I first met Fred a couple years ago when he moved to Chicago with my old college buddy Susy Bielak. We took a stroll over to Hyde Park Records and it was instantly clear that Fred was very well versed in that store's stock and trade - vintage jazz, soul, disco, etc. A poet, artist, DJ (DJ Schmalz), music writer, and more, Fred holds up his half of the terribly prolific creative power couple he forms with Susy. They have an exhibition called "Fourth Horizon" that opens at Experimental Sound Studio April 15th, and Fred has a piece about the changing landscape of Uptown that will appear in a publication related to the exhibition "Organize Your Own" at the Leviton Gallery at Columbia College in early March.

Cold Booty

Winter sex is the most distinct. Something about staying home. Something about slowing down. Radiators. Light through ice. Snow reflection. Drafts. Stone dry air. Static. Something at once concentrated and calm, a core. The thirteen songs pulled here will give you just over an hour to reconnect with that lover of yours. You’ve got time. You’ve got repeat. What are you waiting for?

Letta Mbulu - Nomalizo This is Letta in full gorgeous boogie mode, from an obscure Japan/South Africa-only 1983 LP that just got a proper reissue. You’ve probably skipped past her albums in dollar bins. That’s on you. They’re all really stunning, even (especially?) the two Herb Alpert produced in the late ‘70s.

Ned Doheny - I've Got Your Number (Demo) So, this whole mix simmers in AM radio waves. Fair warning. This song has been stuck in my head for months.

Smokey Robinson - Quiet Storm Quick reminder, this is cold booty, that staticky February sex. Radiator heat. Sunlight low enough to peek through the shades to inside, where it's "soft and warm."

Bobby Caldwell - What You Won't Do For Love I was in the grocery store about a year ago and this came on. Immediate reverie of pre-teen roller rink, kissing, skating backward. A stunning arrangement.

John Martyn - May You Never From a folkie buddy of Nick Drake’s. This may be filed under post-coital. But it’s February, so you may have this on loop. It’s six degrees, why leave the house?

George Benson - Footin' It More guitars, and this with a little groove lock.

Rodrigo Campos - Katsumi From the new album by this contemporary Brazilian artist. Seek out.

Miriam Makeba - Jolin Xica da Silva Komo Miriam covering Jorge Ben in Portuguese. I want this to go on forever.

Maze, Frankie Beverly - The Look In Your Eyes (Live) Love positive. Daylight. Sunlight. This song is a nooner with your steady. And back to the rest of your day feeling great.

Earth, Wind and Fire - I Think About Lovin' You The great Maurice White. Everyone loves EWF, and you do too.

Tamba 4 - Chant of Ossanha (Canto de Ossanha) Samba soul. Light. Airy. It may be cold here, but it’s warm somewhere. Lest we forget. Lest we need reminding.

Paco de Lucía - Rio Ancho (Instrumental) Flamenco heat.

Ricardo Marrero & the Group – Feel Like Making Love (ed. note - This one isn't on Spotify. See YouTube below.) A latin soul cover of the song made famous by Roberta Flack. Halfway through this takes on a completely different flavor, morphing into a samba reverie to get you past your frosted windowpanes.