I’ve been keeping my eye on Jess Smyth, aka Biig Piig, ever since I heard “Pingu” back in 2019. That song was a somber number, with fantastic lyrics and production that harkened back to the trip hop days of the 90’s, and I loved it.

Bubblegum is Smyth and her talented collective’s latest release and “Picking Up” is the third single from the fantastic mixtape. It features the ever-talented Deb Never, and although the lyrics seem to deal with the loss of a relationship, I think the music is more of a celebration of how we move on from loss and a celebration of these two talented ladies.
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https://www.biig-piig.com/
http://debnever.com/

When you think of the iconic pop songs from the 1980’s, Romeo Void’s “Never Say Never” has to be on that list. It's sultry, danceable, and catchy as hell. It’s also a song that ended up catering to the nightclub elite, even though it was recorded by what Columbia Record executives considered an “overweight” singer who they wanted removed or blurred from any promotional materials.

Romeo Void was formed in San Francisco in 1979 and quickly signed a contract with 415 Records. They garnered critical attention with their first release, and by 1981 were recording with Rick Ocasek. In between these sessions, they were improvising an instrumental encore at a show in a Boston nightclub.  Ocasek loved what he heard and nearly pulled the band off the stage to get them back into the studio.  The basic chords from their on stage improvisation became “Never Say Never,” their first top 25 dance hit.
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It wasn’t long before Romeo Void was signed over from 415 Records to Columbia and even less time before Columbia stopped supporting them.  Their reason for this? Romeo Void’s “overweight” singer…
In an industry that is based on what is heard and not seen, it always bothered me that a group as talented as Romeo Void, with actual chart success, was still a casualty of vanity and mis-marketing.

Before Bob Marley married Rita Anderson and moved to the US in 1966, he produced her, along with two of her childhood friends, as backup singers for the various groups recording at Studio One.
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After they returned to Jamaica, she started singing again with the Soulettes, and scored some minor ska hits on the island and in the UK with “Opportunity,” “One More Chance,” and “Friends And Lovers”.
 
 “Turn! Turn! Turn!” was recorded in 1966 at Studio One. It’s a raw but kindhearted version of Pete Seeger’s classic plea for world peace. 

Wherever good music was being created, from The Jazz Messengers or Miles Davis to Joni Mitchell and Carlos Santana, saxophonist Wayne Shorter seemed to be there. He always hit the right note, never got in the way of an arrangement, and tied the music together.

“Three Blind Mice" is the title track from the 1962 album released by United Artists Records. It’s a playful take on the nursey rhyme, arranged by trombonist Curtis Fuller, and showcases the talents of Mr. Shorter and his ability to shine without taking away from others.
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We lost this brilliant and accomplished musician this past Thursday at the age of 89. He helped guide Jazz from the heights of Hard Bop, through the Avant Garde / Fusion / Psychedelic periods, and even into the near present day. His seventy year career is a testament to the genre and his ability to make each recording that much better.