The Stars and Stripes Forever

In honor of Independence Day, America's birthday,
here are 18 renditions of
The Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa

Download The Stars and Stripes Forever

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!!

Christmas in July!!

Christmas in July has has started at bongobells
Check out a new post (or more)
every day in July!!!

frank & his 4-track (repost)

During the 1980’s while I was working in Dinner Theater I bought a Tascam Porta-One four-track cassette recorder and promptly proceeded to record just about anything in my garage in Anaheim (yeah, out by Disneyland). These recordings include some junk, some half way decent items and some snippets of gigs I did while accompanying belly dancers with added overdubs recorded in the garage. The picture on the cover was actually taken at one of those tintype picture places when I was stationed at Fort MacArthur. “Ola” was written by John Bilezikjian, an oud player I did the belly dance gigs with. Who knows, you might even like some of these “musical musings.”

Download frank & his 4-track

Sabre Dance (compilation)

The Sabre Dance is a movement in the final act of the Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian's ballet Gayane, completed in 1942. It evokes a whirling war dance in an Armenian dance, where the dancers display their skill with sabres. Due to its exceptionally exciting rhythm, the Sabre Dance established a place for itself in common concert practice, leading also to various adaptations in popular music. [Wikipedia]

Offered here are 22 different interpretations from exotica to moog, techno to rock, surf to pops orchestra and even a Lucky Strike Commercial parody, there should be something here for everybody (sorry, no rap version).

1 The Roto Rooter Goodtime Christmas Band - Retro Rooter (1972)
2 Mitrohins Master Band - Summertime (2002)
3 Les Baxter - Wild Guitars (1959)
4 Daniel Bautista - Classics And Soundtracks (2002)
5 Sarah Chang - Debut (1992)
6 Dave Edmunds - Sabre Dance (1980)
7 Paul Mauriat - Gold Concert (1997)
8 Texas Chainsaw Orchestra - The Texas Chainsaw Orchestra (1997)
9 The Canadian Brass - More Greatest Hits (1988)
10 Django Twango - Demo (2007)
11 Sportsmen Quartet - The Jack Benny Program (1948)
12 Rafael Lukjanik - Modern Classix (2003)
13 Ekseption - Ekseption (1969)
14 Percussion All Stars - Velvet Brass and Percussion (1961)
15 Toy Dolls - Wakey Wakey! (1989)
16 Roger Roger - Magie Du Synthétiseur (1980)
17 The Pretenders - The Pretenders [Bonus Disc] (1979)
18 Lara St. John & Bowfire - Sabre Dance (2005)
19 The Hollywood Pops Orchestra - Motion in Percussion (1960)
20 Takeshi Terauchi & The Bunnys - Let's Go Classics (1967)
21 Quadro Nuevo - Tango Bitter Sweet (2007)
22 Vanessa-Mae - Choreography (2004)

Download Sabre Dance (144mb)

Just in case you never heard Sabre Dance before,
here is how it is "normally" heard:

...and here's Marimba Ponies' rendition:

Bongoland (1988)

Here's a fun LP by Jorge Bermudez that I found (I think at a used record shop in Buena Park, California) still sealed! Well I bought it on the spot cuz... well... geez!! Bongoland. Nuf said (at least for me to buy it). For a while I had it on my answering machine; remember when you used to do clever (read annoying) phone messages for your incoming callers to have to sit through? So anyhoots, there are four versions of Bongoland (Spanish Version, English Version, Dance Mix & Radio Dub). My favorite is the Dance Mix; it's the longest at 7:10 and also features a quest appearance of a red-headed wife of a well know Cuban conga player.

Download Bongoland NOW!

See you at the disco!

(Disco) Hokey Pokey (1979)

In the late 70's I was playing drums in a backup trio (piano, bass & drums) for a comedy/vocal act in Hollywood and the surrounding area. On a break one night the bass player told me of an idea he had, a disco version of The Hokey Pokey. It sounded like a great gimic to me! Quite a few gigs later he presented me with a copy of the final product "(Disco) Hokey Pokey". While I felt it was a wonderful idea, it's was probably too late in the disco movement to really catch on. But here it is now for your dancing and listening pleasure!

Side 1 is the vocal version with side 2 hosting the instrumental version.

Jason Justin Jade - (Disco) Hokey Pokey (1979)
produced by John Warfel & Todd Evans

Download (Disco) Hokey Pokey

Freestyle Percussion Magik

Here some cool percussion grooves I found at:

where you can find all types of free music.

1 The Arrow [3:12]
2 Dumno Mundo [6:45]
3 Flamenco Flight [3:35]
4 Belly Bounce [6:26]
5 Picoli [4:24]
6 Carnaval de Brazil [4:36]
7 Greyhound [3:48]
8 Mister Beat [4:28]
9 Malabishna [4:09]
10 Bar mami [3:41]
11 Halloween [4:10]

Total Time [45:51]

Download Freestyle Percussion Magik

Check out Freestyle Percussion Magik at these sites:

Reverb Nation
MySpace
Facebook

Brazil "Aquarela do Brasil"

Ary Barroso wrote "Aquarela do Brasil" (Brazil)
in early 1939, when he was prevented from leaving
his home at night due to a strong storm.
Its title, which means "Watercolor of Brazil" in Portuguese,
is a clear reference to the rain.
Around 1943 Bob Russell added lyrics.

For your downloading pleasure,
here are 15 "Vocal" and 21 "Instrumental" versions
of this great classic.

Download Brazil - Disc One (131mb)
Download Brazil - Disc Two (162mb)

Download Brazil - Complete (294mb)

In 1985 Terry Gilliam used a version
for his brilliant movie, Brazil.

Aprecie!

Berkeley Wright Interview (Part 2)

bongolong: Two posters [at bongolong land] commented about Tranquility opening for the J. Giles Band:

From AJ: I heard Tranquility in 1973 at Marietta College (Ohio). They opened for J Giles!! Tranquility was so awesome (mostly Silver Album) that all my friends walked out on J Giles--they harshed our mellow!

From Kenny V.: I first heard them as the warm-up band for the J. Giles Band, at Fairfield University, circa 1972. They blew me away with their great vocals and awesome vocal harmonies, musical arrangements and superb talents. J Giles was a real let down after hearing Tranquility.

Did you guys ever notice this reaction to your music?

Berkeley: Oh yes, lots. We did such a good job opening for 'Yes' that the sound guys used to give us less and less front of house sound every concert, we ended up using the monitors only, so that they would sound grander when they came on!!

bongolong: Can you give us some more stories of the road?
Berkeley: I'll come back to this one in a minute.....

bongolong: Any particular city that really liked you?
Berkeley: Wilmington, North Carolina was definitely our favourite, we 'd get invited to Thanksgiving dinner in people's homes, we had loads of fans there and we used to hang out at Wrightsville beach, bliss.
Bernie, the bass player, was very good at keeping records of everything we did, and just last year he gave me a live recording of us playing there, wow, were those harmonies good or what?

bongolong: Did you have any place where no one liked you?
Berkeley: If there were, we must have obliterated it from our minds!!! No, I can't really recall any, I'd have to ask Bernie, he'd know.

bongolong: What were the largest and smallest venues you perform at? Any preference?
Berkeley: The largest was San Francisco Wonderland, 18,000 opening for John McLaughlin & Mahavishnu [Orchestra], also on the bill were Seals and Croft and maybe somebody else.
The smallest must have been a pub in Brighton, before we came over to USA nobody really wanted to listen, ...and we weren’t ready either, but shortly after that our first gig in US was the 'Fox' Theatre in Long Beach, Calif. We opened for Linda Rondstat (backing band - The Eagles!!) Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, Dr. John, Harvey Mandel, all on the same bill, we were blown away, ---and so were the audience by our music !


bongolong: You mentioned Carnegie Hall; that's an important venue over here, maybe akin to Albert Hall. Was this just another stop in the tour or did it mean something?
Berkeley: It meant a lot -We were on tour, I was unhappy, I hadn't seen my wife for about 6 months, we were touring all the time, and I had given an ultimatum - either we move to the states or I'm leaving! Paul, the drummer said the same, and after much "reflection" by the manager, he said it wasn't right to do that, so :::: Carnegie Hall was our last gig as Tranquility ' original, I flew back to UK with 500 dollars in my pocket and ready to start a new life.

bongolong: Would you be able to scan a couple programs, posters, personal pictures, etc. from those touring days?
Berkeley: Yes, I'll get round to that after I've had my lunch. It's a lovely sunny day in the south of France and I'm going to sit on my terrace in front of the vineyards that surround my house, and have a quick chicken curry, with a spot of 'French wine' so I'll get back to you later...........I'll just save this so far.....

Capitol Theatre, New Jersey, February 24, 1973

It's now the 24th march, the next day;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

bongolong: From the "Where are they now?" files:
What are the rest of the boys up to? I see that Tony played on French Wine. Are the others still in music? Any albums and/or websites?
Berkeley: Well, Tony didn't "play" on French Wine, I sampled the synth intro that he originally played in CBS studios in London in 1972/3 for the album that never came out.
Then stuck it onto my track, 'Oregami', it was so appropriate.

The other guys.... well, Terry [Shaddick] is still composing and managing various artists, but not performing, Tony [Lukyn] works for a huge computer firm designing programmes or something, Kevin [McCarthy] has a building company and has his own recording studio, Bernie [Hagley] is a member of the band 'Vanity Fair' in UK, doing very well, see web site: Vanity Fare, and Paul [Francis] has a drum clinic, Orchard Percussion Studio, and riding stables with his wife Goldie.

Paul at his studio

And now, back to stories.....
We were touring and touring and touring, what seemed like an eternity, getting tired and fed up with each other, the slightest thing sparking off a row or disagreement. We find ourselves doing a concert and unbeknown to us Ashley our manager was setting up a deal with a new management, to enable us to continue with a major force in the music industry U.S. Frank B. (can't say his name) - who was a major, big man with connections you don’t wanna know about....
He was being briefed by Ashley, "Well, man, I've got this great group, they're cool English guys, peace and love man, they're called 'Tranquility' they play cool music, fantastic harmonies, you know, CSN&Y, they wear cool clothes, the singer paints his finger nails and the whole thing - you know, peace and love man ................." In the meantime, we were in the dressing room, getting ready for the gig,

Bernie said something, Paul, pushed to the edge, replies "don’t speak to me like that", Bernie says "I'll speak anyway I want, who do you think you are?" And then, suddenly, they are at each others throats, thumping and shouting and rolling around the floor, beer bottles crashing, guitars falling over, the others shouting 'Hey, mind the guitars, I fall over, Terry goes to help, finds himself on the floor, Tony and Kevin shouting "Stop it for God's sake" Paul, "I'll kill you if you say another word" Bernie, "Don't talk to me like that ..." And just at that precise moment the dressing room door opens and we hear Ashley saying proudly "Here you are Frank, let me present to you my cool vibe group- ---TRANQUILITY ...............................................;!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll think of some more for next time. Enjoy.

Best regards Berkeley

Caravan (a compilation)

Compiled for your downloading & listening pleasure are 39 versions of the great classic Caravan; almost 3 hours (on 3 discs) of Caravan!

Why 3 discs?

When Marty DiBergi asked Nigel Tufnel about his Marshall amp,
"Why don't you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a little louder?"
Nigel's response was, "These go to eleven."

Well, this compilation goes to 3.

Disc 1

1 - Alan Haven
2 - Enoch Light
3 - Ella Fitzgerald
4 - Jack Parnell Orchestra
5 - Oklahoma State University Percussion
6 - Mark Evans
7 - Cesar
8 - The John Buzon Trio
9 - Oscar F Hills
10 - Les Tetes Blanches
11 - Binary Beats
12 - Daniele Sepe
13 - Arthur Lyman
14 - Kai Warner
15 - Groove Junkies
16 - Blue Hawaiians
17 - Hiromi's Sonicbloom

Disc 2

1 - Bob Kames
2 - Fender Bender
3 - Eighty Drums Around the World
4 - George Chisolm
5 - Ape
6 - David Carroll
7 - Project: Pimento
8 - Bob Bowers & Graham Spice
9 - The Kokomo Bros
10 - The Three Suns
11 - Plas Johnson Quartet
12 - The Polyphonics
13 - The Mills Brothers
14 - The Midwest City High School Jazz Band
15 - Stanley Black
16 - Steve Koven Trio

Disc 3

1 - Linnzi Zaorski
2 - Oscar Pereson & Dizzy Gillespie
3 - Sathima Bea Benjamin
4 - Art Blakey, Max Roach, Elvin Jones, Philly Joe Jones
5 - Trios
6 - Brownman & Cruzao Latin Jazz Trio

Here is the original 1936 recording by
Barney Bigard & His Jazzopators

Download Caravan Disc 1 (130mb)
Download Caravan Disc 2 (118mb)
Download Caravan Disc 3 (112mb)
Download Caravan Complete @ 192 (244mb)