Hands touching hands
“US” A self-help album for married couples from the “Family Enrichment Bureau”. Lectures by author (“The Male Mystique”) and Bureau Director Urban Steinmetz
Side 1: “Married Life” ( Marriage has five stages. The honeymoon stage; disillusionment; misery; the time of awakening; and the time of love.)
Side 2: “The Many Meanings of Sexual Intercourse” (“Sex is never the problem in a marriage. It’s just the experience where all our other problems seem to come into focus.”)
King of the conga
“Acid” Ray Barretto Fania Records (1968) A classic. A well-know dance floor firestarter, but also a great cover worthy of another look. Features “Acid”, “Teacher of Love”, “Mercy, Mercy, Baby”, “Soul Drummers”, “A Deeper Shade of Soul” – the whole LP is an afro-latin, soul, funk and boogaloo fusion that makes you wanna move your feet. “Have you heard them cooking / The Soul Drummers / well they play so cool / Soul Drummers / so hard to resist / Soul Drummers / with the African twist.” A jewel in the amazing Fania catalog. Drop “Acid” at your next party and see what happens.
I’ll be there
New Orleans Jazz Festival Turk Murphy Columbia Records THE New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival started in 1970 with performances by Mahalia Jackson and Duke Ellington, Pete Fountain, Al Hirt, Clifton Chenier, Fats Domino, The Meters, The Preservation Hall Band and included parades every day with The Olympia Brass Band and Mardi Gras Indians. I’ve been to “JazzFest” six times since 1990 and plan on returning this year in April. I’ve seen everyone from Stevie Ray Vaughan and Bob Dylan to countless blues, soul, gospel and zydeco acts over the years. It’s a music and food and good time orgy of non-stop fun.