''Two Headed Freap'' is the debut album by American organist
Ronnie Foster
Ronnie Foster (born May 12, 1950) is an American funk and soul jazz organist, and record producer. His albums recorded for Blue Note Records in the 1970s have gained a cult following after the emergence of acid jazz.
Early life
Foster was bor ...
, recorded in 1972 and released on the
Blue Note
In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...
label.Blue Note Records discography accessed January 2, 2010
Reception
The
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...
review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "Everything on ''Two Headed Freap'' is about glitzy groove – it sounds cinematic, colorful, and funky. It's true that there is little real improvisation here and the songs all have a similar groove, but it's worked well, and the music is ultimately appealing to fans of this genre. Jazz purists – even soul-jazz purists – will likely find this music a little monotonous and commercial, but fans of early-'70s funk from
Sly Stone
Sylvester Stewart (born March 15, 1943), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer who is most famous for his role as frontman for Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the ...
to
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he hel ...
will find something of interest here".Erlewine, S. T Allmusic Review accessed December 1, 2010
The track "Mystic Brew" has been sampled in a number of hip-hop songs, most notably "
Electric Relaxation
"Electric Relaxation" is the second single from A Tribe Called Quest's third album '' Midnight Marauders''. It contains a sample of the song " Mystic Brew" by jazz organist Ronnie Foster.
The track was featured as the opening theme song for The ...
" by
A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip . It has also been covered by musicians including the Vijay Iyer Trio,
BadBadNotGood
BadBadNotGood (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian instrumental band and production team from Toronto, Canada. The group was founded in 2010 by bassist Chester Hansen, keyboardist Matthew Tavares, and drummer Alexander Sowinski. In 2016, they we ...
,
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...
and
Mike Paradinas
Michael Paradinas (born 26 September 1971), better known by his stage name μ-Ziq (pronounced "music" or mu-zik), is an English electronic musician from Wimbledon, London. He was associated with the electronic style intelligent dance music (ID ...
.
Track listing
*Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on January 20 (tracks 2 & 5–7) and January 21 (tracks 1, 3, 4 & 8), 1972.
Personnel
*Ronnie Foster –
organ
Organ may refer to:
Biology
* Organ (biology), a part of an organism
Musical instruments
* Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone
** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument
** Hammond ...
*
Eugene Bianco Eugene Bianco (March 29, 1927 – May 7, 2007), known professionally as Bianco, was a harpist who recorded for RCA Victor Records.
Discography
With Ruth Brown
*'' Ruth Brown '65'' (Mainstream, 1965)
*''Softly'' (Mainstream, 1972)
With Henry Gro ...
vibes
Vibes may refer to:
* Vibes (percussion) or vibraphone, a musical instrument
* Vibes (company) a mobile marketing company
* The aura or energy given off by someone
Media
* ''Vibes'' (film), a 1988 comedy
* ''Vibes'' (video game), a 2010 video ...
,
cabasa
The cabasa, similar to the shekere, is a percussion instrument that is constructed with loops of steel ball chain wrapped around a wooden cylinder. The cylinder is fixed to a long, wooden or plastic handle.
The metal cabasa was created by Mar ...
cowbell
A cowbell (or cow bell) is a bell worn around the neck of free-roaming livestock so herders can keep track of an animal via the sound of the bell when the animal is grazing out of view in hilly landscapes or vast plains. Although they are ...
*
Gene Bertoncini
Gene J. Bertoncini (born 6 April 1937) is an American jazz guitarist.
Biography
Bertoncini was born in New York City, where he was raised in a musical family. His father, Mario Bertoncini (1901–1978), played guitar and harmonica. Gene began pl ...
–
Jazz guitar
Jazz guitar may refer to either a type of electric guitar or a guitar playing style in jazz, using electric amplification to increase the volume of acoustic guitars.
In the early 1930s, jazz musicians sought to amplify their sound to be he ...
*
George Duvivier
George Duvivier (August 17, 1920 – July 11, 1985) was an American jazz double-bassist.
Biography
Duvivier was born in New York City, the son of Leon V. Duvivier and Ismay Blakely Duvivier. He attended the Conservatory of Music and Art, where ...
–
double bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...
*Gordon Edwards –
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...
*Jimmy Johnson –
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...
Wade Marcus Wade Marcus was a music producer and arranger associated with the Motown sound during the 1970s. He composed the music to the film '' The Final Comedown'' with Grant Green. He also produced albums by The Blackbyrds, Gary Bartz, A Taste of Honey, Th ...
–
arranger
In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestra ...