Artist : Boscoe
Title : Selftitled
Genre : Jazz+Funk
Year : 2007
Date : 12/2008
Bitrate : VBR kbps
Tracks : 08
Label : Numero Group
Source : Vinyl
Encoder : Lame 3.97
Length : 47:23 min
Size : 69,6 MB
Tracklist:
----------
01.introduction 04:24
02.writin' on the wall 08:19
03.he keeps you 04:23
04.we ain't free 08:03
05.if i had my way 04:15
06.i'm what you need 04:07
07.money won't save you 03:37
08.now and den 10:15
-------
47:23 min
ChicagoÆs South Side was the absolute epicenter of African-American creativity.
In any other city, at any other time, they mightÆve been a monstrously important
band, but in the early 1970s, Boscoe was lost in the flurry of acts exploding
musical genres to form ôGreat Black Music.ö While the Art Ensemble of Chicago,
Sun RaÆs Arkestra and Phil CohranÆs Artistic Heritage Ensemble led the charge
away from mainstream culture, past the borders and boundaries of commercial
music, BoscoeÆs lone album was denied inclusion into the canon of Great Black
Music only by its obscurity. An outsider even in an outsider subculture.
Their local pedigree was impressive. To the locals. The first incarnation of the
band, known as From The Womb To The Tomb, backed a host of
Chicago-based acts including Little Johnny Williams, Glenda Dove, the Five
Wagers, Little Oscar, the Sequins, Johnny Moore, the Norfleets, and Ruby
Andrews. In addition to a lengthy residency at the Green Bunny Lounge, Boscoe
gigged 3 to 4 nights a week at The Mark IV, The Burning Spear, Bill Street,
Peyton Place, and Guys and Dolls. And whenever they played the High
Chapparal, crowds could well expect cameos from the likes of Garland Green,
Tyrone Davis, or Syl Johnson.
Thankfully, the band would finally commit to tapeùlive in the studioùthe original
material they had carefully honed in performance. A quick and thrifty approach,
the result. Boscoe, is a vibrant document of an explosive live act at their peak.
BoscoeÆs raw immediacy is undiminished by studio polish or perfectionism, yet
every bass run booms, every vocal rumbles in just the proper manner. Before
Side A is half over, weÆre witness to the invocation of death, a war for peace that
black America is destined to fight, Malcolm X's violent passing, brains already in
the grave, God's damning of us all, and a glib parody of "The Star Spangled
Banner," all served up in a crawling funk fusion as eager to blast us awake with
harsh words as it is with insistent horns.
The Art Ensemble Of Chicago and Sun RaÆs Arkestra continued performing and
repackaging their music in America even after their members and leaders
passed on. BoscoeÆs fate, however, lay on the other side of the world. As copies
of the LP trickled out to Japan, word of mouth spread, positioning Boscoe as a
Holy Grail. But for the members of Boscoe, the renewed interest in their unique
art comes as no surprise. They didnÆt record an album for just one time or place,
or even one skin color. Boscoe was intended as a wake up call, a ticking clock
about to ring that can be ignored no longer. The rediscovery of BoscoeÆs music
was less simple than that of their peers. Art Ensemble Of Chicago and Sun RaÆs
Arkestra saw a major resurgence of interest in the 1990s and have continued
performing and repackaging their music even as members and leaders have
passed on. Across the Atlantic, the rare groove scene would embrace Phil
CohranÆs Artistic Heritage Ensemble and the Pharaohs, sparking several
high-profile reissues. BoscoeÆs fate, however, lay on the other side of the Pacific.
As copies of the LP trickled out to Japan, word of mouth spread, positioning
Boscoe as a sort of Holy Grail for the genre. In 2001 Jamie Hodge began the
process of researching the album for release on his Aestuarium label. Half a
decade later, this reissue is built on the back of his work. For the members ofBoscrein http://www.numerogroup.comnging phone that can be ignored no longer.as