Pullin From The Stacks ( Ian Head's Groove )

Dedications and Tributes Mixes

Jazz Mixes - Various Artists

DJ IAN HEAD 👳

Jazz

Eat a Dick Donald Trump

Travels happened this summer - couple days in Pittsburgh, two weeks in Portland, few days in Chicago, then back to the Apple. Along the way, multiple visits were made to key vinyl vendors. Additionally, I went back through some old boxes I'd left at my mom's house the past few years and pulled out a couple gems. In-between roaming the aisles and avoiding papercuts while thumbing through record sleeves, it was interesting to think about how my priorities in digging have changed. I've really been getting into some of the slower, bluesier soul joints - don't know if it's the thick summer weather or I'm just getting older. That being said, I'm still out here looking for the funk.

This is an all-vinyl mixtape, about half an hour of a few of the 45s that I found over the past couple months. Big shout out to all the fam and digging peoples and especially my non-digging friends who let me sneak off for a couple hours to stare at record labels.

I'm starting to put together a more lengthy "Fall" mix, but had to throw something out there in the meantime. THE DIGGING NEVER STOPS!! Hope you enjoy.

- DJ Ian Head

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The Digging Never Stops (All-45s Mixtape)

Gift of Gab was most definitely a big part of my life's soundtrack since high school. I might have seen Blackalicious in concert more often than any other group. He was one of the most brilliant emcees I've ever heard, and from all accounts was just a great human. Sending love out to his family and friends. This is just a short tribute mix with a few favorite tracks and a few samples that give me that feeling that became part of the legendary music he and Chief Xcel made together. RIP.

June 30 2021

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Pullin from the Stacks - Episode 171 (Gift of Gab Tribute)

Here's the second tape in my "seasonal" series - a compilation of eclectic tunes from recent and past digging adventures. Something to bump on the headphones after you zip your hoodie up and stroll up the block, crunchy and soulful. No tracklist for this one - thumb through a crate or two and I'm sure you'll come up with some of these cuts.

I'm continuing to feature artistic friends of mine with this series of tapes. Big shout out to Brian Burk, whose beautiful photo of a cool fall sky graces the cover. You can check out more of his incredible photos at http://brianburk.smugmug.com. Also special shout to the homie Turiya, who's getting back into vinyl and let me feature part of an interview I did with her on this tape.

Hope you all enjoy. Stay warm.

- DJ Ian Head 

Fall (mixtape)

Took me a second to get to this one. This winter has been a little hectic, but in a good way: the collision of work with school with travel to see family and friends. In-between, digging and stumbling between crates continues to be a constant. Besides my usual NYC adventures I was back in Portland for a couple weeks, and a quick day of almost getting caught by the polar vortex in Chicago - but still somehow managed to make it to the record store for an hour despite 2 feet of snow and freezing temperatures. This chaos the past couple months, combined with the ice-cold temperatures, has worked to create a bit of a bizarre tape, with more of a "rock" style edge. I tried to keep it eclectic as usual, and give a broad sampling of a few things I've dug up these last few weeks. All vinyl. No tracklisting, just holler if you need that science.

I'd also like to say RIP to Amiri Baraka and Pete Seeger. Both had a profound effect on the ways I view and listen to music and politics.

I hope everyone is staying warm.

- DJ Ian Head 

Winter (Mixtape)

My first tribute to the great Ramsey Lewis, one of my absolute favorite pianists and musicians, who passed today (September 12, 2022). Thought I'd re-up this. Salute!!

May 2009

More Mixes

Throwback Mix: A Tribute to Ramsey (2009 Mixtape)

Finally back after a several-week hiatus due to my move. Definitely some hard losses these past weeks, with absolute legends Pharoah Sanders and Ramsey Lewis passing away. Ramsey Lewis's records were some of the first jazz and funk records I purchased, and I highly recommend his catalog - it's still pretty affordable, and just as beautiful and funky as many of the "rare" and pricey records from other artists. Pharoah Sanders' records are getting a bit more pricey these days, but most are still attainable - and there are some good represses out there. Absolutely beautiful music. Rest in Power to both these legends, I'm eternally grateful for what they brought to all of us.

I tried to intersperse some interview clips of each of them within this mix, which I did live on Twitch a few days ago.

September 28 2022

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Pullin from the Stacks - Episode 207 (Pharoah Sanders + Ramsey Lewis Tribute)

02. Oh, By The Way

Salute to the legend Donald Byrd, who was born December 9, 1932 and would have been 90 this year. I'm a long way from having or hearing everything in his catalogue, but his records are pretty much all guaranteed brilliance and highly recommended. I do think his work gets slightly melded with and possibly overshadowed by the Mizell brothers later in his career, but Byrd was an amazing orchestrator, producer, song writer and of course musician in his own right. So I tried to keep the Mizell-related tracks to a minimum here and play a selection from throughout his catalogue. Enjoy!

Pullin from the Stacks

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Pullin from the Stacks - Episode 216 (Donald Byrd Dedication)

A warm sun finally came out this weekend in NYC and the time felt right to drop the Spring mixtape. After the non-stop barrage of cold weather these past few months, I tried to keep things upbeat and bright, a gathering of mostly-instrumental vinyl selections I've picked up recently and not-so-recently. I hope you play it with the breeze blowing in through the apartment windows you've finally cracked open.

This is the last piece of my four-part "seasonal" mixtape series, and once again I am blessed to have an incredible photographer donate some of her work for the cover. Everyone should check out the beautiful photography of Hong-An Tran at http://www.hongantran.com/ and http://ruinista.com/. Seriously good.

Again no tracklisting on this one. For those curious about the records used, there's a few clues on my Instagram. 

Spring (Mixtape)

Rest in Peace and Power Dave Trugoy the Dove Plug 2. An absolute tragic loss that I'm still in shock over. Sending love and support to his family and friends, and of course all the other fans like myself who literally grew up on De La Soul and Dave's voice and artistry. De La Soul is not dead however. Everyone should go out and buy and support their music when it starts streaming and becoming available for purchase in early March!

This is a mix I made last Friday evening of some of my favorite De La records and samples, with a focus on Plug 2's mastery of the written and spoken word. All vinyl except for one obscure guest spot that I love which he did with Moka Only awhile back.

Salute to one of the absolute best groups and emcees EVER.

De La Dedication Mix 2023

Support De La!

De La Soul Dedication Mix

Art Blakey And The Jazzmessengers - Cheryl

New weekly podcast from DJ Ian Head. Just playin some eclectic records for you all every Sunday. Since this is the first episode, I'm gonna keep it simple and cross my fingers that I can do this every week for at least the near future. 

Tracklisting: The Jazz Piano Quartet, Patti Brown, Nina Simone, The Soulful Strings, Young-Holt Trio, Tyrone Davis, Chocolate Milk, Mike Longo, Harry Belafonte, Nirvana, The Lloyd Miller Trio

Pullin From the Stacks Podcast (Episode 1)

We're back for week two! Many thanks to everyone who checked the first episode, and to Pipomixes and Grandgood for promoing it last week. 

Tracklisting: Osmosis, Eddie Palmieri, the John Young Trio, Curtis Mayfield, the Supremes, Isaac Hayes, Bill Withers, Pete Seeger, Ramsey Lewis, the Temprees

Pullin from the Stacks Podcast (Episode 2)

The latest episode! All 45s on this one. Tracklisting: Richard Roundtree, Jimmy McGriff, Cannonball Adderley Quintet, The Three Sounds, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, William DeVaughn, Richard "Groove" Holmes, Eddie Harris, Ray Bryant, The Loading Zone, The Fantastic Johnny C, The Mirettes, T-Bone Walker

Pullin from the Stacks Podcast (Episode 3 - all 45s)

feelin under the weather this weekend, so just played a couple art blakey cuts. a few get a little crunchy, but hopefully it adds to the flavor.

Pullin from the Stacks Podast (Episode 4 - crunchy art blakey records)

A project I did for my audio class using Protools. 

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers-The Drum Thunder Suite Edit

Back with some funky covers and heavy soul. Tracklisting: Black Pearl, Freda Payne, Curtis Mayfield, Cal Tjader, Willie Bobo, Ella Fitzgerald, Sly and the Family, Incredible Bongo Band, Rare Earth, Freddy Robinson, Pete Seeger.

Pullin from the Stacks Podcast(Episode 5)

Ahead of Monday's 'Red Bull Music Academy Presents Cosmic Expansions', Gilles puts together a mix of his favourite Lonnie Liston Smith-related selections. 

And to round things off, here's the first play of the full un-edited interview between Lonnie and Gilles, recorded in November 2012.

ll smith - rejuvenations (astral travelling 1973)
roland kirk -now please don’t cry beautiful edith (now please...1967)
pharaoh sanders - astral travelling ( thembi 1971)
leon thomas - echoes (spirits known and unknown 1969)
ll smith - shadows (expansions 1975)
ll smith - sunbeams (reflections of a golden dream 1976)
gato barbieri - tupac (fenix 1971)
ll smith - in the park (love is the answer 1980)
ll smith - bright moments (loveland 1978)
ll smith - space princess (exotic mysteries 1978)
ll smith - mardi gras (renaissance 1977)
ll smith - naima (cosmic funk 1974)
oliver nelson - in a japanese garden (skull session 1975)
miles davis - ife (big fun 1974)
ll smith - space lady (renaissance 1975)
ll smith - a chance for peace (visions of a new world 1975)
marvin gaye - what’s going on (live in montreux 1980)
ll smith - visions of a new world (live! 1977)
expansions - expansions (1975)
ll smith - cary paul and louisa (make someone happy 1986)
ll smith - a song for the children (a song for the children 1979)
ll smith - colour my love (magic lady 1991)

http://uktour.redbullmusicacademy.com/events/cosmic-expansions

Lonnie Liston Smith Mix & In Conversation

I've done 7 x 1 hour mixes, solely made up of old tunes sampled in classic Hip Hop tracks - but cut up on two copies / decks to re-create the loops / chops people used.
I didn't use any compilations, reissues, bootlegs, or downloads. All originals. I've always been a digging fiend on the side!
But - to save the original pressings (and also cos it's hard enough to get one copy of some of these, let alone two!) - I loaded them into Serato vinyl, so I could scratch away to my heart's content, with ruining anything!
So here's VOL.1.
Further volumes to follow...
Enjoy...

Fake Blood - "USED" Vol.1

And here is the third in my "USED" series of mixes...
Me cutting up 2 copies of old tracks sampled in classic Hip Hop tunes.
All originals. No compilations or reissues. Crates power.
Still more volumes still to come!

Enjoy...

Fake Blood - "USED" Vol.3

Here is Vol.4 of my "USED" series.

All original pressings of old tracks sampled in classic Hip Hop tunes, cut up on 2 copies.

Enjoy!

Fake Blood - "USED" Vol.4

As promised, here is the 5th in my "USED" series of mixes!

All original pressings of old tracks sampled in classic Hip Hop tunes, cut up on 2 copies.

Enjoy!

(working on Vol.6 right now...)

- FB

Fake Blood - "USED" Vol.5

Opening Solo from 0:00 to 2:56
Second Solo from 8:11 to 9:11


Caravan-Art Blakey

via @walla-p 

I remember the 1st time I heard of Lonnie Liston Smith; it was through the album credits of Jay-Z’s “Reasonable Doubt”. I’ve always been more intrigued with production rather than lyrics but still, I didn’t really catch on to his work until later on when I saw a video of Ski Beatz where he was explaining how he made “Dead Presidents“. That’s when I realized I had to dig deeper into LLS’ catalogue, especially as a young beat producer at the time.

Even since then, Lonnie Liston Smith has captured & mystified my ears with his music. Whether on the solo tip or with his Cosmic Echoes, LLS’ compositions are filled with funky rhythms, peaceful messages, celestial rhodes solos and timeless rhythms. He was, and still is a true visionary, and I’ll always feel like he was way ahead of his time.

For this mix, I selected some of my ultimate cuts, tracks that helped me escape from reality, travel to outer realms & meditate on my past/current/future endeavours.

Tribute to LONNIE LISTON SMITH - Selected by Walla P

Here is the 6th and last in my USED series.

As with all the previous volumes, it's 100% original pressings of old tracks sampled in classic Hip Hop tunes, loaded into Serato (to save them getting wrecked and cos many of them are super rare), and then cut up on 2 copies.

Hope you enjoy this one as much as the others.

- FBx







Fake Blood - "USED" Vol.6

1 Roy Davis Jr. & Jay Juniel - Egyptian Jazz 
2 Roy Davis Jr. - About Love (Isolee Black And White Mix) 
3 Marshall Jefferson & Roy Davis Jr pres Umosia - Love Don't Let Me Down (Primal Auto Soul Mix) 
4 Roy Davis Jr. - Chicago Heights 
5 Roy Davis Jr. & Juan Hoerni - I Like It Like This (Main Mix) 
6 Roy Davis Jr. - If You Wanna (P'taah Vocal Mix) (feat. Terry Dexter) 
7 Roy Davis - Let Me Show U Tha Scene 
8 Roy Davis Jr. - Give It Up (Maurice's Nu Soul Remix) 
9 Roy Davis Jr. - Always There (Roy's Vocal Mix) 
10 Roy Davis Jr. - Closer 2 U 
11 Roy Davis Jr. - Come On (feat. XL) 
12 Roy Davis Jr. - God Of Israel (Funk Electric Mix) 
13 Roy Davis Jr. - Goodlife (Patrick Dream Montreal Mix) 
14 Roy Davis Jr. - Electric Soul 
15 Roy Davis Jr. - I Wanna See Your Body Move 
16 Roy Davis Jr. - All 4 U (Live @ Club Heaven) 
17 Roy Davis Jr. - How Will You Know 
18 Roy Davis Jr. - Dance Shake 
19 Mike Acetate & Carlos Gibbs Feat. Roy Davis Jr. - Jus Move (Original Mix) 
20 Roy Davis Jr. - Dance Everybody (Original Mix) 
21 Roy Davis Jr. - I Know What You're Thinking (feat. Ayro) (Version 2) 
22 Roy Davis Jr. - All I Do 
23 Roy Davis Jr. & DJ 2 Tru - Future Funk 
24 Patrick Dream feat. Roy Davis Jr. - Feet Don't Fail (Spiritual Blessings Remix) 
25 Roy Davis Jr. - Bad Like Me (feat. Manny) 
26 Roy Davis Jr. - Got 2 Get 2 Heaven 
27 Roy Davis Jr. - Comparison It Is

ROY DAVIS Jr Part 1

Al Jarreau - So Good 90 min special

Available On Beatport

David Isaac - Jazz In The House (2012)

I enjoyed making this tape. It's a bit different from my more crunchy, vinyl-heavy mixes, but hopefully still bump-able at the local evening picnic or house party. You can do silly dances to it, or just cool out and sip a nice iced beverage while it rocks in the background. Either way, don't sleep on the Vijay Iyer's jazz cover of MIA's "Galang."

I'm planning on doing a series of "seasonal" mixes, in combination with covers from a variety of artists and photographers I know. The first cover is from world traveler, documentarian and incredible photographer Daniel Littlewood, a close friend since high school. You can find more of his photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/daniellittlewood.

Tracklisting:

JuJu Orchestra - "Nao Posso Demorar"
Platinum Pied Pipers - "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover"
Erykah Badu - "I Want Moombah" (J Boogie Edit)
Johnny Hammond - "Tell Me What to Do" (Whiskey Barons ReWork)
Jazzanova - "Boom Klicky Boom Klack" (Mr. Scruff's Vocal Mix)
Up, Bustle and Out - "La Morena en El Viento Andaluz"
Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth - "The Creator" (Surfboard Mix)
Cal Tjader - "Borneo" (The Gaff Edit)
Gilles Peterson's Havana Cultura Band - "Orisa" (Atjazz Love Soul Remix)
Five Corners Quintet - "Unsquare Bossa"
Visioneers - "Rocket Man (Afro-Latin Joint)"
Vijay Iyer Trio - "Galang" (Trio Riot Version)
Louie Gee Ensemble - "Scrabble"

Summer (Mixtape)

When I'm not at the dayjob, I'm probably at a record store. Pullin from the Stacks podcast most Wednesdays, available here, Apple Pods (please subscribe!) and elsewhere.