Bless Up!

Bless Up! - The Record

I’m excited to share this unique body of work with the Irie Caribbean Vibes and the attitude and sophistication of New York’s finest. I hope this music let's you dance in body, mind and spirit.

Track Listing:

A Side:

• “Dawnie’s Place” - A “stepper” tune that conjures the good vibes we felt at our weekly wednesday night gig on Church Ave. AKA “Bob Marley Blvd.” deep in Flatbush, Brooklyn. All manner of luminary would sit in on a tune, from Dancehall Legends, Calypso Kings, Crooners and Horn players from all stages of life.

• “Hawthorne St. Quadrille” - Earl’s roots ran deep in the Caribbean community of Brooklyn. On one occasion, he called me to play at a Guyanese Social Club. It was a Massive gathering, feast and showcase of local talent, from Steel Pans to Carnival Bandleaders. At a high point in the evening, I looked out to see couples dancing in formation and asked what sort of finery this was, Earl clued me in to the fact that it was the Guyanese ‘Quadrille’, a lovely sight indeed.

• “Herbsman” - While Earl was not a man to partake, he informed me that his brothers were Hersbmen and he didn’t have a problem with it. The Alto Flute on the melody lends a darkness to the mystery melody that may evoke just the sort of meditation a well-fired Chalice can bring on.

• “Sweetest Blessing” - Is a challenging number in an interesting time signature. It was written in reference to the birth of my first daughter, C.C. and the myriad of changes in the song structure mimic the many twists and turns of life that a young father faces: tough, but rewarding in a joyful way.

• “West Side Dream” - This cinematic number came to us while playing a cocktail party for socialites in Manhattan’s West Village / Chelsea neighborhood. I arranged especially for the Flute, Trumpet, and Bone line up. It also represents the "dream come true” of a couple sunny afternoons I spent playing with Earl outdoors to the colorful and diverse crowd of Christopher St. Pier, and Chelsea in a band replete with lifelong musicians and journeymen who called these rhythms “home” and did them solid justice.

B Side - Dubs by renowned mix engineer Victor Rice.

Personnel

J. Speck - trombone, compositions, arrangements, creative lead

Kevin  Batchelor - Trumpet

Jose “Ze” Luis Oliveira - alto flute and flute

Earl Appleton - Piano, Organ, Synthesizers

Mike Severino - Drums

Miguelo Valdez - Percussion (Hawthorne St. Quadrille, Sweetest Blessing,)

Larry MacDonald - Percussion (West Side Dream, Herbsman, Dawnie’s Place)

Andy Bassford - Bass (Laura, Hawthorne St. Quadrille, Sweetest Blessing, Dawnie’s Place, Herbsman)

Victor Rice - Bass (Sweetest Blessing)

Rick Sabo - Guitar

Tribute to Earl Appleton, keys, concepts and squad leader.

Some More Band Shots from the Moments that Made the Sessions..

Back Story:

In the Early 2000’s I was recording a lot of trombone for the genius engineer Karl Pitterson (Engineer on Bob Marley - Exodus, Rico Rodriguez - Man from Wareika, Bunny Wailer - Blackheart Man). He planted a seed in my mind that we should do a “trombone record” like what he had done with Rico.

Having just finished a stint as founding member of the Spam Allstars that called for 5 years of touring in vans, planes, seedy bars, weddings and culminated in a Grammy Nomination and headline slot at Bonnaroo, I was ready to heed a new call. We began work on the “bone record” I dove in with Karl over a period of several months, eating all the Jamaican favorites: Brown Stew Chicken, Snapper Escovitch and Curry Goat and writing horn parts and blowing solos to some serious roots grooves.

Sadly, the 10 tunes we recorded at Karl’s studio never made it past the mix stage of the final drum overdubs. Karl, facing all too common disruptions to his area of the craft had to pack all his stuff in a container and head to Anguilla for new opportunities.

Fast Forward 10 years later, I had moved to New York, for greener concrete pastures and new stages to play. Through the twists of fate and connections made through myriad rehearsals at A.F.M. 802 (the musicians’ union), I found myself joining Kevin Batchelor’s Allstar cast of legendary characters in the NYC Ska Jazz Orchestra. We would go on to play with that ensemble in public events throughout the city, mid-size venues and pool halls.

When the 18-piece band wasn’t working, various offshoot musical group incarnations would play at Social Halls deep in the Caribbean Section of Flatbush, Brooklyn, Cocktail Parties for the volunteers of The High Line Park in Chelsea, Summer Jams on the pier of Hudson River and regular weekly sessions on Church Ave (Bob Marley Blvd.) and in Park Slope. In time, I felt the calling to book studio time and arrange a classic and a few originals to be cast in amber and shared with our friends and loved ones the world over.