Pinball Wizards

So I know last time I said we would talk about the Mizell brothers, but I was just making a cup of tea here at First Word HQ when this little gem popped into my head. I don't know about you, but us lovely people here in the office grew up watching Sesame Street. It's magical mix of wonderful characters such as The Count (without Sinden back then), Cookie Monster (before the Larry Levan Mix), Burt and Ernie, Snuffleufugus and Big Bird, along with its entertaining outlook at education made it far and away the best thing on TV. One thing stood out however, and still to this day remains possibly the most endearing part of this wonderful show. Performed by the Pointer Sisters, 'The Pinball Number Count' was a hazy mix of psychedelic visuals and heavy jazz funk vibes. Each time I'd watch the show, I would wait with bated breath for this intoxicating piece of animation to appear without a second thought as to how it would shape my musical tastes in the years to come. For those who want a copy, DJ Food did a re-edit of it a few years back which can be found on a Ninja Tune 12" through discogs, but I have yet to find it on one of the many Sesame Street LPs that were released. If anyone can point me in the right direction on that front then drop us an email here at the First Word office. I'll leave you to reminisce now over this wonderful creation......until next time fellow music lovers.

Donald Byrd rocks my world!

There are a select group of jazz musicians who have managed to bridge both the traditional and more the modern forms of Americas greatest music. One of these is the great Donald Byrd. From his early days playing with the likes of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock and Thelonius Monk to his contributions to Guru's "Jazzmatazz" albums, he has become one of the most lauded and possibly most recorded trumpeters of all time. However, in the mid to late 70s he would record three albums for the mighty Blue Note Records that would catapult both him and his music into the unknown. "Black Byrd", "Stepping into Tomorrow" and "Places and Spaces" would become the embodiment of everything that was Jazz Funk and provide a plethora of inspirations for both the hip hop and acid jazz scenes. Of course a large amount of credit must be given to the Mizell Brothers whose shadows loom large across the entire black musical spectrum in this period, but we shall speak about them in much greater length at a later date. Along side his career as one of Blue Notes greatest recording artists he taught music at a number of American universities and last year was named as artist in residence at Delaware State University. So without further ado, I give you one of my all time favourite Donald Byrd tracks, the magnificent "Think Twice"