The Sophisticated Audiophile

November 19, 2011 • 10:59 am 0

El Rego – Benin’s Godfather of Funk

El Rego is a legendary musician from Benin that is getting some much needed attention outside of Benin and Nigeria. Daptone recently released a compilation of his work from the 60s and 70s. It really is a nice entry point for all things El Rego. His music has been on other West African compilations, but this is the first one solely dedicated to him. Get it.

El Rego today. He’s amazed, and touched that people in the West are finally digging what he did over 40 years ago.

The first track on the LP is Feeling You Got.

Filed under: Analog, Audiophile, Blues, Funk, Video, Benin, El Rego

September 26, 2011 • 9:00 am 19

Jazz and Race – The Big Elephant in the Room

We Insist! Max Roach's - Freedom Now Suite

I recently had lunch with a man I consider to be my second dad. He’s been a great mentor to me on all things jazz, blues, and life in general. The depth of his jazz knowledge is incredible. It’s great for several reasons, but the most important one is that he was there in the pivotal period of the late 50s and all throughout the 60s. He experienced it. He saw it happening, so there are no revisionist stories.

I first met Musa Osgood about 11 years ago. He saw me at the now defunct Tower Records in Village browsing through the jazz CD section. I used to workout at Dolphin’s Gym on 14th Street, and so did he. We struck up a friendship over jazz. He told me he was taken aback when he saw me shopping for jazz CDs, because he rarely saw young black people in the jazz section. He said it was something he was happy to see. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Audiophile, Blues, Jazz, Vinyl, Charles Mingus, Civil Rights, Freedom Riders, Jackie McLean, Max Roach

May 16, 2010 • 2:01 pm 19

Do We Really Listen to Music Anymore?

Do we as a society actually listen to music anymore? Well, I won’t go as far as saying we don’t listen to music, that would be silly. However, the manner in which we listen has certainly changed. Not for the better in my opinion. The vast majority of people in today’s society listen to music passively, as opposed to actively. I’ll explain the difference.

Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Analog, Audiophile, Blues, Classical, Digital, Funk, Jazz, Rock, Vinyl, iPod, music