FIVE YEARS OF SOUL SIDES
posted by O.W.
Today, Soul Sides turns five years old as an audioblog. In internet years, that means we should qualify for a pension soon and I have, of course, all of you to thank for the constant support over that time. Soul Sides has also been graced with very supportive press over the years as well and I'm very humbled by their favorable words.
In honor of those five years, I plan on commemorating in a few ways. The first is in reposting key songs (in my opinion) that Soul Sides has plugged over the years - I picked 4 per year. At the end, I'm going to create a limited edition CD with all 20. And finally, later in March, I'd like to have an anniversary party at Boogaloo[LA] to commemorate as well.
And if you have some personal favorites, I'd be curious to know what they are - feel free to discuss in the comments.
To kick off the 5 year celebrations, here's the very first post (w/ sound) I made for Soul Sides, five years ago today:
Originally posted Feb. 29, 2004.
Dizzy Gillespie: Matrix
From The Real Thing (Perception, 1971)
This has long been not only one of my favorite Gillespie cuts of all time but one of my favorite soul jazz tunes, period. Based on the original composition of Gillespie's pianist Mike Longo, "Matrix" just grooves with a smooth, smoky beauty. The recurring horn riff is super funky and catchy, the main guitar line is similarly memorable and the bassline breakdown? Sublime. Throw in some snappy drumming and you have one helluva dance floor spin not to mention excellent listening material.
