MILES DAVIS & JEANNE MOREAU share this scene from "Ascenseur pour l'échafaud" by Louis Malle

One night I rented "Elevator To The Gallows" from the liberry and was pleasantly surprised with it. It's a French film called "Ascenseur pour l'échafaud" by Louis Malle that he made when he was 23. He had the genius balls to ask Miles to come to Paris and record with a band he had picked out. Miles and the band was asked to improvise to certain scenes and i think i remember reading he and the band watched the movie once through and then recorded all the music you hear in the film on the second watch through. Pretty all around amazing film and soundtrack/Miles Davis album. This is a classic cinema scene in the film when Jeanne Moreau walks Paris streets to Miles Davis worried that her lover has stood her up/left her. He is really stuck in an elevator at the time and in some deep shit with more than just her.

The Temptations "Take A Stroll Thru Your Mind"

This is the 8 min of mad funk that follows "Hum Along And Dance".

The Temptations - Hum Along And Dance

For a time the Temptations were an amazing funk band. This is a track that was cut on the album Psychedelic Shack. The record was cut so that "Hum Along and Dance" (this track) would flow right into "Take A Stroll Thru Your Mind" (next track I'll post) even though they were listed as separate tracks on the album. Could you imagine hearing this 12 min of madness back in 1970 when this first came out? The Jackson 5 covered this but don't hold a candle to the audio perfection in the Temptation's version. I specifically remember the first time I heard this album on vinyl, I simultaneously became a fan of a side of the Temptations I had never known. I was only familiar with their radio hits but hearing this album led me to their album Psychedelic Soul which definitely blew my mind. They were crazy funky psychedelic for a period of time (68-73) and their Psychedelic Soul album contains remastered and uncut jams (some over 12 min long) from only that era. Funk it's great stuff.

The Pharcyde - Drop

Spike Jonez's utterly magical video for Pharcyde's track Drop off of the (mostly produced by Jay Dee) album Labcabincalifonia. Read more about video here: http://deliciousvinyl.com/mrdelicioussez/?p=30 I remember deejaying a house party back in 1996 and this girl handed me this album to play. I had sadly slept on this album when it came out in 1995 and was blown away at how good it was when I first gave it a spin at the party. The girl never returned to claim her album that night and I was then the owner of what would become one of my favorite hip hop albums produced by my favorite producer of all time. The production is still so very fresh. Thank you Jay Dee.

Onra and Quetzal - Caramel Dream

I think I could listen to this track on repeat for the rest of my day and still enjoy it. Tribute by Onra & Quetzal is a really nice album sprinkled with Dilla influences throughout.

Cumbia Colombiana- La Zenaida- Armando Hernandez

This is a great example of traditional Cumbia: La Zenaida by Armando Hernandez. Cumbia is by far my biggest musical obsession of 2010. Colombian Cumbia is my favorite though there are so many countries that have produced (and are producing) quality Cumbia that I can't say for sure which style is my favorite. The music is often amazing but the musicians and the dancers together live (as sort of shown here) are even more of a total package. Cumbia is truly American roots music which is currently undergoing a modern transformation. Nu Cumbia (Nueva Cumbia) or Cumbia Digital is the updating, remixing and creating of fresh new Cumbia with a more digitized sound. It is part of the loosely labled "Tropical Bass" genre that is quietly taking the world by storm. Here's a tip for DJs: Recognize this genre/movement or risk getting left behind in your basement while the rest of us are on a beach dancing our asses off to something fresh. I will be posting more about Cumbia in the future...

Shuggie Otis - Aht Uh Mi Hed

This track is off the 1974 Shuggie Otis album Inspiration Information. The album had taken almost three years to finish, and all the songs were written and arranged by Otis, who played almost exclusively every instrument on the album. However, Inspiration Information was far from a commercial success. After the album's release, Otis was approached by Billy Preston on behalf of The Rolling Stones, asking him to join the band for their upcoming world tour. He declined the offer, along with the chance to work with Quincy Jones in helping produce Otis's next album, which was never recorded. After a series of similar refusals and concert incidents, Otis gained the reputation of being a prima donna, and became less sought after as a session musician. Otis lost his recording contract with Epic Records and his fame diminished by the late 1970s.

He is best known for Strawberry Letter 23 (covered and made famous by The Brothers Johnson in 1977) which is on Inspiration Information but my favorites from the album are "Aht Uh Mi Hed" and "Inspirational Information". It's a damn shame that so many music lovers have slept on Shuggie for he blended soulful and funky as good as anyone ever has and was way ahead of his time.