June is right around the corner and so is Black Music Month, our favorite month to celebrate here at On The Groove Line. To honor the contributions of Black musicians and music industry professionals, we will present our “Black Music Month 30” podcast series on our YouTube channel. Called #BMM30…
Dexter Wansel, the Philadelphia-based songwriter/producer, turns 75 years young today and his contributions to the Sound of Philadelphia are as important as those of the producers he followed. Wansel joined Philadelphia International Records in the mid 70s just as Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff started delegating more production duties out…
Breakwater started life in 1970s Philadelphia as a cover band but quickly turned into a funk-jazz-rock-R&B outfit who held their own with the best bands of the day. Two albums on Arista Records have become Dusty Groove and collectors’ favorites and after the passing of leader Kae Williams Jr., the…
The Blackbyrds, a jazz-funk band formed at Howard University by legendary trumpeter Donald Byrd, are still flying high 50 years after their third album City Life contained the classic hit “Rock Creek Park.” Original member and current leader Keith Killgo was gracious enough to chat with us On The Groove…
One of the more exciting developments for this music fan is this new era of jazz and jazz-influenced artists/musicians putting a modern spin one of the more elite genres in music. Thundercat of course stands out among the pack of this new wave of artists, but one talented young musician…