Born on September 21st, 1947, it’s happy birthday to Don Felder. Don’s autobiography, The Eagles Heaven and Hell, pretty much lays out the story of how the band Flow came to record for CTI; how Flow were one of the bands on the forefront of Jazz rock and came to release on of the first albums on the independent CTI […]
CTI For You?
Need some artwork for a bare wall? CTI and Kudu Records fan? I had these original pages from Billboard Magazine framed a few years back. They are standard frames but with custom mats made. The advertisements are genuine CTI/KUDU advertisements from Billboard magazines, they are not prints or reproductions. I’ve finally, after many years splashed out and had frames and […]
On This Day: First Light
On this day, September 14th, 1971 – Freddie Hubbard went into the studio to record what would become his Grammy winning album, First Light. Recorded over two days, the 14th and 16th, and Rudy Van Gelder’s Englewood Cliffs studio, using an ensemble cast containing many of the CTI “All Stars” with arrangements and conducting by Don Sebesky. Among the sidemen […]
CTI Artists on TV
Enjoy two great live performances from artists from CTI. Both comes from VHS tapes I managed to buy from ebay. I was hoping to avoid getting into converting VHS tapes, as they are often more trouble than they are worth. On the full length video of the 1976 awards, George Benson performs his hit “Breezin’” but his years of work […]
Spotify Does CTI
I’ve become a recent convert to Spotify, thanks to my Wife, and there are some great CTI Playlists on Spotify. My music collection spans some 4,500 albums, approximately two thirds are vinyl, of what’s left are of mix of CD’s and digital music MP3’s bought mostly from Amazon Music. I also have a home streaming music service, based on the […]
On This Day: Black Out
(You can play Black Out while you read, via one of these streaming services. Youtube Music is free, but is ad-supported) My enthusiasm for CTI, and all things Creed Taylor was driven by two amazing websites put together by jazz historian and CTI enthusiast Douglas Payne. A few years ago, I was fortunate to make contact with Doug, and while […]
On This Day: Motown Distribution
It was reported on October 13th 1974, Creed and his team had been convinced either through challenges with their own distribution, or by promises of greater sales, to form a distribution deal with Motown Records. What turned to be a short term deal, lasting only a couple of years had long term ramifications for both companies. As noted when CTI […]
On This Day: RIP Ennio Morricone
When I turned on the BBC radio early this morning, already past lunchtime in the UK, it was announced that Ennio Morricone had passed. A legend for film and music, Ennio was age 91. You might wonder why I’d mark his passing here? Apart from being an absolute legend especially of the same era as many of Creed Taylor’s best […]
ON THIS DAY: CTI Opens Canada Wing
Distribution was critical when vinyl was the medium. Many of Creed’s early months with his new management team would likely have been spent negotiating distribution deals. The Canadian deal was announced in Billboard Magazine – August 11th, 1970. Effective July 2nd, 1970, CTI had an office and warehouse in Montreal and manufacturing in Toronto. Not only was distribution everything to […]
CT 508
CT 508 – Black Out Parts 1 & 2 – Fats Theus Side A: Black Out (part 1)Side B: Black Out (part 2)(from Black Out)Fats TheusIssues: CTI CT 508 [45]Master No.: CT 508 A/CT 508 BRecorded: July 16th and 22nd, 1970 and Rudy Van Gelder’s StudioReleased: Single released the first week of Sept. 1970, album Oct. 1970 The album Recorded over two days in July […]