Digging for Weldon Irvine

We were honored to welcome filmmaker Victorious De Costa into the studio for an extended chat on the music and legacy of the genius that is Weldon Irvine.
Victorious shared his experience and knowledge gained from directing the heartfelt documentary film Digging for Weldon Irvine.

“Digging For Weldon Irvine explores the enduring legacy of a man deeply vital to the culture of black freedom expression, yet is somehow overlooked within that very lexicon.” - Angelika Beener

Learn more about the authorized documentary here and check out the conversation and the music above. We got deep into the soul of a beautiful being!

Mr. Reed's Recession Free Soul

East New York’s own Mr. Reed joins us to discuss his philosophy of soul, music and life and brings along plenty of sounds that illustrate why this hard working musician is a jewel in the crown of new R&B and soul music.

The elegance of Dionne Warwick

One of the most accomplished and distinctive voices that transcends genre, Dionne Warwick is a true legend. 

The Sweet Spot was beyond thrilled to speak to her about her decades of hits, her partnership with Burt Bacharach and Hal David and her new release "I'm Back". 

Every bit as warm and lovely as her music, tune in for a warm and wonderful conversation with a legendary artist followed by a Dionne Warwick power hour of music! 

Robert "Kool" Bell and Prince Hakim - A Kool & the Gang Family Interview

photo: Glenn Elfer

2019 marks an incredible 50 years of the seminal jazz/funk/r&b band Kool & the Gang and we were beyond thrilled to have Robert “Kool” Bell in the studio to play some of the deeper cuts from the bands vast catalog of hits and b-sides before they hit stages worldwide this year to “Celebrate”.
Prince Hakim Bell joined his father in the studio and debuted his new single and proved indeed that talent runs deep in the Bell DNA.

This was an incredible two hours of radio where we learned of Mr. Bell’s humanitarian efforts in Africa with sustainable energy, The Kool Kids Foundation which provides musical education opportunities in schools, a new “Just Kool” fragrance to keep you “Fresh” and a “Le Kool” champagne to celebrate half a century of groundbreaking music.
NOT to mention a whole lot of incredible stories to go along with the even more incredible tunes these legends have gifted us.
Rumour has it that there is a book and movie in the works and we can’t wait but until then take a listen to the longest running and one of the most groundbreaking R&B bands ever.
After 50 years we still can’t get enough of that “Funky Stuff”!
This episode is dedicated to the memory of “Lady Kool”, Sakinah Bell.

photo: Glenn Elfer

photo: Glenn Elfer

photo: Glenn Elfer

Roy Hargrove - a life in service to music w Frank Lacy, Justin Robinson, Evan Sherman and Funmi Ononaiye

Special guest DJ Funmi Ononaiye brought friends Frank Lacy, Justin Robinson and Evan Sherman to the show to pay tribute to a great musician and dear friend.
The music community suffered a devastating loss with the transition of Roy Hargrove.
The relationship Roy had with music was so vibrant and crackled with so much energy and feeling that it is hard to believe he is not with us anymore.
Roy did leave us with the great gift of his music, however and we spent the show celebrating his music and his life.
Long live Roy Hargrove!
”Roy Anthony Hargrove, one of the most respected and loved musicians in the New York City community and the world at large, was a trailblazing multiple Grammy Award winning trumpeter. He was known just as intensely for his brimming fire and fury as he was for his gorgeous, signature balladry. Over and over, his sound attested to and sanctified his deep love for music. His unselfish timbre covered the waterfront of every musical landscape. Owning his music, his sound, Roy inspired generations of musicians. He was a game changer.”
Quoted from Jazz at Lincoln Center

Besides Bossa - Brazilian Music with Tia Jenny!

January is a perfect time to heat it up in the studio! So we had our fave Brazilian Musical Auntie come by with a dose of modern Brazilian tunes.
Jen Nascimento (Tia Jenny) is a percussionist focusing on African and Brazilian drums, and a trained singer as well. For 20 years she has sung and played in jazz, afrobeat, blues, and Latin bands, often reinterpreting the diverse Brazilian classics she grew up hearing at home. Her love of hip-hop had her collecting vinyl in the 90s, and today Tia Jenny ("Aunt Jenny" in Portuguese&Spanish) curates and spins for lovers of world bass and tribal-digital, as well as emerging soul and hip hop.
She is music editor of Epitome online journal Epitomexo.com
(playlists, reviews)

Baiana System

Cassio Ware and his Jersey house music fam!

There’s an old saying that you can tell a man by the company he keeps and if this is indeed true Cassio Ware is a real gem! The House Music legend rolled up in our Brooklyn studios with some of Jersey’s most talented (and nicest!) and we proceeded to have a blast! Cassio laid out a lot of the history of the Jersey House scene and shared new music that the talented Vickie Ryan, Cynthia Tucker and Kyle “The Voice” Abercrombie and DJ Sharif who joined us in the studio, contributed to. What a stellar night from some of Jerseys brightest house music stars!

Soulful Vocalist Fonda Rae Gets Over With Us!

Fonda Rae’s most iconic record may be “Over Like A Fat Rat” but that is just scratching the surface of this illustrious vocalist’s and multi-instrumentalist’s career.
We were thrilled to have her in the studio to discuss her many collaborations (Patrick Adams, Kid Creole to name a few) and got a chance to premiere some fresh new music from new collaborators like DJ Polo. Fonda is an amazing artist with an infectious personality and her business partner brought us some saltfish and ackee so it was a winning night all around for us!

Aretha Homegoing

Enjoy this short but action packed piece taken from our first day in Detroit - this was at the Queen of Soul’s memorial at The Charles H Wright museum. Aretha was BELOVED by Detroit and Detroit was beloved by Aretha.
The pic you see of the gold coffin was taken at the actual funeral - we didn’t get too much coverage there as we wanted to be respectful and it was quite honestly so overwhelming to see some of the greatest artists and activists of the Civil Rights movement right before our very eyes. Aretha - we love you Queen - RESPECT!

Pink Cadillacs blazing home to heaven…

Harlem meets Bklyn in the D - with the lovely Lana Turner of Uptown fame!

24k Gold - a funeral celebration fit for a Queen!

Aretha - Respect for the Queen of Soul pt 1

Aretha's talent transcended the written word. This is part one of a two part series focused mostly on the Atlantic years as there is no way to pack over six decades of music into two hours. 
Recorded live in the studio on the night she passed, Aug 16th, 2018.

P-FUNK MOB - Detroit Rising!

Greg Fitz, Gabe Gonzalez & Stozo the Clown from the 

Parliament / Funkadelic Family celebrate "Detroit Rising" with us

The D is in the house (and Jersey too for that matter) as we celebrate the newest offering from P-Funk family "Detroit Rising"!

Greg Fitz (Van McKoy, Quazar, Bootsy's Rubber Band, Musical Director for Bernie Worell) and Stozo the Clown (illustrator and art director for P-Funk, Fred Wesley, James Brown) join us for the funk, the whole funk and nothing but the funk! 

Also joining from the Motor City - Gabe Gonzalez (P-Funk drummer) and musical director of Detroit Rising, an unprecedented project created by universally respected musicians, including current and original members of the archetypal funk band Parliament-Funkadelic, along with a selection of world class talent from across the country, musicians old and new. 

Tune into the conversation with these gifted artists as we get deep in the cut about the meaning and makers of some of the legends of funk. 

You can also check the video below and cop your very own sea foam green vinyl here.  


 

The Pointer Sisters' Ruth Pointer is STILL so Excited!!!

We were honored to have the fabulous, effervescent Ruth Pointer of The Pointer Sisters on the show to share some of the highlights of her long lived and well deserved show biz career. The Sisters catalog contains a truly diverse mix of music from jazz, soul, r&b, rock, pop and even country! What is evident is anything they lent their voice to was imbued with a passion and soulfulness grounded by their gospel upbringing. 
The Pointer Sisters are a true American Treasure and we are happy to see Ruth passing the torch to her daughters and granddaughters and chronicling her memoirs to preserve their legacy for future generations. 
Take a listen above to find out why WE'RE so excited that Ruth is still excited ;) 
SONGS from The Pointer Sisters included in this podcast
Yes We Can Can
Cloudburst
Wang Dang Doodle
Chainey Do
How Long (Betcha Got A Chick On The Side)
Going Down Slowly
Automatic
Dare Me
Fairytale
Pinball Number Count
Happiness
Jump (For My Love)
AND
Sweeping Through The City sung by Shirley Caesar

 

Christine Wiltshire -It's party time tonite with disco's prolific singer!

For our November show, we got a chance to link with prolific much loved disco singer Christine Wiltshire - all the way from Amsterdam!
Singer, songwriter and producer Christine Wiltshire is one of the quintessential voices of the disco and dance music era, having recorded hits as a vocalist with Patrick Adams (Phreek, Musique) Larry Levan (Class Action's version of Phreek's Weekend), Salsoul Orchestra and Alphonse Mouzon. Cristine also worked making music with heavy weights of the industry such as Luther Vandross, Herbie Mann, Melba Moore, Teddy Pendergrass, Lou Reed, The Rolling Stones and John Lennon and many more!
Now living in Amsterdam, Christine continues to perform and expand her musical horizons and repoirtoire and is still touring the world to the delight of her fans. 

Joshie "Jo" Armstead - Soul Music Renaissance Woman

Joshie "Jo" Armstead has been involved with so many facets of the music biz and has written, produced and performed so much legendary music she is truly a name that should be on every soul music lovers lips! 
An extraordinarily charming and humble woman, Joshie sat down with us for two hours reminiscing on her early days with The Ike and Tina Turner Revue, working on a writing team with Ashford and Simpson, writing hits for Ray Charles, owning her own label, recording on the legendary STAX label, performing in a Broadway show written by none other than Melvin Van Peebles and so much more. The conversation is peppered with so much of the classic music that weaves throughout this talented woman's career.
Also on deck with Kyle and myself is Sweet Spot honorary fam Christian John Wikane, music journalist extraordinaire. Christian is incredibly knowledgable and we are always happy to add him to the conversation! 
For more on this this musical powerhouse, please check out the Pop Matters article on Joshie here and keep an ear out for her as we know she has plenty of unreleased material in the vault! 

Carmen Lundy - multi-talented Jazz Artist on life and love of music

We were fortunate enough to catch Carmen Lundy live at Birdland earlier in this year where she celebrated the release of her latest recording "Code Noir". Lundy, who wrote or co-wrote and arranged all the tracks and plays keyboards/guitar, is accompanied by musicians Patrice Rushen, Ben Williams, Jeff Parker and Kendrick Scott. It's quite a lineup and a stellar musical stew! 
We are happy to share this time with the warm and wonderful Carmen Lundy, a true legendary lady in modern jazz music.
 

Artwork by Carmen Lundy 

EWF Tribute with Verdine White and DJ Spinna!!!

In the words of one of the baddest, funkiest bass players around, Mr. Verdine White, "Earth Wind and Fire is more than just a band, it is an energy force". Please take a listen above as Baby K interviews Verdine and gets some insight on the mighty musician and one of the most influential and uplifting bands of all time! 
After the interview we present an exclusive 90 plus minute EWF tribute mix made for us by the one and only DJ Spinna! No one does a tribute quite like Spinna, known for his legendary Stevie Wonder "Wonder-Full" parties (which Stevie himself has attended!) and his remix and DJ work with Stevie along with his  Michael Jackson and Prince tributes. Truly a fire mix befitting the legendary band! 
May this episode uplift and bring you as much joy as we had making it! Check out EWF on their 2054 tour with CHIC in a city near you! 

Alfa Anderson - The sophisticated sounds of former Chic lead vocalist

Alfa Anderson blessed us with her sweet sounds in the studio in this episode with the premiere of a track off her new release "From the Heart". 
We spent two hours in the studio with Alfa in a journey through her career from the disco days of Chic to her work with the smooth genius of Luther Vandross. Join us for a fascinating peek into the work and world of a first class singer and wonderful human that is Ms. Alfa Anderson! Special guest co-host the energetic and accomplished Christian John Wikane joins us in the studio!  

Inside the Evolutionary Jazz Mind of Brian Jackson

The "Music Behind the Message" Brian Jackson is responsible for some of the most moving and profound  political and social albums of the 70's along with his partner Gil Scott-Heron. It was truly a pleasure and treat to have this gracious man in the studio taking us on a musical stroll through his life.

Widely regarded as one of the early architects of the neo-soul era, Brian Jackson's enduring sound is capturing the hearts and souls of yet another generation. Today, Brian is not only a respected jazz artist but also a frequent collaborator with emerging artists who carry on the Tradition of inspiring and informing the masses through conscious music. 

The Tradition started in 1970 when the Brooklyn-born producer, composer, and musician Jackson began writing songs with another prodigy, 20-year-old Lincoln University classmate and poet Gil Scott- Heron.

Jackson remembers his first encounter with Gil, "He had this way with words and I thought to myself, 'People have to hear this stuff.' What I had to offer was the music and I figured if we can take his words and make this tribal knowledge rhythmic and musical, we can draw people to hear it."

Good Night Sweet Prince! with Shelley Nicole and Ben Tyree

For all you've done for us Mr. Nelson... In the studio with Kyle and musicians Shelley Nicole and Ben Tyree.