This is not one deep out the crates
It’s been hyped up by dj’s and collectors for years
Was always present on the “rare groove” lists of the 90s
Though originals still don’t come cheap!
Har You Percussion Group was formed in reaction to the riots/rebellions that ripped through NYC in the Summer of 64
Set off by the murder of James Powell, a black 15 year old, by a white NYPD officer
As governments are wont to do, the folks in power in NY created commissions to investigate the underlying causes of the uprising
And threw some pocket change at “social projects” — you know, to help the youth find creative outlets of expression, and productive activities to combat the conditions of indolence, and whatnot
Spoiler alert: The NYPD were neither reformed nor defunded
And the policing of black bodies, violent segregation, and state-sanctioned terror inflicted on poor, black communities continued unabated
BUT, Julian Euell (a bassist who had studied under Mingus and would later go on to help expand the Smithsonian’s efforts at documenting jazz history) did get some municipal grant to fund the afterschool program of Jamaican percussionist “Montego Joe” and develop the Harlem Youth Unlimited (Har-You) afro-cuban ensemble
Made up of teenagers from the neighborhood high schools (to the dose’s everlasting shame, I don’t know which specific high schools they were from)
They eventually were able to produce an album of the Har You Percussion Group, released by ESP, marketed as “Sounds of the Ghetto Youth”
The most famous track (and in accordance with the Molemen Grand Unified Theory of Value, still the best) is Welcome to the Party
Like The Most Interesting Man In The World says about the after-party, this is the one you want to attend
Montego Joe had obviously taught them well
And the bass is more straight funk than Mingus would have laid down (the album is from 1969), but I don’t think he’d be mad at it
The album is more than just percussion jamming
Oua-Train shows some cutting sax work (courtesy of Nelson Sanamiago) and latin jazz
https://youtu.be/8Eb7WJbW6rM
What’s that quote from Thank You for Smoking?
‘When the rich say they want to give back…Be there, with buckets.’
When the ruling class starts getting scurred and wants to pay off the rebellious to maintain order, be there with a recording studio