Bustin' Loose: Donna, Doug and Chuck

The inevitable but dreadful news of the passings of notable musicians is relentless.  Here are brief notes on three recent losses.

• I've long sensed that the blueprints for the future are right in front of all of us.  Yet aside from the countless people who have applied the gifts of the dual geniuses of James Brown and George Clinton to the creation and ongoing evolution of hip hop, very few have advanced the sound of funk and R&B in recent decades.  Chuck Brown was an exception.  He constructed a brand new bag.  
• I realize that much of the world received regular exposure to the Dillards on television, but I've always considered the Dillards to be a regional phenomenon.  Missouri native Doug Dillard meant a lot to people in this region.  And this region meant a lot to him- here's "Kansas City Southern", from a collaboration with Gene Clark, another local boy.
• Donna Summer's "Love to Love You Baby" was released when I was an impressionable kid.  Nothing more needs to be said about that.

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I reviewed an appearance by Taj Mahal and Anders Osborne.

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I was asked to pull a recent There Stands the Glass post.  I complied.

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Mac Lethal crafted another meme.

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Jazz blog Outside-Inside-Out hipped me to Edmar Castaneda's Double Portion.  I can't decide if I love it or hate it.  Here's the EPK for the album.

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Sam Billen's Kickstarter campaign is one of the best-conceived I've encountered.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)