I CAN’T FIGURE OUT (WHATCHA DOIN’ TO ME)
.38 SPECIAL
St. Louis Creative Ensemble
I Can’t Figure Out (Whatcha Doin’ to Me)
Moers Music : 1979?
Luther Thomas, alto sax; Joseph Bowie, trombone, vocals; Rasul Siddik, trumpet; Darrell Mixon, bass; Charles “Bobo” Shaw, drums.
We can’t figure out what this music is doing to us, but we like it. The title track lays down some serious free funk — complete with soulful vocals and beautifully nonsensical lyrics about trains (or ‘tranes?) and planes. Catchy grooves and gales of noise blown in rhythm. (Though JB, if he were leading this band, would be issuing fines left and right.) Gee whiz, it makes us wanna dance sideways. Do the crab!
Dig the presence of Luther Thomas. While this isn’t the epic free-funk blowout of his essential Funky Donkey (from ‘73, credited in part to the Saint Louis, Missouri, Creative Ensemble), what it lacks in heft it makes up for in concision. This song is practically a single! An audio firecracker that makes you move and then blows up in your face — in under four minutes. You know, like a good pop song.
The STLCE appears to be an offshoot of the Human Arts Ensemble, formed by Thomas and Bowie (younger brother of trumpeter Lester) in St. Louis in 1971; the HAE was itself something of an outgrowth of the Black Artists’ Group, though with a more open brief. What all these groups share in common, aside from a wonderful array of musicians, is a willingness to cross boundaries, and to joyfully mix outward-bound improvisation with a soulful strut.
The second track showcases this outward side. Sure they can lay down a steady beat, but what about those delicate souls who crave some nasty but concise skronk? Say hello to our little friend, “.38 Special.” This gig was recorded in Paris and released in 1979 — by which point Bowie was already on his way toward convening the acclaimed downtown boogaloo band Defunkt, rolling off a string of albums that would teach the kids with skinny ties how to dance.
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Both Bowie and Thomas have active MySpace pages.
For more on any aspect of St. Louis jazz, your first stop must be St. Louis Jazz Notes.
Nothing Is has an assortment of Human Arts Ensemble work available, at last glance.
And Moers Music appears to be selling this LP.
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PHOTO: Denis Darzacq, via Mwanji. Click image for more.
cherise // May 11, 2007 at 3:49 pm
now i’m surprised nobody else has chimed in yet b/cuz this shit is off the hook! so lemme say it: thanks for posting this!
“i can’t figure out” is new to me and rides that super-funky/noisy axis so right, like a third rail that makes you wanna dance. is it just my ignorance, but is this tune fairly well known among them like like the free funk?
not sure how i missed it. like, why didn’t some stranger on the sidewalk come shake me by thee shoulders and say, yo, check this OUT!
other tune is cool too but onely space in my heart right now for this.
doug w // May 11, 2007 at 9:33 pm
Well now, ain’t this exquisite! What a beautiful find. More words later when I stop bouncing around the room…
godoggo // May 12, 2007 at 1:21 am
City of Gabriels: The History of Jazz in St. Louis, 1895-1973, in Google Books.
wallofsound // May 12, 2007 at 2:45 pm
Great couple of tracks. Hard to go wrong with Shaw and co.
If you want to find out about BAG and St Louis origins of this youâ??ll need to read Benjamin Lookerâ??s excellent â??point from which creation beginsâ? (named after Oliver Lakeâ??s first record.
Iâ??m a bit confused about the date here because I thought that by 1978 Joe Bowie was back in New York and had formed Defunkt. Maybe he went back to Paris to record. Itâ??ll be a good question to ask him. Trivia point: Bowie obviously liked the â??train to the planeâ? couplet because he used it later in a Defunkt track in the 80s (Iâ??ll remember which one once the brain cells warm up a little).
ledrew // May 14, 2007 at 12:40 am
wallofsound, we are also confused about the date — we’ve already changed it a few times in this entry. Nothing Is has this as recorded in 1979, but this just doesn’t sit right. Seems more likely that it was circa ‘72/’73, when the whole BAG crew was in Paris and getting recorded all the time. We’ve left it slightly fuzzy now, and welcome input from anyone who knows better…
Thanks to all for the comments, and good to see you again, Cherise.
Dean Minderman // May 15, 2007 at 1:15 am
Hey, godoggo – Thanks for the tip about “City of Gabriels” being, in part at least, accessible via Google books. I’m definitely spreading the word on that.
As for your query about Richard Martin – due to some technical problems, I can’t actually post a comment on my own site right now! So, I’m making your query into a post so that I can share what I know about Martin and try to get any readers who may remember him to share their memories as well.
Also, I have a certain friend who’s a old-head jazz fan who saw Martin play many times & probably has a story or two – problem is, he’s not much of an Internet user. But I’m going to phone him and see if I can get him to tell me something, or maybe even post a comment himself. So, check back over at StLJN when you get a chance.
And to the D:O proprietors: Thanks again for mentioning & linking to St. Louis Jazz Notes. Much appreciated!
godoggo // May 15, 2007 at 1:59 am
Very cool. Thanks!