

4. I realized that I hadn’t really let loose and lost myself in a moment in years.

-So I did. (Once or twice…well,maybe three times.)

…And then I remembered how much fun being ME all by myself really is.

All is well?…no?????

One of my best friends of 10 years tore a strip off my ass yesterday for not making enough of an effort with our friendship as of late, My mother accused me of not helping with the family last week, My Facebook friends number goes down a few people everyday…

All this because for once I decided to focus on myself, just for a little while….To do exactly what I want, in any given moment, as opposed to doing what everyone else wants of me all the time.

Excuse me for attempting to have a life.

The fact of the matter is…People die, Relationships come and go, Your friends will stab you in the back, Your generosity will be quickly forgotten, Your wasted time will not grow back and when the shoe is on the other foot it will not fit somehow.

Take it from me, I’m turning OLD in September (shout out to my Virgo’s) and I have NONE of the things in life that I really truthfully want.

Yeah sure, I have a nice house with a big TV, Records “like…Whoa”, more shoes than Imelda Marcos and so on and so forth…But none of that means Jack-Shit to me at this point in my life.

I don’t care who doesn’t like it, I don’t care who thinks or says anything about me…Come Hell or high water…I’ll get where I need to be before it’s too late, with or without Y’all.

I stay in motion, Forever forward,

Never looking back, Smiling through….MARCHIN’ ON.

* and on that note…

Marchin’ On – Heath Brothers

Strata East Records 1976

The Heath Brothers was an American jazz group, formed in 1975 by the brothers Jimmy on tenor saxophone, Percy on bass, and Albert “Tootie” Heath bringing up the rear on the drums as well as pianist Stanley Cowell in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Tony Purrone on lead guitar and Jimmy’s son Mtume (Of “Juicy Fruit” fame) on percussion joined the group later.

This is the Heath Brothers’ only album for the Strata East label, and man, is it a tough one to find…borderline Holy Grail.

If you only listened to the A-side of this album, you’d find it to be a pleasant, straight-ahead jazz LP, with the warm flute of Jimmy Heath, rich bassline strumming of Percy Heath and labelmate Stanley Cowell cameoing on piano and mbira. “Maimoun” is just a gorgeous, mellow song closing out the first side and their cover of “Watergate Blues” isn’t bad either.

But flip the record over and add on the four part “Smilin’ Billy Suite” and you have the makings of one of Strata-East’s greatest albums. Sure, it helps that Q-Tip sampled “Suite II” for Nas’  Hip- Hop classic “One Love”, thereby introducing the album to the rest of the world… But like Monty Alexander’s “Love and Happiness” (get to that nugget later on…I promise.), the sum of the song is far greater than the sample. By this point in time and thanks to the internets, most folks have heard “Suite II” in some form, fashion or another – Hell…Redman swiped an entire 16 bars of the song on “Supaman Lova Pt. 3”. Catch up.

Cowell’s use of the mbira thumb piano on this tune is just mind blowingly fantastic, giving the whole song a different vibe from the traditional jazz instrumentation.

As a fan of all things Bass, it’s always surprised me how little love “Suite I” receives. While almost all the suites use the same basic melodic riff as a common anchor, “Suite I” focuses mostly on Percy Heath’s basslines before his brother Jimmy’s relaxed flute drifts in. “Suite III” is also pretty solid – much more dramatic and dissonant, largely thanks to Albert Heath’s playing of an African double reed woodwind. “Suite IV” brings back the major refrain once more, this time on sax, with a lighter, more upbeat feel than the previous three Suites. All in all, an undeniable masterpiece of the soul jazz era and one of the most sought after samples in the history of hip hop. The heath brothers went on to record 8 more (in my opinion) amazing albums before Percy Heath passed away in 2004.

Drop some cash,buy this album.

(Yes $150+ is a lot of money for a record, it’s an investment in your ears.)

Grab a copy here.

Or

HERE

@320

See… I’m not that selfish.