Middle Passage • Ginger Baker

Middle Passage

by Oz Fritz

One thing I really picked up from Jason (Corsaro) was his intensity, focus and commitment to the work. He aimed for mixes that broke barriers and reached for new levels of sonic expression. It's hard to get across just how intense the space was when he was working. You had to be at your highest degree of presence and attention, more so than you ever thought possible because that's where he was at. He was going for sounds, especially in the low end, that would present powerful music, such as the Ginger Baker album, Middle Passage, to be heard more powerfully than ever before; to strike a Universal chord, create a vibrational pattern that would, perhaps, resonate throughout the planet. At times it would seem that Jason would mix as if the fate of the World hung in the balance. He loved what he was doing which probably contributed significantly to the success his work enjoyed.

Bill Laswell introduced me to Jason, and the 3 of us began to work together in 1989 right at about the same time Bill Graham and Amensty International brought the first tour of Western music to the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc. These events took place only a few months before the peaceful collapse of Communism and the tearing down of the Berlin Wall.

One example of how strong the mood became for me was during the mix of the Swans cover of Can't Find My Way Home written by Steve Winwood and originally performed by Blind Faith, the 'super-group' with Winwood, Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Ric Grech.

Come down off your throne and leave your body alone
Somebody must change
You are the reason I've been waiting so long
Somebody holds the key
Well I'm near the end and I just ain't got the time
And I'm wasted and I can't find my way home...

 Read the full article on the OZ Fritz blog: Here

  Ginger Baker • drums
Jah Wobble • bass
Jonas Hellborg • Wal MIDI bass, fretless & acoustic bass
Bill Laswell • bass, fretless & six string bass
Nicky Skopelitis • 6 & 12 string guitars, baglama, coral sitar, electric banjo, fairlight
Faruk Tekbilek • ney, zurna
Bernie Worrell • Hammond organ
Aiyb Dieng • doff, talking drum, metals
Mar Gueye • sabar (hand drum)
Magette Fall • tama (hand drum)  
Produced by Bill Laswell    Label: Axiom 539 864-2
Format: CD, Album, Files
Country: US
Released: 1990
Genre: Jazz, Rock, Reggae
Style: Dub, Fusion  

Ginger Baker

RIP

Ginger Baker
19th August 1939

6th October 2019

Material • Live In Japan

As requested by hideo

The best material album next to hallucination engine. This is a live recording from japan on aug 2,5 & 7th of 1992. featuring foday musa suso, kora, dousongonni, guitar, percussion, vocal's/laswell, bass/bernie worrell, piano, hammond organ, clavinet, synth/nicky skopelitis6&12 string guitar/aiyb dieng, chantan,congo, talking drum, percussion/ginger baker, drums.

the album is verry jammin with excellent ginger fusion drums fodays manny instruments and fabulous lightly accented vocals, laswell's usual dub bass tastic, dieng at his percussive finnest, and very light nicky accentz.

the album toyz with elementz of jazz, rock and world fusion and features creator has a master plan originally by pharoah sanders from the album karma. pharoah's is a bit longer at 23:00 min and has lion thomas on awesome vocalz and is one of the most psychodelic songz ive ever heard, this one is a bit scaled down dut the effort is flawless. this is the best foday album ive heard yet even better than possesion and his solo stuff. my only complaint is that nicky's playing is verry light with just bitz of accentz but he is quite know for doing so on several occasionz, but he is still amazing as usual. and anyonw who knowz of gingers work will not be dessapointed he still tarez it up and his song with aiyb is a drumerz dream hearing two of the best percussionist on earth together. before i had bought this i thought scence it was 92 it was older and kinda outdated and more like massacre but thatz not the case, you wouldnt tell when this was recorded the sound is so goo you wouldnt even be able to tell itz live. all in all 1 of the best live albums ever lotz of different elementz of jazz dub and african mellodyz. not to be missed by anyonw who even likes 1 of the mussicians and a must have for any laswell fan.

yajdubuddah on Amazon.com 

1. Invocation (Worrell)

2. Leaving Earth (Suso, Laswell)

3. Desert Star (Suso, Laswell)

4. Out of The Dreamtime (Suso)

5. Obsessed (Baker, Dieng)

6. Into The Seventh House (Suso, Laswell, Skopelitis)

7. Dousongonni Song (Suso)

8. The Receiver (Suso, Laswell, Skopelitis)

9. The Creator Has A Master Plan (Sanders, Thomas)

10. The Image of The One (Worrell)

Foday Muso Suso • kora, dousongonni, guitar, percussion, vocal

Bernie Worrell • piano, Hammond organ, clavinet, synthesizer

Nicky Skopelitis • 6 & 12 string guitars

Bill Laswell • bass

Ginger Baker • drums

Aiyb Dieng • chatan, congas, talking drum, percussion

Recorded live at Shinjuku Pit Inn, Kyoto & Imabari on August 2, 5 & 7 1992

Compiled at Greenpoint Studio, Brooklyn, New York

Engineering • Oz Fritz for High Velocity

Assistant • Imad Mansour

Produced by Bill Laswell

Label: Restless Records – 7 72739-2
Format: 320
Country: US
Released: 1993
Genre: Electronic, Jazz, Rock
Style: Jazz, African