Happy Music Monday, you all. It’s your friend selector, Marlon, back again with a collection of turns for your musical enjoyment.
I’ll keep it short and sweet. While it’s past both Juneteenth and Independence Day, it is still summertime and BBQ weather. I have assembled a new collection of cookout music to be played in the park, backyard, or kitchen table.
No old school collection of grooves in complete with offerings from Frankie Beverly and Maze. There are also tracks from Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind & Fire, Cheryl Lynn, and so many others.
Over the generations the cookout has become a celebrated tradition defined by family, friends, generational recipes, and good music.
The cookout is a sacred cultural space for community, and resilience. That is particularly true during this era where Black joy seems like an act of rebellion.
Please enjoy these tracks that range from the funky 1970s to the present day. It is a freewheeling collection that is formulated to induce joy and good time.
Take good care, you all. And as always, stay safe, sane and kind.
Happy Music Monday! It’s your monthly Rhythm Broker, Marlon West, back with another sonic adventure.
On this post-Valentine’s and President’s Day Monday, I have been thinking about the legendary musical seeker, John Coltrane. For my second Black History Month offering, I am pleased to share “A Love Supreme: The Essential John Coltrane Playlist.” This collection brings together the essential tracks of one of the 20th century’s most influential musical figures.
While John Coltrane is renowned for the fiery playing that pioneered modal and free jazz — infusing deep spirituality into landmark albums like Giant Steps and A Love Supreme— he also mastered the art of the love song.
This collection includes “Naima,” the 1959 ballad named after his then-wife, Juanita Naima Grubbs, along with standards such as “I Want To Talk About You,” “My One And Only Love,” and “Dedicated To You.”
From his collaborations with Miles Davis to his personal spiritual journey from classic Bebop to the edges of the avant-garde, I have assembled nine hours of John Coltrane’s finest work for you to enjoy.
Please savor the sounds of the man known to fans and fellow musicians alike as “Trane.” I look forward to sharing another collection with you next month.
It’s your friend and selector, Marlon West, with another collection for GOOD BLACK NEWS. GROOVE CHRISTMAS 2025 is an eclectic mix of Christmas music, much of which was released this year.
This collection features favorites from Donny Hathaway, Nina Simone, Lou Rawls and John Legend, alongside recent releases by artists like Rebel Rae, Aloe Blacc, Alex Harris and CoCo Jones. I’ve also included selections from Duke Ellington’s classic 1960 “Nutcracker Suite” as a unifying thread.
I hope this seasonal collection introduces you to new classics and favorites to enjoy this year and beyond.
It’s Music Monday and Halloween here at Good Black News! It’s your friend and selector, the groove conductor, Marlon West. I’ve returned once more during this Season of the Witch with another collection.
I am just back from a screening and discussion with Ryan Coogler and part of his creative team behind SINNERS. It was the fifth viewing for me, in whole or in part.
I saw it opening day laser projected, two weeks later on 70mm IMAX, streamed it twice, once with a sista in the lower right corner offering Black ASL, and today a 70mm print projected at the Directors Guild of America‘s theater with a very diverse and reactive crowd early on a Sunday morning. I was delighted to run into our GBN Editor-In-Chief Lori Lakin Hutcherson and her mother at the same screening.
As any of you that enjoy my Music Monday playlist knows, I love me some Halloween. This is at least the fifth All-Hallows Eve collection I’ve done for Good Black News.
The cinematic juggernaut that is SINNERS is a good reminder of just how much the blues has dealt with scares both supernatural and real-world based.
From Robert Johnson’s mythic trip the the crossroads to Blind Willie Johnson’s “Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground,” the blues has provided its share of eerie moments. Bo Diddley’s iconic ‘Who Do You Love” opens with following boasts:
I walked forty-seven miles of barbed wire Used a cobra snake for a necktie Got a brand new house on the roadside Made from rattlesnake hide Got a brand new chimney made on top Made out of a human skull
Oh, that’s a Halloween song, all right! Howlin’ Wolf, Koko Taylor, RL Burnside, Norma Tanega, Gary Clark Jr., and so many more purveyors of the blues are present for this Halloween collection.
Whether your plans include handing out candy to hobgoblins of all ages, chillin’ with friends, or kickin’ at home with that porch light out, here is another autumnal offer to enjoy during this Halloween Season.
Happy Music Monday, you all. I hope this missive finds you smiling and well. It’s your friend and selector, Marlon West, back again with a new collection of tasty tracks to enjoy today and all week long.
Not long ago I was chatting with a pal who doesn’t like jazz, because she can’t dance to it. While of course there was and is big band jazz created for dancing. What they were talking about was the kind of grooves that lovers of R&B, Soul, and Funk enjoy so much.
Being always up for a challenge I created this collection of “Dance Jazz”.
It features New Orleans brass bands, remixes of jazz standards, and collaborations with jazz musicians and hip hop artists.
You’ll find genre-bending musicians like Roy Ayers, Stanley Clarke, George Duke, and Herbie Hancock.
There are offerings of “Jukebox Jazz” created by Art Blakey, Lou Donaldson, Dorothy Ashby and others as a response to the more accessible and popular Rhythm and Blues of the 1960s.
Like all these GOOD BLACK NEWS collections, this one has have been fun to make.
Hope you will enjoy these shimmy-inducing jazz tracks. Stay tuned for some Halloween candy-slinging next month.
Happy Music Monday, you all. It’s your pal and musician marshal is back with another dose of fine tunes.
After Fruitvale Station, Rocky spin-off/reboot Creed, Black Panther and its sequel, Wakanda Forever, Ryan Coogler has proven himself one of the most masterful filmmakers working today.
Though Sinners, which arrived in theaters three weeks ago, is his first film not derived from real life or other properties.
Michael B. Jordan in the dual role of 1930s gangster twins Smoke and Stack, leads a charming ensemble of characters in a blistering, sexy southern gothic horror. It is a blues-infused vampire flick in which the music flows as freely as R-rated gore.
This month’s offering celebrates Sinners’ soundtrack featuring Miles Caton, Alice Smith, Rod Wave, co-star Hailee Steinfeld and others.
There are also offerings from Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard, Raphael Saadiq, Bobby Rush and the legendary Buddy Guy, who also appears in the film. (If you haven’t seen the film yet, stay put for the poignant mid-credits sequence.) There are passages of the original score, from Coogler’s frequent collaborator, Ludwig Göransson.
Of course, I have included songs and performances that surely inspired Coogler and his creative team. There are songs by Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Koko Taylor and so many others.
The gospel blues track “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground” by Blind Willie Johnson is one of 27 pieces of music sent to space in 1977 on the “Voyager Golden Record” to represent the rich diversity of life on Earth. I can’t think of a better example of the cultural import of the blues.
I’m thrilled to offer this playlist celebrating the blues’ enduring impact, and the film that celebrates Black community, tenacity, and ownership.
See you all next month, and as always: Stay safe, sane, and kind.
Greetings! It’s your friend and selector, Marlon, again.
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s joyous, crisply edited and well observed documentary about Sly Stone dropped in February on Hulu and Disney+.
SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)is a worthy follow-up to the Oscar-winning documentary Summer of Soul, and examines the life and lasting legacy of Sly & The Family Stone.
It was the inspiration of this playlist about the groundbreaking band led by the enigmatic and charismatic Sly Stone.
This wonderful film captures the Sly Stone’s rise, reign and subsequent fadeout, and as the subtitle suggests, sheds light on the unseen and often unspoken burden that comes with success for Black artists in America.
Here are songs from across Sly and The Family Stone’s ten studio albums, their live records, and a fraction of the hit songs that sample this legendary group.
From LL Cool J to Janet Jackson to Beastie Boys to Jungle Brothers, there are tracks included that are driven by grooves of Sly Stone.
Please enjoy this 100 song collection of essential tracks by and featuring Sly & The Family Stone.
And as always, stay safe, sane and kind. See you next month!!
In 1945, Lionel Hampton spotted a five year-old boogying so hard during his concert in Los Angeles, that the legendary the vibraphonist handed young Roy Ayers his first pair of mallets.
Roy Ayers went on to establish himself as a pioneer of jazz-funk and soul. He was hugely influential on the neo-soul and hiphop movement.
As a solo artist, Roy Ayers released dozens of albums over the years, dating as far back as 1963. His last release was in 2024.
Ayers’ biggest hits were “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” and “Running Away” with his group Roy Ayers Ubiquity.
Though over his decades-long career he collaborated with scores of musicians including the Roots, Guru, Fela Kuti and Rick James.
The musician’s songs have been sampled by everyone from Mary J. Blige and Common to Tyler the Creator and Kanye West.
There are 21 tracks that sample “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” alone.
According to Ayers: “Well, I have more sampled hits than anybody,” he said in a 2004 interview with Wax Poetics magazine. “I might not have more samples than James Brown, but I’ve had more sampled hits. Oh, man, and there’s a few I don’t know about.”
Happy Music Monday, you all. I’m back a week late, if you are counting. I have been thinking about the life and career of the utterly original Jimmy Scott.
His voice conveyed such vulnerability, and had such a haunting sound. Jimmy Scott’s life was filled with emotional and physical challenges.
When he was 13, he tragically lost his mother in a car accident, and about the same time he was diagnosed with Kallmann Syndrome. The rare hormonal disorder all-but prevented puberty in him.
Leaving him with a voice all his own.
Sometimes his singing credit was given to a female artist. This happened on Charlie Parker’s live version of “Embraceable You.”
Jimmy Scott saw his suffering as his salvation and was liberated by it. This tenacity lay at the core of his artistry: “All I needed was the courage to be me,” he said. “That courage took a lifetime to develop.”
Scott’s unique style and passion led him to become one of the most influential vocalists in history.
He inspired a diverse set of artists including Ray Charles, Billie Holiday, Nancy Wilson, Elton John, David Bowie, Lou Reed and Madonna. I became a fan when he experienced a third-act resurgence in popularity.
Scott’s career had faded by the late 1960s. He’d returned to his hometown of Cleveland and worked as a hospital orderly, shipping clerk, and elevator operator.
In 1989, Scott sang at the funeral of his friend, songwriter Doc Pomus, the event reignited his career. He performed the song “Sycamore Trees” in the final episode of the original Twin Peaks television series in 1991, and sang backup on the Lou Reed song “Power and Glory” for the 1992 album Magic and Loss.
Scott would record several studio albums before his death in 2014. Much of the material in this collection is made-up of those wonderful recordings. Please enjoy.
Happy January Music Monday and MLK Day here at Good Black News!
It’s your friend and selector, your sonic chauffeur, your groove conductor, Marlon, back again.
I’m delighted to offer up this first of likely 12 GBN collections of the year. This is an “afroclectic” collection of tracks released in 2024.
It is more than half a day of excellent music to provide the soundtrack to your Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday. (You might be like me, and also taking 10 minutes of meditation at 12 Pm PST, in honor of legendary filmmaker, David Lynch, on what would have been his 79th birthday, had he not passed away last week.)
I have done a few civil rights-centered playlists in honor of this day. Though here is celebration of Dr. King having “been to the mountain top”, featuring dozens of artists performing any number of genres and styles.
R&B, hip-hop, classical, jazz, reggae, afro-beat, and more examples are included in this 13-hour collection of music from 2024.
I have gathered some of music’s biggest names with marquee releases, like Beyoncé and Jon Batiste.
There are plenty of newcomers and underground darlings, including Victoria Monét, Raveena, tendai and so many others, staking their claim among those giants.
I’ve offered an avalanche of new songs from last year. Some are even posthumous recordings by Alice Coltrane, Wayne Shorter and Prince.
There’s new tracks from quiet-for-a-minute artists like Sade, Stevie Wonder and Erykah Badu. Please enjoy the globe-trotting and genre-hoping collection. See ya next month!
