Mix Forty Three

Mix Forty Three falls on New Years Eve 2011 and so there's one or two tracks chosen especially for the occasion, which we think you'll enjoy. This mix features the return of Willie Bobo, the Isley Brothers, Bill Withers, McFadden & Whitehead and The Round Robin Monopoly for the first time, as well as Slave, Earth Wind and Fire, Vernon Burch, Kinsman Dazz band, Incognito and Prince. Mix Forty Three is just what you need to see in the new year! Thanks for listening and we wish you all the best for 2012.

Image of the month

This month's image is of Patrice Rushen taken during her performance in London this summer, which VibeRide was at and thoroughly enjoyed. I like the unusual angle of this photo and how the purple and blue light has the effect of highlighting Patrice against the background. Check out michaelvalentinestudio.com for more images from the gig.

Mix Forty Two

Mix Forty Two takes you into Christmas 2011 and is your funk-filled cracker. It features Alton McClain & Destiny and solo work from Philip Bailey for the first time, as well as Chic, Incognito, David Bendeth, T-Connection, Sister Sledge, George Duke, Prince and Donald Byrd who celebrated his 79th birthday recently. Forget the cheesy Christmas songs, get some funky & soulful grooves on.

Gigspot: George Duke | Jazz Cafe

Last night we had the pleasure of seeing legendary jazz-funk act George Duke at the Jazz Cafe. It was our first time seeing Mr Duke and we thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a night of masterful music that got very funky at times, especially towards the end - which suited us down to the ground! Happily, George & his band even threw in a short rendition of one of our favourite tracks of his called 'Shine On', which he explained wasn't usual for him these days as he "can't do that falsetto stuff anymore!"

George Duke is a class act and funny guy. His tour bassist, Michael Manson, deserves a mention because he was superb. Bass, just the way we like it. Check out our video from the night below and head over to our YouTube channel for two more videos. Long live the Duke!

Image of the month

This month's image is the Brothers Johnson. I love the way this image captures the blurred right hand of bassist Louis Johnson as he is slapping the life out of that bass guitar. Also, the low perspective has the effect of making Louis Johnson look larger than life and helps frame the image nicely.

You can hear our favourite Brothers Johnson tracks in Mixes 26, 22, 19, 15, 12, 4 and 2. There's also a feature on bassist Louis Johnson you might like to check out. Until next time!

Mix Forty One

Mix Forty One features James Brown, Rick James, Vernon Burch, Fats Gaines Band, Sharon Redd, Gwen McCrae, Billy Preston, Fatback band, Commodores - and newcomers Surface Noise.  It's yet another piping-hot serving of funky grooves!

Earth, Wind & Fire | Coming soon...

click to pre-order through VibeRide

The Columbia Masters
Pre-order through VibeRide's Amazon music store

A rigid slipcase boxset containing each individual album packaged in a replica mini-LP sleeve reproducing that album’s original cover art with an extensive booklet. This boxset includes the following albums:

Last Days and Time, Head to the Sky, Open Our Eyes, That's the Way of the World, Gratitude, Spirit, All 'N All, The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1, I Am, Faces, Raise!, Powerlight, Electric Universe, Touch the World, Heritage and Constellations (a new compilation supervised by Maurice White.)

Nile Rodgers TV Interview

Watch Musician-producer Nile Rodgers on PBS. See more from Tavis Smiley.

Mix Forty

It's yet another milestone for VibeRide as we launch our 40th funk-filled rocket into web orbit. There's debuts for the Mary Jane Girls, Muscle Shoals Horns and Switch, along with some absolute classic funky and soulful cuts from: Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind & Fire, Jamiroquai, ADC Band, Ronnie Laws, Sunburst Band, George Duke - and Maceo Parker! VibeRide has so far served up over 400 of the finest cuts of jazz-funk ever recorded, without a single repeat. Next stop, number 50. See you there!

Image of the month

This week's photo is a beauty. It's the Commodores and the Jackson Five apparently waiting to go on stage (somewhere, Hawaii?) and do their funky thang. There should be one day of the week when everyone goes to work dressed like this. How awesome would that be. Actually, screw that, make it every day of the week.

Mix Thirty Nine

Mix Thirty Nine kicks off with a prime cut of Patrice Rushen jazz-funk in honour of her 57th birthday. New on the scene are Dennis Coffey, Bottin, Zapp, The unemployed and Gentle Persuasion. Rick James, Jamiroquai, Kinsmann Dazz and the irresistible T-Connection complete the line up. May the funk be with you.

Image of the Month

This month's image is a great shot of Chic from 1979. From left to right: Luci Martin, Nile Rodgers, Bernard Edwards and Alfa Anderson. Nice capture this one, as all four are striking different poses and creating a nice composition in that moment. Those disco days of old. They'll be back...

Mix Thirty Eight

Mix Thirty Eight brings newcomers the Fats Gaines Band, Jaymz Bedford, Eddie Henderson, Arthur Adams and, the legendary, Marvin Gaye. There's also some super-tight funky and soulful grooves from Chocolate Milk, Vernon Burch, Earth Wind & Fire, Kleeer and Cameo. Summer's come to an end, but the funk hasn't.

Image of the Month

This month it's a photo of the Jackson Five from 1973, which captures that classic knees-together-heels-kicked-out pose that MJ was famed for. To me this image says one thing: happy days.    

Mix Thirty Seven

It's Mix Thirty Seven and we are still in funk heaven my friends! This time around sees two newcomers in the shape of the Bar Kays and Brotherhood. They are joined by Jamiroquai, George Duke, Gene Chandler, Incognito, Maceo Parker, Commodores, Pleasure and Roy Ayers, and altogether they make up one powerful injection of funk straight to the soul.

Mix Thirty Six

Mix Thirty Six brings six newcomers in the shape of Vernon Burch, Tito Duarte, Billy Preston, Chocolate Milk, Martin Solveig and Felix & Jarvis. T-Connection, Earth Wind & Fire, Level 42 and Patrice Rushen complete the mix. As ever, funky & soulful to the last. 

Image of the month

It's 'image of the month' time folks. This month it's Earth, Wind & Fire, and in particular - Maurice White. For me, this evocative black and white photograph captures the passion of this wonderful vocalist and musician very well. Just a great photo. What do you think?

Unknown credits

Mix Thirty Five

Mix Thirty Five is here and it brings with it five newcomers. It also signals VibeRide's 2nd anniversary! That's two years and over 350 songs without a single repeat. That's the way we do it. My, how time has flown. It's certainly been a very enjoyable year for us with our YouTube channel really taking off and our listenership ever increasing.

Image of the month

This is a brand new feature that we thought might be fun. Each month we're going to hand-pick a particularly striking image from the world of music and share some thoughts on it.

Our first image of the month is: Stevie Wonder by Al Satterwhite.

copyright, Al Satterwhite 1974

I love this photograph and it's probably my favourite of Stevie Wonder. Although, there is another image that runs a close second. What I like most about this photograph is the clever perspective, which makes the hands seem almost larger than life, and the way the microphone leads the eye into Stevie's classic expression. A skillfully constructed image that really makes you feel Stevie's unique energy! What do you think?

Mix Thirty Four

Mix Thirty Four brings Billy Lamont, China Burton and Donna Washington to the party. Joining them are Cameo, Level 42, Brian Culbertson, Commodores, Kleeer - and music legends Prince and Michael Jackson.

Listen out in particular for the big, bad, tasty basslines on Cameo's 'On The One' and Billy Lamont's 'The Man With The Plan'. That's the stuff! Here's your tracklist:

Mix Thirty Three

Mix Thirty Three is out now and it signals the return of the cat in the hat, Jamiroquai. There's a couple of newcomers in the shape of Jean Knight and David Bendeth who bring some classic, and solid, funky grooves with them. This is all backed up with some heavy funk and uplifting grooves from Incognito, Slave, T-Connection, The Sunburst Band,  Banda Black Rio and the inimitable Quincy Jones. Enjoy.

ebay auction for signed Jamiroquai album

**update** The auction is now closed. Final bid was an incredible £350!

Band signatur

Russell Norton, one of our long-time VibeRide listeners, will be auctioning a signed copy of the Japanese release of Jamiroquai's latest album, Rock Dust Light Star, on ebay today.

The proceeds from the auction will go to the British Red Cross to aid their relief efforts in Japan. What a great idea! Kudos to Russell.

The ebay auction will go live from 3pm (BST) today, so don't forget to get your bid in! What a great collectors item for any funk fan! JK fans I'm sure will be all over this one, which will hopefully mean I very nice sum raised for the Red Cross.

Jamiroquai's signature

Whilst you wait to get your bid in, check out this bonus track from the album...

Mix Thirty Two

Mix Thirty Two brings back Change, Cameo and Con Funk Shun after long absences; and brings Rose Royce, The Pied Piper of Funkingham and the Modulations into the funk fold for the first time. They're backed up with super solid funk grooves from Roy Ayers, Kinsman Dazz, Fatback Band and my main man - Maceo.

Mix Thirty One

Mix Thirty One brings four newcomers in the shape of MBT, The Power Band, Sunlightsquare and Intrigue. There's also some solid grooves from the Commodores, Incognito, Level 42, Norman Connors, Kool & The Gang and Paulinho Da Costa.

Mix Thirty

It's our milestone 30th mix! As a thank you, this one's a specially extended show, which includes a tribute to Mark Adams, bassist and founder of funk outfit Slave who passed away recently, as well as a live cut from funk legend Maceo Parker.

There's also three newcomers in the shape of Jahneen, Saturday Night Band and Standing Room Only, with Rufus, Dazzle Roy Ayers and T-Connection too.

Once again, thanks for listening, joining in on our facebook page and tuning into our YouTube channel - it makes doing this a lot of fun. Stay with VibeRide and you'll stay funky!

Gigspot: Maceo Parker | Jazz Cafe 2

Last night we took in Maceo Parker at the Jazz Cafe, London, for the first time since we last saw him there back in 2008 - far too long to wait!

If VibeRide could have a spokesman or a person to represent what we're all about, then Maceo Parker would be my number one choice, without a doubt. I just love everything about this guy. His passion, his presence, his humour, and most of all his musical ability with that alto-sax. For a 68 year old, this guy has some serious stamina and in fact was still funking it hard when we (very reluctantly) had to leave to get our train! If I get to 68 and I've got anything like his energy I will be delighted.

I'm not going to wax lyrical about the gig and get into an in-depth review because, really, I don't think it's necessary. Except to say that Dennis Rollins was especially awesome on the night, as was Maceo's nephew, Corey Parker on drums - this young man has some serious skills.

Check out the video below and wallow in it. You'll find the rest here. No one does "funk" like Maceo. Everyone, music lover or not, should see Maceo Parker live at least once in their lifetime. It's one of those things in life that is just good for you. You come out feeling alive. Long live Maceo!

Mix Twenty Nine

Mix Twenty Nine introduces no less than five newcomers into the funk family and sees the return of Patrice Rushen, Rick James and Donald Byrd. There's also a track from the late Teena Marie who sadly passed away recently. She was a very talented singer/songwriter and has left a legacy of some great music to be enjoyed by us all. Long live lady T.

Gigspot: Serpentine Fire | Jazz Cafe

Last night we checked out Earth, Wind & Fire tribute band, Serpentine Fire, at the Jazz Cafe. Now, it's not a simple task to reproduce EWF's music because of the complexity and richness of it, but these guys do it extremely well. 

They've got a big set up, the percussion and horns going on, and some great vocalists who can reach those dizzying falsetto highs that Philip Bailey is famed for. If you never get to see Earth, Wind & Fire, then Serpentine Fire really are the next best thing. They're top musicians in their own right and EWF's music is a great way for them to show this. Be sure to check them out next time!

Check out their renditions of 'Getaway' and 'September'...

Mix Twenty Eight

Mix Twenty Eight is in orbit and will satisfy our funky cravings for most of February, which, rather appropriately, has 28 days in it. It could be said there is a kind of love or romance theme to this mix what with track names such as, "Funky Luvah," "Give Me Your Love," "Thinking Of You," and "Girl, I Think The World About You," but, curiously enough, that wasn't the intention. Anyway, I suppose it fits nicely with the February tradition of Valentines Day - if you're into pink teddy bears and the like.

Google Fail, but VibeRide prevails

It's perhaps one of the greatest ironies of the Digital Age, but Google's search functionality does not work correctly or sometimes at all on countless Blogger blogs, which are, of course, provided by Google. Yes, we're being serious.

Mix Twenty Seven

It's a new decade and it's our first mix of 2011. Mix Twenty Seven launches the new decade with a big chunk of tasty funk. It features newcomers 9th Creation and Ronnie Laws and solo work from the late, great Bernard Edwards. Joining them are Kinsman Dazz Band, Level 42, Fatback Band, Roy Ayers, Gwen McCrae, pleasure and the one and only Rick James. 2011 won't know what's hit it.