Galapagos Duck
The Voyage Of The Beagle

Sparkle was a female vocal trio from Connecticut, assembled by the producer Harold Sargent, erstwhile drummer of the sterling funk band Wood, Brass & Steel, and creator of manifold drum breaks that would go on to be sampled for decades. Originally released in 1979, the album and the group are fittingly titled as the music is a scintillating, radiant collection of shimmering disco and dazzling funk, performed by Too Much Too Soon—the multiracial R&B band that featured Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken, the writing/production team that would discover Rihanna and power her career to global dominance fifteen years later.

long overdue reissue with rock city pioneer Billy Jones.. here's what he had to say about his crew....in the early 80's Billy Jones was the lead guitarist for an outstanding group of touring musicians who called themselves 'The Incredible Rock City Band'. They performed on military installations all over the United States for the U.S. Dept. of MWR for more than ten years during the 80's and 90's. ...I'm sure that there are many veterans out there who remember seeing this band at NCO and Officer's clubs back in the day.

Composer and keyboardist John Carroll Kirby presents Septet. Septet was recorded live in studio with John on keys, Tracy Wannomae and Logan Hone – woodwinds, Nick Mancini – vibraphone, John Paul Maramba – bass, David Leach – percussion, Deantoni Parks – drums. For the “Rainmaker”video, we take it back to circa 1981 …John: “The video is a dramatization of studio characters I’ve encountered over the years. The egomaniacal producer, the eager engineer, the snobby record exec, the random guy in the corner, the musicians feeling themselves. Visually I wanted to play with the chaos of jazz fashion in the 70’s/80’s: bands like Weather Report, and Miles Davis’ constantly rotating cast. Musicians dressed themselves with a strong sense of individuality while still achieving a cohesive look, a theme I also look to achieve musically on the album Septet.”Video by Kalliope Pictures, directed by Michael Hili. The video stars John Carroll Kirby with a fictional cast of characters: Mac DeMarco as Studio Engineer; Kerwin Frost as Record Producer; Cola Boyy as Label Executive; Eddie Chacon as Body Guard; Victoria Mordoch on Percussion; Logan Hone on Flute; Leland Naylor on Soprano Saxophone; John Paul Maramba on Bass; Lemar Carter on Drums.The actual band on “Rainmaker” is comprised of John Carroll Kirby – keys, Tracy Wannomae and Logan Hone – woodwinds, Nick Mancini – vibraphone, John Paul Maramba – bass, David Leach – percussion, Deantoni Parks – drums.