Believe it or not, I've been in a pretty major free jazz mode as of late. I was recently doing my usual record hunting and came across the Art Ensemble of Chicago's 1970 motion picture soundtrack album Les Stances A Sophie. With my recent jazz obsession, I've been getting into some of AEC's (Art Ensemble of Chicago) recordings and thought I would be purchasing this record more for listening pleasure with no intent of including it on this site. That all kind of changed the more I listened to the record's opening track "Theme De Yoyo". The track, even though containing some heavy free jazz moments, possessed an overall funky groove alongside some soulful vocals from Fontella Bass, who was a short-lived addition to the group. Fontella made a name for herself as a soul singer with hits like "Rescue Me" in the mid-sixties. She was married to AEC regular Lester Bowie and went on to contribute to a few of their records. Fontella and Bowie are obviously the backbone of this specific track, drawing upon their more soulful roots with the sophisticated instrumental arrangements that usually are present in any AEC track. Overall I think this song is a great crossover track with just enough structure and funkiness to appeal to a more broader audience. Enjoy!Art Ensemble of Chicago - Theme De Yoyo
4 comments:
Cinematic Orchestra with Fontella did a partial cover of this song a few years back. Had no clue this was the original thanks a ton.
also worth noting Diplo sampled this heavily on his first album
Great track! Still enjoying the site after all these years
A great cover is by Motorpsycho and Jagga Jazzist Horns!
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