Dose of dope for this day of poker, when the earth itself is on FULL tilt
Brian Bennett is a British musician and composer most famous for being the Shadows’ drummer
He met Cliff Richard at the legendary 2i’s Coffee Bar in Soho (2 i’s because it had been originally run by Sammy and Freddie Irani)
He also plays piano, vibes, and became an arranger and conductor after taking a postal course at Berklee…distance learning, baby!
As a teenager in London, he would take the trolley to the West End and listen to 78s at Doug Dobell’s Record Shop, the city’s preeminent jazz store
There, he learned about both history and the newest releases
Yeah, record stores, the unsung heroes of education
He got into drumming after listening to Voice of America radio, and studied American jazz greats like Shelly Manne, Max Roach, and Buddy Rich
And learned drum technique–fills, rolls, ghost notes and the like-with American ex-pat Bruce Gaylor
In addition to his long-running work with the Shadows, Bennett played in big bands, and composed scores for films and tv shows
But had his own interests, and put out a few solo albums as well
In 1978, he released “Voyage” on DJM Records (great name, amirite?)
Voyage is subtitled “A Journey into Discoid Funk”
The 6 tracks are full of modern synth sounds referencing interstellar explorations
You can tell Star Wars had just been released
Album cover is everything you’d hope for in late 70s space themes
Solstice’s drum, bass and synth lines have proven fruitful ground for samples
The Alchemist used it in 1999 to cook up the golden Top Prospects beat, featuring the east-west collab of High & Mighty with Defari & Evidence
https://youtu.be/bidCvVyIz1E
And Madlib used it on Loopdigga
https://youtu.be/l76Yp3-wOuY
But the whole concoction bubbles with goodness
Especially on this night of cosmic coordination
