Baboon Strength is the latest release from Charlie Hunter. He recorded it with drummer Tony Mason, and keyboardist Erik Deutsch. This album, released on Hunter’s label, is a departure from what we’re used to hearing from him.

When I heard the first track, Athens, I started laughing. I just couldn’t contain myself. Baboon Strength isn’t what I expected at all. I have to admit at first I thinking, What the heck is this? But it definitately grew on me.

I love this crazy album. It’s inspired a dancing-good time in this household. It reminds me of sixties surf music recorded eighties style.

My favorite tracks are Difford_Tilbrook, Song for Karen Carpenter, and Porter_Hayes. Download a sample track from the CD below and check out the CD for a good laugh and some wild dancing.
Charlie Hunter
“Welcome to Frankfurt” (mp3)
from “Baboon Strength”
(reapandsow, Inc.)

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More On This Album

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The Half of It’s newly released self-titled CD has recently found its way into my CD collection. This Philadelphia based quartet’s brand of jazz fusion makes you sit up and take notice.

I’m a writer and I usually listen to music while writing. Some music is good for that. This CD isn’t and that’s a good thing. When I’m listening to The Half of It, I want to pay attention to what’s going on in the music. It doesn’t fade into the background. There is so much going on musically and I want to hear every bit of it.

This CD is full of original tunes. The rhythm section is tight and has a really good feel. My favorite track is D’faij. It’s really funky and has inspired some of my best chair dancing (dancing whilst remaining seated) to date.

Check out their website here and their MySpace page here. The CD is available for sale at CD Baby and can be downloaded from iTunes.

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I recently got a new CD and was playing it while writing one of my blogs. “What’s this?” my husband asked when he came into the room. “This is good. What is it?” he asked again.

I didn’t want to tell him. It is rare that I find music that he can’t identify, but thinks is good. After letting him ask a few more times I finally came clean and told him.

Soul Cycle is a New York based group that blows my mind. I’ve been listening to Urban Organics constantly for several days. Once I find a CD I like I listen to it over and over again for a month straight.

The funky rhythms make me want to get up and dance. When I’m driving they make me go a little too fast. I guess I can’t hold the band responsible for my speeding tickets, can I?

I’m partial to the saxophone, so the first thing that I noticed about the CD was that the sax playing is great. When my father heard the CD–he’s a jazz pianist–he kept saying, “Who’s that piano player? I really like what he’s doing.”

Usually, I write about my favorite tracks on a CD, but I like all of them on this one. I just went through all of the tracks again to find a favorite and I really can’t choose a favorite.

You can check out the band on their MySpace page. You can download their music on iTunes. You can buy the CD from CD Baby.

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When my husband came home from a trip to London last February, he packed his keys in his suitcase–but that’s a different story–and he brought back some CD’s recorded by people he knew. It took a while before we listened to any of them. They sat in a stack behind the speaker on the computer desk gathering dust. One day while cleaning, I happened across them. Bee for Bass stood out to me because of the silly cover art. I mentioned it to my husband and we decided to listen to it.

When the CD started, I was surprised. I don’t know what I was expecting exactly but it wasn’t this. The CD spans genres from folk to pop to jazz. It features bass and vocals with some percussion and additional instrumentation here and there. Every track has an excellent guest performer. The sparseness of the tracks is refreshing.

After listening to the first three tracks on the CD, I told my husband that I liked it quite a lot.

“So do I,” he said as he sat down at the computer to email Andy and let him know.

Later that afternoon I took the CD to my car with me. That’s where all the CD’s I like end up. My favorite tracks are Getting On, Camel’s Back and Dear Love.

Besides being the nicest guy in the world, Andy Hamill is a darn good double bass player. Check out his website here.

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Patrick Bettison’s Walkin’ All Around is a unique blend of jazz improvisation and world beats. I might be a bit biased, but I think it’s a great CD. Patrick Bettison is my husband, and he recorded Walkin’ All Around in our small two bedroom apartment. I’d hunker down in the bedroom while he recorded himself beating on a TV table in the living room. The living-room floor was constantly strewn with cables. He was always looking for new objects to shake or beat for percussion–boxes of couscous, vitamin bottles. Sometimes I’d timidly stick my head through the door and ask if I could get a drink of water.

Now that the recording, mixing and mastering of the CD is done, you’d think I’d never want to hear it again, but I still want to listen to it. I slip it into the CD player on my commute to work. It’s one of my favorite CD’s.

The tracks on the CD range from silly to sad. Some have a New Age feel and some sound like traditional jazz. My favorite tracks are Boxing the Clown, Walkin’ All Around, and Missed Friend.

You can download the album from iTunes or buy the CD from CD Baby.

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