AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Horace Silver

Artist:Horace Silver

Song:Nutville

Album:The Best of Horace Silver Vol. II

This is part of my Jazz for Beginners series and the second part of my look at Horace Silver. In the early 60s, it was becoming difficult for Silver to keep a regular band together. After a 1964 trip to Brazil, Silver became interested in exploring his father's Cape Verdean heritage. The result was Silver's most popular album Song for My Father in 1965. This album charted in pop and R&B. So his music was more accessible to non jazz fans. That's a photo of Silver's father on the album cover. Musicians were Carmell Jones on trumpet, Joe Henderson on tenor sax, Teddy Smith on bass and Roger Humphries on drums. Nutville is from the 1966 follow up album The Cape Verdean Blues. The band is completely different from Song for My Father. Trombonist J.J. Johnson was brought in as special guest. The rest of the band was Woody Shaw on trumpet, Joe Henderson on tenor sax, Bob Cranshaw on bass and Roger Humphries on drums. His 1968 album The Jody Grind had even more personnel changes. By the 1968 album Serenade to Soul Sister, there were even more changes. This was typical of jazz in the 60s. You can get Nutville on this budget comp of Silver's 60s recordings. Keeping a band together was becoming a chore. So Silver broke up his band in 1970 to stay close to home. He got married in 1970 and had a son. He formed a new band in 1973. I will look at his later albums at another time. Here's Horace Silver with Bill Hardman on trumpet, Bennie Maupin on sax, John Williams on bass and Billy Cobham on drums performing Nutville at the !968 Copenhagen Jazz Festival.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jaya

Artist:Jaya

Song:If You Leave Me Now

Album:Freestyle Explosion Volume 4

The Filipino singer Jaya scored her only US chart hit with the 1989 single If You Leave Me Now. She's a big star in The Philippines not only as a singer but on TV. She was born Maria Luisa Ramsey Kagahastian Mar. 21, 1970 in Manila, Philippines. Her father was a musician and her mother was a comedian and singer. Her parents separated and her father moved to the US. Jaya started performing at age 12 as a backup singer and dancer. She also performed solo as Louise Ramsey. In 1985, she moved to the US with her mom and performed with other Filipinos like Tillie Moreno and Eddie Mercado. She attended John Marshall High School in Los Angeles which had a large Filipino student population. After graduating from high school, Jaya ran away from home and moved to New York City. She took a job as a backup vocalist for Freestyle singer, songwriter and producer Stevie B. He topped the charts with the 1990 single Because I Love You. But he is also a songwriter and producer and owns the label LMR. He gave her the name Jaya. Her debut album Jaya was released in 1989. The single If You Leave Me Now reached #44 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was written and produced by Stevie B. and Glenn Gutierrez. This turned out to be Jaya's only chart single in the US. You can get it on this Thump Records various artists comp. In 1995, Jaya opened for Asia's Queen of Songs Pilita Corrales. Pilita asked Jaya if she wanted to return to Manila and record an album. Jaya signed with Viva Records and has been very successful ever since. She appears a lot on TV and she records for a label owned by one of the TV networks. I'm sure If You Leave Me Now seems to have happened in another lifetime. But Jaya has been more successful than most Freestyle artists. Here's the video for If You Leave Me Now by Jaya.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Dr. Lonnie Smith

Artist:Dr.Lonnie Smith

Song:People Make the World Go Round

Album:Rise Up!

Back in the 60s, there were two jazz organists named Lonnie Smith. One went by the name Lonnie Liston Smith and the other one changed his name to Dr. Lonnie Smith and started wearing a turban. He toured with this look until his 2021 death. Dr. Lonnie Smith was born July 3, 1942 in the Buffalo suburb of Lackawanna, NY. He was raised by his mother and stepfather. They had a vocal group and radio show. Smith said his mom was a major musical influence. Smith was in the 50s group The Teen Kings which included Grover Washington Jr. on sax. A local music store owner gave Smith his first Hammond B3 organ. Smith moved to New York City in 1965 and was part of George Benson's first band. They recorded two albums for Columbia. Then Smith recorded his debut album Finger Lookin' Good Soul Organ for Columbia. After Benson moved to A&M, the band split up and Lou Donaldson sent Smith to Blue Note. Smith recorded four albums followed by an album for CTI's Kudu label. He took a break at that point and that's when he changed his name to Dr. Lonnie Smith and began wearing a turban. At the the time, Lonnie Liston Smith was in Gato Barbieri's band. He didn't record as a leader until 1973. But jazz fans still confused the two. Obviously Smith was not a doctor. He told Downbeat that he was a doctor of music. He started wearing the turban as a nod to Sun Ra. But the changes were to distinguish himself from Lonnie Liston Smith. Smith signed with Sonny Lester's Groove Merchant label. After that, Smith recorded for all kinds of labels. He was always touring though. His cover of The Stylistics classic People Make the World Go Round is from the 2009 album Rise Up! on Palmetto Records. Smith recorded four albums for Palmetto. Palmetto owner Matt Balitsaris produced the album and also played guitar. Other musicians were Donald Harrison on alto sax, Peter Bernstein on guitar, Herlin Riley on drums and James Shipp on percussion. As you will see in the video, Smith doesn't have a bassist in his band. This album is available as a digital download. Smith returned to Blue Note for the 2016 album Evolution. He continued to tour and record until he died on Sept. 28, 2021 at age 79. Here's Dr. Lonnie Smith with Greg Skaff on guitar and Herlin Riley on drums performing People Make the World Go Round at the Bridgestone Music Festival at Citibank Hall in Sao Paulo, Brazil June 20, 2008. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Larry Harlow

Artist:Larry Harlow f/Ismael Miranda

Song:Arsenio

Album:Greatest Hits

When I tell people that Larry Harlow was musical director of the legendary Salsa record label Fania Records, their response is "He's a Jew?". In fact, he was known in the Salsa community as The Marvelous Jew. So he produced a lot of Fania albums and led his own band Orchestra Harlow. And he led The Fania Allstars. So he was a very important guy at Fania. He was born Lawrence Ira Kahn Mar. 20, 1939 in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, NY. His father Nathan Kahn was a bassist and bandleader known as Buddy Harlowe. His mother was an opera singer. Harlow began piano lessons at age five. And he hung out at the New York club The Latin Quarter where his dad led the house band. At first, Harlow wanted to be a jazz musician. He attended The Music and Art High School. He heard the music of Perez Prado and Tito Puente on his way to school. After graduating from high school, he went to Havana to study Afro Cuban music. When he returned home during the Cuban Revolution, he started his own Latin band and played piano for Johnny Pacheco at the 1964 World's Fair in New York. His own band was The Larry Harlow Orchestra. When Fania Records started up, label owners Johnny Pacheco and Jerry Masucci signed Harlow. Harlow's key album was the 1968 album Orchestra Harlow Presenta A Ismael Miranda. It got a lot of radio play on Latin radio stations. Miranda worked with Harlow a lot. One of Harlow's biggest influences was Cuban bandleader Arsenio Rodriguez. After Rodriguez died in 1970, Harlow released the 1972 album Tribute to Arsenio Rodriguez featuring Ismael Miranda. Though most of the album is Arsenio Rodriguez covers, Arsenio was written by Harlow and Miranda. Musicians on the album were Larry Spencer and Ralph Castrello on trumpet, Leopoldo Pineda and Sam Burtis on trombone, Lydio Fuentes on bass, Frankie Rodriguez on congas and Phil Newsum on timbales. Harlow played piano. This comp is available as a digital download. It was soon after this that Harlow convinced Fania owners Masucci and Pacheco to promote Leon Gast's 1972 documentary Our Latin Thing. And many discovered Fania through that film. Harlow remained with Fania until they ran out of money in the 80s. In the 90s, Harlow formed The Latin Legends Band with percussionist Ray Barretto. And he led that band until his death on Aug. 20, 2021 at age 82. Here's Larry Harlow featuring Ismael Miranda performing Arsenio 2007.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Sharon Shannon

Artist:Sharon Shannon

Song:Cavan Potholes

Album:The Sharon Shannon Collection 1990-2005

Sharon Shannon is an Irish musician best known for playing the button accordion. She also plays fiddle, tin whistle and melodeon. But the button accordion is her main calling card. She is very popular in Ireland but unknown elsewhere. She was born June 8, 1968 in Ruan, Country Clare, Ireland. She was eight years old when she joined the local band Disirt Tola and toured the US with them as a teen. Shannon was also a competitive show jumper. But she gave that up to concentrate on her music. Sharon studied the accordion with Karen Tweed, the fiddle with Frank Custy. And she was a member of the band Arcady. In 1989, she joined the band The Waterboys led by Steve Wickham and Mike Scott. At the time, they were a folk influenced rock band. Sharon left the band when Wickham left in 1991. That's when she recorded her debut album Sharon Shannon on Solid Records. The album was produced by John Dunford who also produced The Waterboys. The album was a big seller in Ireland and she's been going strong ever since. Cavan Potholes is from the 1996 various artists album Common Ground: Voices of Modern Irish Music. Sharon has recorded it on a couple of her live albums but never on a studio album. So this 2CD comp is the best place to get it. Donnal Lunny of Planxty wrote the song and also produced this album. And he plays bouzouki and guitar on this recording. Other musicians include David Hayes on keyboards, Richie Buckley on tenor sax and Nollaig Ni Cathasaigh on fiddle. Sharon records for her own label. Compass distributes her recordings in the US. She last released an album in 2020. And she plays live shows in England. Here's Sharon Shannon performing Cavan Potholes from the 2007 CD/DVD Live at Dolan's. James Delaney plays the piano solo and Richie Buckley plays the Tenor sax solo. The entire concert can be streamed on YouTube.

  

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Em Beihold

Artist:Em Beihold

Song:Numb Little Bug

EP:Egg in the Backseat

After becoming a viral sensation on TikTok, singer songwriter Em Beihold signed with a major label and scored a top 20 with the 2022 single Numb Little Bug. She recently released her debut album and it appears that Em has already been forgotten. I have seen a lot of this sort of thing lately. Of course fame is fleeting. But TikTok fame is even shorter. Record labels are learning that the hard way. Emily Beihold was born Jan. 21, 1999 in Los Angeles. Her mother is an Iranian born filmmaker. Em was six when she saw a piano in a shop window and she begged her parents to let her learn the piano. She began writing songs at age seven. Em attended the University of California, San Diego and was an NCAA All American in Fencing. Meanwhile, she self released a couple of EPs and singles and the 2021 song Groundhog Day became popular on TikTok. Em signed with Universal's Republic label and they released the 2022 single Numb Little Bug. It reached #18 on the Billboard Hot 100. Em wrote and produced the song with veteran producer Dru DeCaro. Republic released it on the EP Egg in the Backseat which is available as a digital download. After that, Republic released a bunch of single. They finally released Em's debut album Tales of a Failed Shapeshifter in 2026. None of Em's recent singles have charted. It looks like she has stalled. The problem is Republic's release strategy. They could have released an album containing Numb Little Bug two years ago. Instead they chose to release singles. This seems to be a strategy for artists who have had viral success. I guess Republic is hedging their bets. But I have seen this strategy before and it doesn't work. It makes Em look like a failure before she even gets started. Here's the video for Numb Little Bug by Em Beihold. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Mary Black

Artist:Mary Black

Song:Mo Ghile Mear

Album:Collected

Singer Mary Black is very popular in her native Ireland. This 1984 recording of the traditional song Mo Ghile Mear is one of her most popular songs. She was born May 23, 1955 in Dublin, Ireland to a musical family. Her father was a fiddler and her mother was a singer. Her siblings are all musicians and they record sometimes as The Black Family. Mary began singing at age eight and as a teen, she performed with her siblings. She joined the folk band General Humbert in 1975. They recorded two albums and she left the band in 1982. She started her own label Dara Records with her husband and released the 1982 album Mary Black produced by Declan Sinnott of the band Horslips. This is where it gets confusing. The traditional Irish song Mo Ghile Mear was on the 1984 album Collected. The song is one of Mary's better known recordings. It was first released on the 1982 album General Humbert II. Dara added that and two other tracks to Collected. The rest of the album was produced by Sinnott. Then they rereleased Collected on CD in 1991. There are a couple of different songs but it's mostly the same album and that's the version that is available as a budget CD on Amazon. At the same time, Mary was in the band De Dannan. Her 1989 album No Frontiers was also very successful. She toured in the US to promote it. Mary switched to the British label Grapevine in the 90s. Those albums were distributed by Gifthorse in the US. Mary last released new music in 2005. She has been concentrating on releasing her back catalog in deluxe editions. But she still plays live shows in Ireland. It seems like she is winding down her career. Here's the video for Mo Ghile Mear by Mary Black.