Anyone else searching for Planetary Music, Funk, and Soul?
I just Googled the phrase "planetary music funk and soul." The first result was "Brass Fantasy, The Odyssey of Funk and Popular Music" by Lester Bowie. I really did not expect any results, and this is fantastic. I am not an expert on Lester Bowie (though I acquired many of the Art Ensemble of Chicago albums and saw them live in the 1970s). He is my homeboy (St. Louis, Missouri [hi Nelly]) and older than me. Not an expert on his brother, Byron Bowie, either, but I knew him, went to school with him (high school and college). Byron was brilliant and a leader of us "Negro" ("Black" by the graduation) students during the turbulent sixties. He was sorely missed when he left school early to move to California and get life going. I admired him because he was a free spirit, never a follower and always nice to me. *Smiling.*
It is no "coincidence" that the "planetary soul" search returned my soul brothers from St. Louis because I think there is a particular distinguishable "soul" about this city. St. Louis is where I formed my first impressions of music and its power to heal, lift and motivate. The singers and musicians were revered in school and enjoyed popularity. We idolized our artists and clung to the music for sustenance.
