Ramblings on Dylan, Otis, Havens, Nina, Lennon, & Songwriting

Ten days ago, star JamandaHalf correspondent, Jeff Cairney sent Leks and I one of the most firey JamandaHalf posts ever.  The post was so potent that before we could make it public we needed to listen to Richie Havens nonstop for a week and a half.  Jeff has been blessing us with some of the most radical posts over the years and is one of the most soulful, intelligent, and good vibed dudes out there.  In his latest installment, Jeff gives us a little history lesson mixed with a splash of theory to sip on.  Many Thanks and Much Love. 

Richie Havens passed away a few weeks ago. I’ve thus been spending considering time recently with his repertoire and taking him in as he fades away. And I came across something...

Back in 1966, Bob Dylan wrote a “Just Like A Woman” for Otis Redding. It’s Dylan’s soul song (or one of them) and would have been incredible and at home if sung by the soulful Redding. Unfortunately, Otis passed away before he had the chance to record it (or before Dylan had a chance to convince Redding that he should record it). I've always thought of this as a missed opportunity…

So though we’ll never have Redding’s version of Dylan’s “Just Like A Woman”, perhaps what we do have is the next best thing. Richie Havens, in my opinion one of the most underrated and under-the-radar soul singers, did record “Just Like A Woman”. So in the end, this world is blessed with Dylan’s soul expressed by a great soul singer:

And it doesn’t stop there. Nina Simone, inspired by the style and lyrics of this Dylan song, decided to do her own soulful rendition (obviously not caring that the song was written for a man):

Then this got me thinking about Nina. And as Otis inspired Dylan who inspired Nina, Nina was also and continues to be an incredible inspiration for so many different people. Take even the Beatles, for example. Paul McCartney got stuck when writing the song “Michelle” and didn't know how to start the second verse. John Lennon, inspired by Nina Simone’s version of “I Put A Spell On You” that he had heard the night before, told Paul to use the phrase Nina skats out to amazingly weave the saxophone solo back into the song lyrics. This is the “I love you, I love you, I love you” that so simply sums up the meaning of “Michelle”.

Indeed, these are words that go together well.

JamandaHalfxVagabros: The End of a Journey

All good trips have to end sometime and this one was particularly memorable. Now that the Vagabrothers are in London, getting ready for whatever adventures and competitions may come (on their way to hopefully winning an around the world trip!!), our around the world musical journey has come to an end. But like all good adventures, the end of this one starts the beginning of another. Look out tomorrow for the start of a new chapter for JamandaHalf as we strive to bring you music that transcends boundaries. As well, to recap the 13 country journey we just took, check out our favorites from the many countries we "visited" over the last two weeks.

JamandaHalfxVagabrothers Destination 11: Turkey

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One of the most amazing experiences you can do for under $2 is crossing the Bosphorus river in Istanbul from the European side to the Asian side. Crossing the stretch of water is the best way to get a sense of the historical, physical, and cultural immenseness of the city. An amalgamation of East/West, Istanbul can perhaps best be defined by the "/". Turkish music, although less so, is also best described as a mix between the ancient and the modern, of strong musical roots based on thousands of years of civilization, and of swirling changes that puts it directly in 2013.

JamandaHalfxVagabrothers Destination 7: Kenya

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What's amazed me more than anything as we take this jaunt around the world is the clear, distinct, links between music from starkly different places in the world. Ghanaian calypso sounds like it could have been made in Costa Rica in the 60s, Brazilian funk shares the same melancholy feel as the Delta Blues, and Omani folk shares many common sounds with today's country, Kenya. Music, like language, is alive, and throughout history different cultures have picked and chose their way across musical currents, a slow motion mish mashing that has created these undeniably unique, but nonetheless intrinsically similar, music styles and heritages. Kenya, the Vagabrother's destination of choice for today, is home to one of the richest musical traditions of East Africa. And once again exist these clear musical connections, even to the untrained ear, that shine brightly.

The opening licks of "Ajali Haikingiti" sound eerily familiar to any Vampire Weekend fan and could easily fit in with any of their track on Contra; this Kenyan jam of course came decades before the Brooklynites gave us "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa". In other traditional Kenyan folk music you can hear echos of Oman, carried by trades routes and the trading language of Swahili along the Indian Ocean. In more modern Kenyan music you hear the fruits of the musical return of the African diaspora, with New York in this case influencing Nairobi. It is this musical give and take that has always influenced and defined music. In the case of Kenya this push and pull is especially noticeable and tangible. Check out the playlist below to hear what I mean.