"Fontella" is an ode, and recounting of the trials and tribulations of being a female singer, in this case the legend that is, Fontella Bass. Having had huge success at Chess Records in Chicago (the Windy City) things turned sour and she moved to Paris (the City of Light) with her husband - Lester Bowie - and worked with his band, the Art Ensemble of Chicago. There they made two seminal albums and enjoyed a very different life.
credits
from Fontella + Crooked Man Dub,
track released January 13, 2023
Produced by Crooked Man
Lyrics by Michael Somerset Ward
Vocals by Lady Blackbird
Gorgeous minimalist arrangements and one of the most beautiful and moving voices I've ever heard. Lady Blackbird brings a Monk-like ability to get right into your guts and start rooting around. brussb
No country connects the various strands of 20th century Afro-diasporic music & its 21st century derivatives like the UK, especially the veteran selectors with shelves of decade spanning vinyl. So take a trip with one of the UK's deepest collectors & finest DJs, the irrepressible Luke Una as he joins all sorts of dots, sharing hard won musical treasure to the mapless, making the old new & the new make sense - this is a frankly staggering selection of music TheSlowMusicMovement