6 May 2010, Comments (0)

Calvin Owens’ Show-The Cat (Klondike 196/7? )

Author: alex larotta
Photobucket

Giving some more love and attention to the diverse soundscapes of Houston’s funk and soul movement, I brought some hearty big-band orchestral funkness today from the Bayou City’s own legendary trumpeter, Mr. Calvin Owens. Originally recorded and released on Skipper Lee Frazier’s Ovide Records, this debut single then went on to be picked up by Owens’ own Sawdust Records and later saw a 3rd release on Klondike Records out of Memphis, TN. Interestingly enough, Klondike was a subsidiary label of Holiday Inn Records (yes, THE Holiday Inn) which saw a small career in record production and distribution in the 1960s. After a relatively unsuccessful run in the music industry, Holiday Inn Records was then acquired by Sun Records’ Sam Phillips until the end of its activity, estimated to be in the late 60s to early 70s.

Calvin Owens led a successful career as an arranger and session bandplayer primarily in Houston and Memphis, along with a decade-plus stint in Belgium, all of which included a top-notch musical resume with the likes of B.B. King, T-Bone Walker, David “Fathead” Newman, and Willie Nelson to name a few. Owens’ musical foundation was steeped in traditional jazz and blues, but flirted with contemporary stylings such as R&B and soul music as pop music went mainstream. Owens’ unique approach of blending jazz and blues elements created his signature sound, which is well represented here as well as his most well-known arrangement credits for B.B. King’s Grammy award-winning Blues n’ Jazz LP.

“The Cat” is a certifiable big band funk number, well known within the beat sample community for the featured drum break that plows in some 40 seconds after the opening. Outside of the big break, it’s simply a well orchestrated mid-tempo slab of brassy instrumental funk. The featured arrangement components include the continual dribbling of the snare and Owens’ colorful trumpet stabs, ushering a unique melding of swing-style jazz horns and funky rhythm syncopation. And it may come to no surprise that Owens was a good friend and collaborator with fellow jazz conductor and Houston icon, Conrad “The Prof” Johnson, known for his involvement with the Kashmere Stage Band in the 60s and 70s, as well his own lengthy career in music production. Owens passed away in 2008, leaving behind an illustrious discography of recordings and arrangements as well as his footing as a legend in Houston’s musical history. So, in his memory, take in “The Cat” and ready yourself for some big ol Houston trumpet funk!

Photobucket

LISTEN: Calvin Owens’ Show-The Cat
28 Apr 2010, Comments (6)

The Insight/Gilbert and his Blue Notes-Out Of Sight (Cascade/Rosina 196?)

Author: alex larotta
Photobucket

Welcome to another edition of relatively unknown 7″ singles from Texas. I thought I’d bring it on back home this week and bring some funky soul fury from the southeasterly quarters of Houston, TX. To be precise, The Insight cut their single “Out Of Sight” out of Pasadena, TX at Pasadena Sound Studios, but I tend to lump artists and labels from this area within the Houston circuit because of its proximity to the city limits. That being so, this is the only known documented single from this Texas group, and the only record I know of from this label. It’s as ‘one-off’ as you can get, all told. Though facts of this record are few and far between, I do know that this is one of the first known recordings from Texas’ legendary albino bluesman, Johnny Winter. Johnny Winter was active throughout the Houston and Beaumont area (now known to music historians to be within ‘The Golden Triangle’ in Texas) throughout the 1960s, and subsequently released various singles under an arrangement of groups and recording names. If I was to estimate, I’d put this record somewhere around ‘65 or ‘66 due to its near-matched arrangement qualities shared with James Brown’s “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag”, originally released in 1965. Just as The Beatles inspired a generation of garage rock kids to create rock and roll movements across the world, James Brown’s widely credited introduction of funk and soul rhythm in pop music inspired soulers across the world to ‘do the James Brown’ their own way.

Photobucket

Now, to add to the obscurity of this recording, we have a cover of this single from San Antonio’s Gilbert and his Blue Notes, recorded and distributed out of San Marcos, TX. I personally find it fascinating because of the scale of obscurity and relative unknown original version to then be covered by a chicano soul group out of San Antonio, TX. Gilbert’s rendition of the original has a decidedly rougher recording element to the original version, with a loose horn section and gritty lo-fi guitar and bass arrangement. Overall, the recording lacks the luster of The Insight’s original, but it’s a noteworthy cover, especially for Texas latin soul. Nevertheless, hope these tracks get you through the day, these are some of my favorite recent additions to my collection and I am more than happy to share!

LISTEN: The Insight-Out Of Sight

LISTEN: Gilbert and his Blue Notes-Out of Sight
15 Apr 2010, Comments (5)

Jon & Robin and The In Crowd – Dr. Jon (The Medicine Man) (Abnak) 1968

Author: michael selman
kenny and the kasuals

In the early 60s, John Howard Abdnor Sr. an insurance/business mogul turned record baron started Abnak Records in Dallas. Abdnor’s son, John Abdnor Jr. was the primary vehicle for the musical venture, as an outlet for the young adult’s creative interests. Abdnor Sr. quickly realized the monetary value to a successful record label when he signed The Five Americans and became their manager. Abdnor also started up the subsidiary label, Jetstar.

impact scan
Abdnor Jr. recorded a few uncharting singles on his fathers label, in 63’ and 64’ only gaining airplay in his hometown of Dallas. Because of his father’s connections, scored a single on ATCO to reach a national audience. After this failure, Abdnor was paired with female vocalist Javonne Braga, forming the duo Jon & Robin. Javonne’s name was changed professionally to Robin, being a replacement of Jon’s original partner Robin Beavers, who wouldn’t work with Abdnor and quit before the group recorded any material. As Jon & Robin, Abdnor finally reached a national audience charting nationally in the top 20’s in 1967 with their hit “Do It Again A Little Bit Slower.” The duo’s backing band was a five piece known as The In Crowd.

impact scan

The photo above was taken at Louann’s in Dallas

A few sources, which turned up, stated falsely that the backing band for this duo was the Louisiana group, also named The In Crowd, who recorded for the Ronn Label. This In Crowd (the Abnak In Crowd) consisted of Bobby Rambo (guitar, percussion), Jim Glaves (keyboards), Pete Monlino (guitar), James Anderson (bass), and Rex Ludwick (drums). The group had a sound, which mimicked The Five Americans because of their great success in Dallas and nationally. The In Crowd tried to release a few singles with minimal success. When the second Jon & Robin full length was dropped the In Crowd was down to just Rambo and Glaves with three members of The Five Americans John Durill, Jim Grant, and Jimmy Wright, along with the Americans front man Mike Rabon doing all the production. In fact after the groups second single “Hangin’ From Your Lovin’ Tree” in mid 68’ the group disbanded and Rambo joined The Five Americans lineup in 1969.

impact scan
Jon & Robin and The In Crowd never reached their initial success, received from their first charting hit, however did continue to chart in the low 100s. They released a full length in 1967, with their hit pushing it through, named Soul of a Boy and Girl. In 1968 with their second full length, Elastic Event, the group shifted gears and transformed their sound to more of a fuzzed, bubble gum, psych sound. This full length contained the single “Dr. Jon (The Medicine Man).” This single was not unlike the rest of this LP with fuzz blasting, summoning an aggressive tone yet still containing a strong pop sensibility, through catchy hooks and great harmonies. Dr Jon was written by Wayne Carson Thompson, made famous for writing The Box Top’s hit, “The Letter.”

impact scan
Spearheaded from poor sales of their second full length each Jon & Robin tried a solo go of it, with minimal success yet again. Jon recorded a single “Save Me, Save Me,” which was coined Jon & The In Crowd notably with Robin’s name missing from the disc, and the flip of an earlier Jon & Robin Tune. Robin’s single “Dirty Old Man” was received just as poorly with a flip of another earlier Jon & Robin tune as well. The two reunited in late 68’ for a few more singles only to call it quits in 1969. Javonne Braga married Five Americans drummer Jimmy Wright in 1970. Jon tried to continue a music career with only dead ends following him in every direction. Jon ended up having a mental breakdown and was check in at Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, where he supposedly developed an affair with his psychiatric nurse. After Abdnor’s release, he and the nurse moved into together, where Jon’s mental difficulties followed, for Jon murdered her in the home.

LISTEN: Jon & Robin and The In Crowd – Dr. Jon (The Medicine Man)

8 Apr 2010, Comments (6)

Zakary Thaks – Face to Face (J-Beck) 1967

Author: michael selman

Corpus Christi was quite a breeding ground for early punk groups. Zakary Thaks has come to be what many consider as one of the innovators of Texas garage. Thaks came out of the demise of two groups The Marauders and The Riptides, which mostly played surf instrumentals. The members of the group were Chris Gerniottis (vocals), Pete Stinson (rhythm guitar), Rex Gregory (bass) and John Lopez (lead guitar), and Stan Moore (drums). Over the few years they were together, a few line up changes took place, members went on to play with other excellent bands including Bubble Puppy and Liberty Bell.
Zakary Thaks recorded for the local J Beck label along side The Bad Seeds. J Beck was owned by Carl Becker and his brother in law Jack Salyers, which came to create J Beck. Their first single was an original tune “Bad Girl” with a Kinks cover for the flip, “I Need You.” Bad Girl was recorded out of Jimmy Nicholl’s studio owner of Pharaoh Records. The second single, “Face To Face,” was recorded at Jones Studio in Houston in 1967. This was an eight-track studio, a far cry from the two-track studio used for their first single. Being an intense, tight group the Thaks were renowned for their live shows and would pack venues across Texas.


Since most of our readers here have heard of this group many times, and because of the abundance of information and plenty of interviews on the web, I am going to keep it short this week. I am posting this disc because I was able to catch the Texas Monthly showcase during SXSW, and Chris Gerniottis played with The Ugly Beats, I was blown off my feet. It was as if all the Zakary Thaks records were being played over the loud speaker. Gerniottis is as punk as ever with all the tone he had in 1966. I could not believe the sound that came off the stage that evening. Other groups in attendance that night were the Green Fuzz of Bridgeport, Mouse and The Traps of Tyler, Christopher and The Souls of McAllen, The Nova’s of Dallas and Kenny and The Kasuals of Dallas. The night was chock full of Texas Nuggets, who with out a doubt can still play and play with the fury they had in the mid sixties. If any one has not heard of this group please read this interview atT. Tex Hex, and if you can, check out Not Fade Away issue # 3, which is where I was able to score the scan below of The Thaks playing live in 1966.


LISTEN: Zakary Thaks – Face To Face

Page 7 of 20« First...567891020...Last »