BRING LOST “BILL COSBY” MUSIC TO LIFE
“The Original Jam Sessions 1969” Features Music from NBC’s “The Bill Cosby Show” and Cast of Jazz & Funk-Loving Legends from the 1960s “The New Mixes, Vol, I,” An Exciting and Eclectic Dose of Contemporary Mixes from Mix Master Mike, Cornershop, Bedrock, Herbert, Los Amigos Invisibles and Others
While Quincy Jones and Bill Cosby are today considered two of the most accomplished entertainers in America, the 52-episodes of NBC’s “The Bill Cosby Show” (1969-1971) were among their first notable television credits. Jones, as musical director, assembled a crack team of prominent jazz and funk artists to create a soundtrack and essentially left the tape recorder running during numerous informal jams. The sessions, however, ended up in the vault and were forgotten until over 30 years later when the “lost tapes” were rediscovered during an office move. Quincy Jones Music and Concord Records now present those sessions on two separate, yet equally unique and ultra-cool, recordings.
From the first notes of Quincy Jones & Bill Cosby: The Original Jam Sessions 1969 (in stores June 22), you know you are in for a quite a musical ride. Authentic interplay, vintage 1969, the heaviest musicians on the planet¾ Jimmy Smith, Milt Jackson, Les McCann, Monty Alexander, Ray Brown, Joe Sample, and Tom Scott and among them¾enjoying a fresh, loose, funk-loving romp.
Follow-up with Quincy Jones & Bill Cosby: The New Mixes, Vol. I (out July 13) and come full circle, as some of the hottest artists, DJs and producers from today’s international world of Lain, jazz, electronica, lounge and hip-hop help build a distinctive and contemporary bridge between old and new. Among the “new-mixers” are Mix Master Mike, Bedrock, Mario Caldato, Jr., Herbert, Cornershop, and Los Amigos Invisibles.
“We discovered some boxes labeled ‘Quincy, Jimmy Smith and Oscar, 1969,’ and about fell out of our chairs,” explains Marc Cazorla, executive producer for Quincy Jones Music ... [ read more ]

While Quincy Jones and Bill Cosby are today considered two of the most prominent and accomplished entertainers in America, the 52-episodes of NBC’s “The Bill Cosby Show” (1969 – 1971) were among their first notable television credits and gave both artists a chance to exercise their creative limbs. Jones, as musical director, assembled a crack team of jazz artists to bring his musical vision to fruition: Jimmy Smith, Ray Brown, Monty Alexander, Milt Jackson, Herb Ellis, Joe Sample, Ernie Watts, Les McCann and just about every other prominent jazz and funk artist of the era. During the program’s run, Jones essentially left the tape recorder running during numerous informal jams, which included outtakes and several comedic vocal cameos by Cosby. Somehow the tapes ended up in the vault and were forgotten until over 30 years later when Jones was moving into new office space and re-discovered the “lost tapes.”
For Quincy Jones & Bill Cosby: The New Mixes, Vol. I (CCD-2262), the producing team at Concord Records and Quincy Jones Music wholeheartedly embraced a unique approach they gave the original jam sessions from the 1969 TV show to some of today’s hippest artists, DJs and producers from the worlds of Latin, jazz, electronica, lounge and hip-hop and asked them to create “new mixes.” The two companies had only one request: to take creative liberties without losing the loose, funk-loving spirit of the original music. The result is an eclectic and exciting dose of contemporary music that pays respectful yet forward-thinking homage to some of the funkiest and most revered jazz artists of the 1960s ... [ read more ]

JOHN DIGWEED (OF BEDROCK)
John Digweed had been DJing for close to ten years when his remix tape caught the ear of Renaissance promoter Geoff Oakes. He was soon working alongside another popular Renaissance DJ, Sasha. The new position gave the DJ what he needed for his big breakthrough, and he has continued to prosper ever since. Soon a Renaissance CD compilation containing some of Sasha and John’s best remixes was released. The album was a surprise huge seller, warranting a follow-up, Renaissance 2, which soon approached gold status in Europe. ... [ read more ]

The record is a very creative and interesting experiment in sampling. The samples, fortunately, happen to be funky as anything because they belong to the maestro, Quincy Jones. It's nice to see a well-thought out remix album and from someone like Quincy Jones, you would expect Timbaland, the Neptunes, Ludacris, and every other big-name medium talent producer of the day to be on here. Refreshingly, Q chose some producers that really seem to be MUSICIANS as well (a concept unheard of nowadays) and the results are fantastic. There's actually LIVE playing on this. The Chakadoons tracks has a great groovy 60's style breakdown ... [ read more ] >>
A funky party platter, August 5, 2004
Reviewer: Miguel Rodriguez (Seattle, Washington)

The groove is loose and deep on these studio sessions recorded as backing music for the original Bill Cosby Show sitcom in 1969. Despite the title, Bill Cosby appears on only one track here, the vocal version of "Hikky-Burr," where he improvised his entire part. Quincy Jones directed these sessions with bassist Ray Brown acting as bandleader on all but one cut (the Cosby selection). Other players came from a revolving cast that included Joe Sample on Fender Rhodes; pianists Les McCann, Clare Fischer, and Monty Alexander; drummers Paul Humphries and John Guerin; bassist Carol Kaye; guitarist Arthur Adams; vibists Milt Jackson and Victor Feldman; saxophonists Eddie Harris, Ernie Watts, and Tom Scott; and assorted others. Jimmy Smith makes a brief impromptu appearance playing an organ solo as well. These are, true to title, jam sessions; the feel is everything, and whether it's funky ("Groovy Gravy," "Oh Happy Day,") bluesy hard bop ("Toe Jam"), or down-and-dirty soul-jazz ("Hikky-Burr," "Jive Den"), the intention is the same: to grease up the proceedings for maximum groove quotient. These are not terribly adventurous sessions, and the transferred sound isn't perfect either, since these were rehearsals and never intended for release. But then, they are what they are, relaxed yet lively, full of delight and surprise. Thom Jurek [ read more ] >>