FREE OUTDOOR SHOWS IN NYC -- AUGUST

It's been an amazing summer for free concerts in the Big Apple, and the fun continues through Labor Day. Don't miss the following . . .

Slick Rick on Thu, Aug 10th at Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem, with Kool DJ Red Alert on the wheels. When folks talk about the great Golden Era emcees, they always bring up Rakim, Kane, LL, G Rap, KRS, Chuck D. But don't forget about Slick Rick the Ruler! Not only is he rap's most gifted storyteller, he has an amazing sense of humor and style and a unique, soft-spoken, melodic flow. He was so fly back in the late-Eighties that he even made having a British accent cool. Can you imagine that today? Actually, MC Ricky D's best days may not all be behind him. His 1999 album The Art of Storytelling was a surprisingly strong comeback -- his best release since his debut -- and I don't doubt he is capable of the same magic again.

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings on Wed, the 16th at Jackie Robinson Park in Harlem. I love this woman! She is in her fifties, but she's got more energy on stage than Beyonce and Mary J combined. I'm not exaggerating. It just makes you realize, they don't make em like they used to. Think of a female James Brown -- in fact, they are both from Augusta, GA -- backed by a tight eight-piece funk band of young white Brooklyn record-nerd dudes (obviously I mean that lovingly, as I could easily be described in the same way). Just trust me, if you see her live, you'll be totally hooked.

Other noteworthy free, outdoor shows in August:

-- Raheem DeVaughn on Thu Aug 3 at South St Seaport

-- James "Blood" Ulmer on Fri the 4th at Metrotech in BK

-- Hot Chip on Fri the 4th at South St Seaport

-- Eddie Palmieri on Fri the 4th at Damrosch Park, Lincoln Cntr

-- African music festival on Sat the 5th at Prospect Park Bandshell

-- Lenine on Sun the 6th at Central Park Summerstage

-- LL Cool J on Mon the 7th at Wingate Field in BK

-- Burnt Sugar on Wed the 9th at Josie Robertson Plaza, Lincoln Cntr

-- BT Express on Thu the 10th at South St Seaport

-- The B-52s on Thu the 10th at Asser Levy Park at Coney Island

-- ?uestlove, Deerhoof, etc., on Sun the 13th at McCarren Park Pool in Williamsburg

-- Toots & the Maytals, etc., on Mon the 14th at Wingate Field in BK

-- Antibalas on Thu, the 17th at Marcus Garvey Pk in Harlem

-- Betty LaVette, etc., on Fri the 18th at Damrosch Pk, Lincoln Cntr

-- The Box Tops feat. Alex Chilton on Fri the 18th at South St Seaport

-- Eddie Floyd, Percy Sledge, etc., on Sat the 19th at Damrosch Pk, Lincoln Cntr

-- Mavis Staples, etc., on Sun the 20th at Damrosch Pk, Lincoln Cntr

-- Kurtis Blow on Wed the 23rd at Jackie Robinson Pk in Harlem

-- Dwele on Thu the 24th at Marcus Garvey Pk in Harlem

-- Talib Kweli, Jean Grae, etc., on Sat the 26th at Central Pk Summerstage

-- Charlie Parker Jazz Festival on Sat the 26th at Marcus Garvey Pk in Harlem

-- Charlie Parker Jazz Festival on Sun the 27th at Tompkins Square Park

-- Sonny Rollins on Sun the 27th at Damrosch Pk, Lincoln Cntr

FAMOUS SURPRISE GUESTS AT CONCERTS:

THE "OH SHIT" FACTOR

I've been writing a lot here lately about the phenomenon of famous surprise guests showing up at concerts. Earlier this summer, I saw Prince at a Maceo Parker show and Jay-Z at a Roots show, and then I posted about the 1971 Aretha show at Fillmore West where Ray Charles came on stage.

The latest example I'd like to highlight took place last week at the Bowery Ballroom, where Matthew Sweet (most well-known for his early '90s pop-rock nugget Girlfriend, newly reissued as a double album) and Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles were performing songs from their recent collection of '60s covers, Under the Covers, Vol. 1. I wasn't at the show myself, but I read about it in this Village Voice piece. And according to the writer, the crowd "went nuts when Mike Myers sauntered onstage for the encore and stammered his way through 'BBC,' an old Austin Powers favorite."

Now, I love Mike Myers as much as everyone else, and of course that must have been hilarious. But it also supports my emerging theory -- and I realize perhaps this is just stating the obvious -- that the effectiveness of a surprise guest appearance has to do more than anything else with fame and celebrity. The point is that the unanticipated performer should not only be more famous than the scheduled performer, but he or she should reside in an entirely different and greater sphere of fame. In other words, Jay-Z, Prince, and Mike Myers are all household names; Maceo Parker, the Roots, Matthew Sweet, and Susanna Hoffs are not.

Even within the household-name category, there are household names and then there are Household Names. For example, about five years ago, Jay-Z himself wowed all the teenagers at Hot 97's annual Summer Jam when he brought out the king of pop, Michael Jackson.

The whole beauty of the surprise guest concept is that concertgoers can then go back to their friends and say, "Man, you'll never guess who was at the ____ show!"

Sample conversation: "Who, Sean Lennon?

"No, better."

"Who, someone from the Strokes?"

"No, better. Think bigger!"

"Who, Norah Jones?"

"No, bigger!"

"Who, goddamn it? Bono?"

"Think older."

"Look, I don't know, motherfucker. John Lennon, back from the dead? Just tell me already!"

What's funny is that it doesn't even matter whether the guest entertainer actually performs. (Jacko did not.) It is his presence that counts, his star power. It's all about the "oh shit" factor. "Oh shit, son, is that Bill Clinton?" "Oh shit, how in the hell did ____ get the Dalai Lama to show up?!"

SUMMER RELEASES

Lots of hot shit coming out from now til the end of August. Especially hip-hop. New joints from my two favorite rap outfits, Outkast and The Roots. I'm a bit nervous about Idlewild. Kast is the most consistent group in the game, and every album of theirs so far has been a huge creative leap from what came before. But the first three singles, "The Mighty 'O'," "Idlewild Blues," and "Morris Brown," all sound to me like good-not-great outtakes from Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. On the contrary, Game Theory has me hyped. Everyone's saying that this is going to be a very dark record, influenced by current events like the war in Iraq and Hurricane Katrina. I can't wait to hear Black Thought stretch out into more substantial lyrical territory, like he did on Phrenology's standout "Water."

So those are my two biggies in terms of upcoming rap releases. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Pharrell's first solo LP is about to hit. Then there's Jay Dee's posthumous The Shining, which includes collaborations with Pharoahe Monch, Busta, Common, D'Angelo, Dwele, and many more. Whoa! There's also Madlib's brother Oh-No's second album, which features MCs like Posdnous, Buckshot, AG, Wise Intelligent, Murs, and Vast Aire. The sophomore solo effort from Masta Killa, called Made in Brooklyn, also features a wealth of talented guests, including the whole Wu-Tang, MF Doom, and some production from Pete Rock. The first Masta Killa album No Said Date was surprisingly strong, especially given the mixed quality of recent discs by Wu members (who aren't named Ghost) and affiliates. And I can only hope that Method Man finally lives up to his potential with his upcoming 4:21. I'm not holding my breath, but this poppy lead single w/Lauryn on the hook isn't half bad.

Outside of hip-hop, I'm amped for some reggae releases, especially Cham's Ghetto Story, Tanya Stephens' Rebelution, and The Easy Star All-Stars' Radiodread, a take on Radiohead's OK Computer. Also new Horace Andy and new Beenie Man and Bounty Killer.

In terms of R&B and pop, there's new stuff coming out from Kelis, Lyfe Jennings, Jody Watley, Prince's protege Tamar, Stones Throw chanteuse Georgia Anne Muldrow, and Christina Aguilera (don't mock, half of the album is produced by Primo!).

On the world music front, new Ali Farke Toure (blues guitarist from Mali) and a compilation from the modern Brazilian artist Lenine.

Finally, let's turn to rock. New Mars Volta. And I'm curious to hear the new Scritti Polliti. And last but not least, a new album by a little artist named Robert Zimmerman . . .

Ouch, my wallet's going to be hurtin'!

UNDERRATED GUITARISTS

I now have to add Amadou Bagayoko to my personal list of underrated, under-appreciated guitarists (which includes Prince, Peter Tosh, Ernie Isley, and a few others). Last weekend I went to Central Park to check out Amadou & Mariam, who are a blind married couple from Mali -- and not only did they have the whole crowd dancing to their lively rhythms, but Amadou was just killing it on his electric. It's hard for me to describe his guitar style. It's blues-based but highly original. According to Pitchfork: "[Amadou] reels off roiling lines and droning desert blues with graceful dexterity, reflecting influences as wide-ranging as Bembeya Jazz's Sekou Diabate, Robert Johnson, and Saharan guitar and oud music."

If you have a chance to check them out live, don't miss it. Their recent Dimanche a Bamiko was somewhat of a commercial breakthrough (though not quite the Buena Vista Social Club of 2005). Produced by Manu Chao, it is a very enjoyable album, and a great introduction to this extraordinary musical act. I definitely plan on revisiting the CD now that my excitement has been rekindled by their energetic performance.

ARETHA FRANKLIN -- LIVE AT FILLMORE WEST

I've been bathing my ears all week in the re-mastered, deluxe 2CD edition of this 1971 classic, one of the best live soul albums of all time. Not only does it sound better than ever, but there are a number of new treats including: the full-length version of "Spirit in the Dark" with surprise guest Ray Charles, four unused songs from the historic three-night performance, and a bunch of alternate takes. All nice to have, of course, but the original record was hot to begin with. Especially the second half, beginning with a scorching rendition of "Dr. Feelgood," which leads into the legendary duet with Ray on "Spirit in the Dark."

It's funny, earlier in the summer, I was posting about the thrill of witnessing an unexpected guest pop up at a show, like I recently saw Jay-Z do with the Roots and Prince with Maceo Parker. But this has them all beat! Can you imagine?? The "Genius" himself, Brother Ray, heard about the gig and decided to go check it out. He slid into the audience unnoticed until someone from Aretha's entourage spotted him and called him to the stage.

But the Queen of Soul's stint at Bill Graham's famed venue was significant for more than just Ray's cameo. It went down in music history because of the way that she and the righteous backing band, King Curtis and the Kingpins, wowed all of the rock-loving, Haight-Ashbury longhairs. For one, the Kingpins, including Billy Preston [RIP] on organ, grooved harder than Aretha's usual road musicians. And the set list included numerous rock covers such as "Eleanor Rigby," "Bridge Over Troubled Waters," and "Love the One You're With." The whole experience was orchestrated by Atlantic head honcho, Jerry Wexler, who was determined to create a crossover splash, like what happened with Otis Redding a few years earlier at Monterey.

But here's what I don't quite get. (And keep in mind I wasn't even alive at the time, so everything I'm talking about here is based on shit I read in liner notes and music biographies and such.) Wasn't Aretha already a huge crossover success by 1971? I know her late 60s Atlantic recordings were big hits and she had numerous top 10 songs on not just the R&B charts but the pop charts too. In fact, she was such a popular artist by this point that she was charging $20,000 a show, which was actually too high a price for Bill Graham. So a deal was arranged where the label would make up the difference and recoup their investment by cutting a live album.

Given that Aretha's going rate was more than all the rock acts that played the Fillmore, what exactly is the big deal about her winning over this audience? I mean, it doesn't sound like she really needed them anyway! Would it be accurate to say that although she was indeed a crossover success by that point, she was beloved by white fans who were slightly older than this SF hippie crowd? By the Sixties generation who had fallen in love with the Beatles and maybe with Motown. Whereas the teenagers in the audience at Fillmore West were into louder and/or more druggy sounds like Hendrix, the Dead, etc.? Or is it just that Aretha was experiencing a minor slump in 71 -- sales of her Spirit in the Dark album were flatter than expected -- and Wexler was simply trying to introduce her to a new market?

I guess part of my confusion has to do with the fact that it is almost impossible to envision a modern-day parallel. There is no live-music institution today with the same cultural relevance as Fillmore West. The analogy just doesn't work. It would be like if, say, the mainstream R&B singer Jaheim (an entertainer with a largely black fan base) performed at the Bowery Ballroom (considered the venue in NYC for indie rock bands). If that happened, it's not as if the "taste-making" hipster crowd would show up just because of the location and then go home and have all their peeps in Williamsburg singing "don't hate on us, we're fabulous."

So what are the mechanics of crossing over in today's world? 50 Cent is a huge crossover star. How did it happen? 1.) The biggest rapper in the world (at least in the white world) helped put him on. 2.) An impossible-to-resist first single with a chorus that will forever be yelled by drunken white girls at bars, clubs, birthday parties, and more. 3.) A gritty back story that supplies street cred and plays into white fantasies about the gangster life.

Some things have changed, some things stay the same. But I guess the point I'm getting at is that it is hard to imagine a performance -- even a recorded performance like Aretha's, and a performance in the heart of a particular subculture -- being the vehicle to help an artist today reach a new demographic. More likely, the vehicle would be a video or a heavily-promoted radio single. The only thing I have heard about recently that comes close is how much of Gnarls Barkley's pre-release buzz among the Spin magazine crowd was generated by their standout showing at the mostly-rock Coachella festival.

At any rate, I've certainly drifted from the original topic, and I've asked a lot of questions here, but no answers. Please shed light if you can.

Ps: I was thinking to myself, "Damn, if only there were a movie of Aretha at Fillmore West," when I came across this amazing footage on YouTube.

ONE-MAN STUDIO ALBUMS

Interesting list of classic one-man studio albums. Props to this writer for appreciating Stevie Wonder's enormous role in establishing this format as a viable genre in the 70s. Of course, Stevie's got more talent in one finger than most entire bands; and it's the rare artist who possesses the chops and the musical inspiration to pull off the one-man, multi-instrument album. But I'll certainly have to check out some of these! The Johnny "Guitar" Watson sounds especially interesting.

Ps: Speaking of mad geniuses, I can't let this day pass without saying RIP Syd Barrett. Go listen to The Piper at the Gates of Dawn and pay respect. (Note: Syd's eccentric solo albums do not fall into the above category as they feature a number of other musicians.)

THE HOUSE THAT TRANE BUILT:

THE STORY OF IMPULSE RECORDS

I've been reading this new one by Ashley Kahn, who in the past has written entire books about the making of particular classic jazz albums (A Love Supreme and Kind of Blue). Here are a couple of nuggets I want to share:

* The label's [Impulse's] devotion to the mostly African-American, mostly avant-garde players collectively responsible for the last significant leap forward in modern jazz -- the point where most jazz histories and timelines tend do end -- stands today as one of its most important accomplishments.

* "Those gatefolds [the unusually sumptuous and expensive-to-produce fold-out album covers] were a wonderful development because they served as a deluxe rolling tray to manicure your marijuana," sixties political gadfly and jazz booster John Sinclair recalls. "The best Impulses has the most seeds stuck in the middle."

Regarding that last comment, I'd like to add that the label's association with herb outlasted the vinyl age. When I was in college at UC Berkeley in the mid 90's, one of my good friends and roommates would spend what little $ he had left over from his weekly buddha budget on Impulse CDs from Amoeba Records down the street. It didn't really matter which Impulse recording -- just so long as it carried that famous orange and black logo, which guaranteed a certain style and quality. I would then ask him, "Yo, how's that Pharoah Sanders you bought the other day?" and he'd say, "I don't really know. I haven't given it the true test yet. I still need to listen to it when I'm high."

Until reading this book, I never realized how much the label was indeed "the house that Trane built." Not in the same way that Atlantic was the house that Ray built. The symbiotic relationship here was even more explicit. After Coltrane's death in 1967, Impulse signed countless saxophonists in a very similar, spiritual, experimental vein: Archie Shepp, Albert Ayler, Pharoah Sanders, Marion Brown, Dewey Redman, Gato Barbieri, John Klemmer, Sam Rivers.

By the seventies, "it seemed as though Impulse became the label characterized by the angry black tenor man," says producer Ed Michel, who led the label into the rock era. "They weren't all angry, they weren't all black, and they weren't all tenor men, but that was kind of what it appeared to be."

According to Kahn, the closest analogy is the post-Bitches Brew succession of amplified-jazz groups on Coumbia Records in the Seventies: Herbie Hancock's Head Hunters, Weather Report, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever.

Can you think of any comparable situations today? (Not including artist-owned labels.)

FOUR POLITICAL BISCUITS FROM THE PAST WEEK OR TWO

Sorry, I know this has nothing to do with music, but I gotta get this shit off my chest . . .

1.) Props to all those protesting the New York Court of Appeal's cowardly decision this week not to go the way of Massachussetts and overturn our discriminatory marriage laws but rather to defer to the state legislature. Most appalling was Judge Smith's suggestion that "children are better off raised by a biological mother and father, rather than by a gay or lesbian couple." There is simply no evidence that this is true.

2.) Props to all those in Mexico protesting the razor-thin victory of the conservative ruling party's Felipe Calderon in last weekend's presidential election. It would be a mistake to dismiss Calderon's opponent Lopez Obrador and his supporters as paranoid or sore losers. Given the country's long history of goverment corruption and fraudlent elections, its citizens deserve an honest recount.

3.) The New York Times did absolutely nothing wrong by printing a front-page article about the Treasury Dept's tracking of Americans' banking transactions. There is no validity whatsoever to claims that the Times jeopardized national security. This information was already public knowledge. The whole thing is just another example of the Bush Administration's war against a free press -- specifically the NYT (after all, the Washington Post ran the same story!)

4.) Flag-burning is a non-issue. When last did you hear of a flag-burning? It's been a passe form of resistance since the Vietnam era.

Does RINGO STARR deserve a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist?? John, Paul, and George have all been inducted as individuals. I confess, I am not as familiar with Ringo's post-Beatles oeuvre as perhaps I should be. And this sounds like a pretty convincing argument! Thoughts? Did Ringo just get lucky as part of the Fab Four or is he really one of the best rock drummers of all time?

Ps: Of course, the whole concept of a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is bullshit, yadda yadda, but I'm not trying to get into all of that now.

*

TWO NEW ROOTS SONGS

"Long Time Coming" feat. Peedi Peedi -- Black Thought's first verse is crazy. And I love when the strings come in at the end.

"Don't Feel Right" feat. Maimona Yousef -- Their first single. More of a typical Roots sound, but still tight as hell.

Game Theory coming August 29th.

TANYA STEPHENS' "THESE STREETS"

How great are these lyrics?? I'm a sucker for puns and double entendres, but this is deeper than mere wordplay, and deeper than dirty talk. This feels anthemic, in a "Call Tyrone"-type way . . .

(I pulled the lyrics from dancehallreggae.com)

Intro

Yuh know, I can still rememba when it was just mi and yuh

Suddenly, it turn yuh and yuh crew

Fi get everything bout yuh boo

Verse 1

I wish yuh woulda treat mi like yuh glock

I woulda love it if yuh keep mi pon cock

I wish yuh woulda treat mi like a yacht

Keep me wet while de waves dem a rock

Why yuh cyann step pon mi like di corna?

And keep yuh lips pon mi like yuh marijuana

I woulda love it if yuh treat mi like yuh club

Stay up inna mi whole night just a bump and grind and rub

Bridge

Yuh don't understand

What your woman needs from her man

While yuh deh pon de street all de time

Jus bear dis in mind, bwoy

Chorus

These streets don't love yuh like I do (Yuh need fi know dat)

Yuh wanna keep yuh woman lovin yuh (Then yuh need fi show dat)

The love wi ah fi tek so much effort fi build (Yuh about fi blow dat)

But just like a played out jersey, yuh about fi get throwback

Verse 2

I wish yuh woulda treat mi like a ounce

Mi know yuh nah leggo dat when yuh bounce

Yuh soulda de woman knock boots like yuh Tims

Need fi act older dan de size a yuh rims

I wish yuh woulda stay pon mi like yuh phone man

And neva leave di house widout mi like yuh chrome man

Bwoy, I wish yuh woulda treat mi like yuh whips

Yuh girl's a perfect ten but yuh Benz dem a only a five and a six

Verse 3

Now de feds have dem case, and deh gavel ah pound

Mi a look fi a familiar face, mi nuh see none around

When yuh call mi collect and give mi errands fi do

Mi nuh see no hot gyal, mi nuh see none a yuh crew

Goverment cease everyting, dat gees, everyting

And anoda ballah done tek ova di spot

Arun trees everyting, got keys, everyting

And 10 calls ah month is all yuh got saying

Verse 4

See di streets, dem nuh give a damn (Bang-geh-deh-leh-bang)

A jus di place whe yo pay de pan (Yuh need fi know dat)

You di love wid di corna

Yuh cyan see mi neva warn ya (Den yuh need fi show dat)

Outro

These streets don't love yuh like I do

You know these streets don't love you (Like I do)

(repeat till end)

Tanya Stephens' new album Rebelution is out 8/15 on VP Records. The song, "These Streets," is also on Reggae Gold 2006, which is out now and is well worth picking up.

NYC FREE OUTDOOR CONCERTS -- JULY

(These are just my personal cream of the crop; there is literally at least one exciting free show to check out every single night)

*

1. Barrington Levy at the bandshell in Prospect Park, this Friday the 7th. Unbelievably, until fairly recently pretty much all I knew of Levy was "Here I Come (Broader Than Broadway)" -- one of the best and most popular reggae songs of all time -- and his late 90s collaboration with Bounty Killer, "Living Dangerously." Boy, was I missing out! This man has so many great songs. Lately, I've been especially enjoying "Rob and Gone" and "Little Children Cry."

2. Angie Stone and Anthony Hamilton at Wingate Field in Brooklyn (by Kings County Hospital), next Mon the 10th. OK, in my book, neither of these two artists belong in the top tier of the so-called neo-soul genre (at the peak of my pyramid are Lauryn Hill, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, D'Angelo, and maybe a couple of others). Still, what Stone and Hamilton may lack in originality they make up for in great singing and crowd-pleasing performances. I have a particular affection for Hamilton's old-fashioned, Southern, Bill Withers-like voice.

3. Al Green at Asser Levy Park in Coney Island on Thursday the 13th. Let me make sure you understand. The greatest living soul singer. For free. In Brooklyn. Nuff said.

*

4. Little Brother in Fort Greene (Washington) Park on Tuesday the 25th. It hardly made a splash, but their 2005 sophomore release, The Minstrel Show, was an excellent hip-hop album. I sometimes find their purist Tribe/Pete Rock-esque sound a bit rigid, but Phonte is a monster on the mic.

5. Leela James at the bandshell in Prospect Park on Friday the 28th. Her 2005 debut, A Change Is Gonna Come, didn't quite live up to the hype. But from what I understand -- and from what I hear on her Live in New Orleans EP, available exclusively on iTunes -- her studio recordings only hint at her fire on stage.