Top Of The Box » Jazz http://www.topofthebox.co.uk TV Music Performances Mon, 02 Jan 2012 12:39:31 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Buzzin Tribute to Gil Scott- Heron http://www.topofthebox.co.uk/buzzin-tribute-to-gil-scott-heron/902 http://www.topofthebox.co.uk/buzzin-tribute-to-gil-scott-heron/902#comments Thu, 02 Jun 2011 15:28:54 +0000 Terry Lane http://www.topofthebox.co.uk/?p=902 Last week Gil Scott-Heron died in New York aged just 62. It is always a sad loss when someone as talented an artist passes away but even more so I feel as it follows so quickly the release of his 2010 album I’m New Here on XL Recordings and the more recent collaboration with The XX member and producer Jamie XX, to remix the whole album as We’re New Here.

I’m Here Now was Gil Scott-Heron’s fifteenth studio album, and his first for sixteen years.

Gil Scott-Heron is born in Chicago in 1949.  He was rightly hailed as the Godfather of Rap but he was so much more..  Since his debut album, Small Talk at 125th and Lenox in 1970 he has blended jazz, soul and funk with his own unique style of spoken-word poetry with words fuelled by hard-edged socio-political commentary.

Gil Scott-Heron was never afraid to speak out and confront controversy.  In 2001 he was spent time in jail for possession of cocaine.  This followed his addiction to the drug that started in the 1980’s. He was further sentenced in 2006 for violating the terms of his parole.

The cause of his death has still to be confirmed but he became ill after returning to New York from a European trip.  In 2008 Gil Scott-Heron confirmed he had been HIV-positive for several years, and that he had been previously hospitalized for pneumonia.

Gil Scott-Heron was a true genius. R.I.P.

]]> http://www.topofthebox.co.uk/buzzin-tribute-to-gil-scott-heron/902/feed 0 Quincy Jones and James Ingram – One Hundred Ways http://www.topofthebox.co.uk/quincy-jones-and-james-ingram-one-hundred-ways/634 http://www.topofthebox.co.uk/quincy-jones-and-james-ingram-one-hundred-ways/634#comments Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:28:19 +0000 John Williams http://www.topofthebox.co.uk/?p=634 This is Quincy Jones featuring the vocals of James Ingram on the 1980’s song One Hundred Ways. This performance is shot at the Paramount Theater,  Seattle in 1983.

Quincy Jones and James Ingram – One Hundred Ways

]]> http://www.topofthebox.co.uk/quincy-jones-and-james-ingram-one-hundred-ways/634/feed 0 Paul Weller & Amy Winehouse – Don’t Go To Strangers http://www.topofthebox.co.uk/paul-weller-amy-winehouse-dont-go-to-strangers/593 http://www.topofthebox.co.uk/paul-weller-amy-winehouse-dont-go-to-strangers/593#comments Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:40:46 +0000 John Williams http://www.topofthebox.co.uk/?p=593 This is an excellent clip of Paul Weller and Amy Winehouse performing a cool version of the Etta Jones jazz classic Don’t Go To Strangers.

Paul Weller & Amy Winehouse – Don’t Go To Strangers

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