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| Chaka Chaka Boom Boom, Capitol 107 FM, Port Vila, Vanuatu, c. 2008 |
Twice in my life I had the opportunity to make Radio Programs and play the music I like for a wider audience. The first time was in the eighties, on Radio Comores, in the Indian Ocean. I had two programs. "Honky Tonk" was a blues/roots program and "Night Train" was a Jazz program. They lasted a few months. It was long before the advent of Internet and as the FM transmitter was very weak, the programs could only be heard in a radius of a few kilometers around Moroni. Anyway I enjoyed it and so did quite a few listeners as these were the only programs playing that kind of music in the whole archipelago. I left the Comores in 88 and went to work in other far away places but no more radio ... untill 2007, i was then in Vanuatu and got approached by Mike, an elderly Peace Corps Volunteer who wanted to start a program on the newly established Capital FM 107, a private station in Port Vila. That's how Capital Blues started and quickly mutated into Chaka Chaka Boom Boom, one hour of rock and roll, boogie music and related mayhem. Then a few weeks later I started Capitol Jazz, in French for a change, one hour of Jazz every Sunday after the 8:00 p.m. news. It lasted for over two years until I left Vanuatu. The great fun was that Capitol was streaming on the Net - well, on and off as technical problems were not uncommon - and therefore I had listeners not only in the South Pacific but also in Europe and North America (mostly friends who's been told about the programs). And then I moved to another country, another job and no more radio programs.
In July last year I made a compilation of funky jazz tracks for my daughter, based on the kind of stuff I used to play on Capitol Jazz. Some tracks were ripped from my own, rather extensive record collection , others from albums I had downloaded from various specialised blogs. I didn't have the opportunity to rip my own LPs as all my LPs were (and still are) in Europe while I'm roaming the world.
Anyway the compilation began to have a life of its own. Friends heard it and asked me for copies. Just as a hobby, I decided to make a new compilation every month and upload them for friends. I'm now (December 2010) at number 17.
I plan to upload them for your enjoyment. I plan also to upload whole albums provided that they are OOP and not available on other blogs.
Making these compilations wouldn't have been possible without the great blogs that have come and gone on the Web over the last few years.
I dedicate this blog to my late friend Johnny Peret, musicien extraordinaire and "echte Brusseleir". Thanks for introducing me to modern big bands and the beauty of well-crafted arrangements and ensemble playing.
St Pieters Leeuw is a partly rural village west of Brussels. The village centre has managed to keep its charm and a unique atmosphere: a beautiful old church and some very friendly cafes on the small cobbled street surrounding the church. That's where one can find Café Moriau, famous for its traditionnal Gueuze and Kriek (and occasional jazz concerts) and Café 't Leeuwske where I went last night to watch and hear Al Copley. Living abroad most of the year, I sometimes forget what a delightful place Belgium could be. For instance, one can have the double pleasure of watching / listening to a top-class musical act while drinking some outstanding local beers. My favourite has always been the Oude Gueze and Kriek ( typical summer beers, very refreshing). Not always easy to find the real thing, only a handful of small breweries still produce the lambic which is at the base of Gueuze and Kriek. But in St Pieters Leeuw, you get the real thing; After all, it's the Payottenland, a region that had already inspired Brueghel den Oude and many lesser known painters and poets. 
And yesterday, the Payottenland atmosphere obviously inspired boogie woogie master AL COPLEY (a founding member of Roomful of Blues) who gave a great performance in trio format (piano-contrabass-drums) in Cafe 't Leeuwske. I've seen Al Copley many times over the year - he's been a regular visitor for some twenty year now and was even resident in Belgium for a few years - but yesterday was one of his better shows. A small typical Belgian Café, an enthusiastic crowd - some real connaisseurs and some locals who came to have good time, and got lots of it!, but above all, a real piano. Too often nowadays we see blues / boogie pianists playing on electric keyboards that may sound "almost" like a the real thing but almost ain't enough. 
So a great evening of unadultered boogie woogie and - always a crowd pleaser - rock and roll (Copley excels in Jerry Lee's type of rockin' boogie).
And yesterday, the Payottenland atmosphere obviously inspired boogie woogie master AL COPLEY (a founding member of Roomful of Blues) who gave a great performance in trio format (piano-contrabass-drums) in Cafe 't Leeuwske. I've seen Al Copley many times over the year - he's been a regular visitor for some twenty year now and was even resident in Belgium for a few years - but yesterday was one of his better shows. A small typical Belgian Café, an enthusiastic crowd - some real connaisseurs and some locals who came to have good time, and got lots of it!, but above all, a real piano. Too often nowadays we see blues / boogie pianists playing on electric keyboards that may sound "almost" like a the real thing but almost ain't enough. 
