Patrice Rushen: Pizzazz

While walking around in Brooklyn, showing my visiting cousin around the city, I stopped at one of the many tables of people selling records.  Looking through this guy's collection and thinking his price for a Joe Pass album was more than I wanted to pay I happened upon a copy of Patrice Rushen's 1979 release Pizzazz.  Though I am relatively unfamiliar with her catalog, I had heard a few songs by her and knew of her talent as a musician and it was worth five dollars to me to check it out... and I did.  Much to my joy this record turned out to be, what I will call, "an uplifting parade of soul".  Though trained in jazz, in this album Rushen is able to deftly maneuver a more pop sound.  Between the vocal and orchestral arrangements what is found is a sound that blends aspects of everything from Parliament to the Talking Heads to create a sound that is both soulful and oh so utterly retro-fun.

I hope you enjoy.

Let the Music Take Me  - Patrice Rushen 

Keeping the Faith in Love - Patrice Rushen 

Yucatecan Garlic-Spice Marinade by Rick Bayless

This is one of my favorite recipes by renowned Chicago chef and Obama favorite Rick Bayless. I have made a few times it to use as a marinade for chicken and served it with steamed squash. This recipe is based off of a common flavor combination, reminiscent of North African flavors, sold in packets or as a seasoning paste in Mexico's Yucatecan markets. This marinade has a complex combination of flavors that can be applied to almost anything you need to marinade. And as Bayless notes in his book Mexican Everyday this marinade can also serve as a killer dressing for tomatoes, green beans, or steamed chayote.

1 head of garlic (about 12 cloves)

1/3 cup vegetable or olive oil

6 tbs vinegar (apple cider is traditional)

A pinch of ground cloves

1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper

1/2 teasponn ground cinnamon, preferably Mexican canela

1 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Salt

Cut a slit in the side of each garlic clove. Place them in a microwaveable bowl, cover with plastic and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Cool until handleable, then slip off the papery husks. One by one, drop the cloves into a running blender or food processor, letting each get chopped thoroughly before adding the next. Stop the machine, remove the top and add the oil, vinegar, spices, herb, sugar, and salt. Recover and process until the mixture is as smooth as you can get it. Scrape into a small jar, cover and refrigerate for up to a month or more.

Note: This can be made without a food processor. For that method I would recommend finely mincing the garlic by smashing individual cloves with your knife and giving them a thorough chop while intermittently pressing the garlic with your knife and repeating the chopping process. For extra mixing potential I would recommend a whisk.

America The Playlist

So I started this blog in part kind of intending it to be an off shoot of a project on Folk music I have been working on for my honors thesis. Semantics and discourse aside, I have been listening to a lot of different types of music native to this here great land and would like to share with you a sweet playlist that I think is representative of the general quality and diversity of music connected to (and some part of) that old American sound that to many sounds just archaic and weird. Those people are clearly wrong. Well, not really, but I do feel that considering the deep impact a lot of those recordings (like the Anthology of American Folk Music) have had on the modern musical landscape, that point is a little moot or so they say. Plus I think it is time to fully admit, these days a lot of new music is just sounds tired to me, too many synthesizers and too impersonal. Like, I get it, your in a band, am I supposed be impressed or something or just accept you playing your instrument like a cold fish? JK JK... As per-usual this playlist is a little of the familiar and a little of the unfamiliar, anyway I hope you enjoy it.

The Playlist

Beams of Heaven 2:43 Rosetta Tharpe

Come Back to Us Barbara Lewis Hare Krishna Beauregard John Prine Prime Prine

The Fugitive 2:58 Merle Haggard The Definitive Collection

this land is your land 4:31 Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings Naturally

Cold Rain & Snow 6:44 Grateful Dead Dick's Picks Volume 5 (Disc 1)

Lonesome and a Long Way From Home 3:56 Delaney & Bonnie & Friends Motel Shot

Sugar Man 3:48 Sixto Rodriguez Cold Fact

You Ain't Goin' Nowhere 2:43 Bob Dylan The Basement Tapes (CD 2) 1

Spike Driver Blues 3:17 Mississippi John Hurt Anthology Of American Folk Music, Vol. 3B:

When You Got A Good Friend 2:40 Robert Johnson King of the Delta Blues Singers Blues

Little Martha 2:07 The Allman Brothers Band Eat A Peach

Drifting Too Far From The Shore 4:54 Jerry Garcia, David Grisman & Tony Rice The Pizza Tapes

The Unwelcome Guest 5:06 Billy Bragg & Wilco Mermaid Avenue

House of the rising sun 5:45 Dave Van Ronk Just Dave Van Ronk

It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry 4:09 Bob Dylan Highway 61 Revisited

Is This Enough 4:48 Roadbirds Live in the Wilde

Georgia Stomp 2:48 Andrew & Jim Baxter Anthology Of American Folk Music, Vol. 2A:

Have you ever wondered where you could listen to whale noises on the internet?

http://www.iserenity.com/environments.htm