The story behind Kombo is that of musicians recognizing and returning to the creative pulls that bring out the best in them. Pedley and Pondel were partners in the celebrated act Uncle Festive, who recorded six albums in the late eighties and early nineties, the last two of these (The Paper And The Dog and Drive Down The Sun) for Mesa/Blue Moon. Along the way, they scored several radio hits, including “Little Bear” and “Dot to Dot.” After the band broke up, Pondel moved from Los Angeles, where he had lived all his life, to embrace the musical challenges of New York. He became a founding member and producer of the acclaimed acid jazz act The Jazzhole, who released two albums (The Jazzhole and The Feeling Goes Round) on Atlantic. Meanwhile, former Uncle Festive drummer Bud Harner moved into an A&R position at Verve Records and suggested Pedley and Pondel renew their musical relationship. Demos recorded by the duo quickly led to a record deal. Brothers Gregg (drums) and Matt (electric and acoustic bass) Bissonette, who had been friends with Pedley since attending college with him, were recruited as rhythm section for the album, and Harner agreed to produce the project himself.

Pondel joined Pedley in Los Angeles to complete the writing and recording process. “We had a general set of parameters,” explains Pedley, “such as the use of the Hammond B3 organ for the melodies, something we thought would be unique in the contemporary jazz format.”

For the two week recording process, Pondel, Pedley, and friends descended on Los Angeles’ Village Recorders. After two sessions a day for three days, and a few more days of mixing, The Big Blast was complete. “There was very little overdubbing,” says Pedley. “The B3 and guitar solos were all done live, just the four of us playing at the same time—like you’re supposed to play it.” While many musicians would be terrified by the prospect of recording so quickly, for Pedley, Pondel, and producer Harner it felt like something of a luxury (as well as a return to roots) after the early days of Uncle Festive, whose first two albums had been recorded straight to two track, without the benefit of mixing or overdubs.

The instrumental structure of The Big Blast (Pedley shunned synthesizers, renting classic keyboards like the Farfisa organ and Hohner clavinet rather than imitating them digitally) ensures that the album can be viewed as a single piece of work—a modern jazz adaptation of a classic musical format—but also as one with many and varied components. Each track, from the sweeping ambiance of the openers “Talk The Talk” and “Sure Thing” to the hard-hitting drum loops employed on “Sassy,” displays Kombo’s unique approach to creating music.

“A lot of it is coming from the sixties thing,” says Pondel, “but then it goes off in different ways. The songs ‘Pulp’ and ‘Ladies Man,’ for example, they’re retro but they’re hip hop and they’ve got surf and funk guitar sounds.” He continues, “And the harmonies are a little more advanced than R&B harmonies would be.” Says Pedley, “Like jazz altered chords.”

Finishing each other’s sentences comes naturally in a friendship dating back so many years. In fact, the duo form something of a mutual appreciation society. “What Jon brings to Kombo,” says Pedley, “is that whole acid jazz thing. Jon lives in New York and has experienced a whole different lifestyle.”

“Ron is one of the greatest musicians I’ve ever worked with,” enthuses Jon in return. “He’s an incredible player and very adventurous, he’s always willing to try something in the writing that can inspire us to come up with a different kind of melody.” Indeed, for Kombo’s live appearances, expect to see a trio rather than a quartet, with Pedley not just taking the keyboard leads but playing the bass parts on the organ foot pedal too.

Pondel and Pedley are contagiously enthusiastic about the prospects for Kombo. As Pondel says, “I haven’t heard any albums quite like this, that are in the vein of acid jazz and R&B but can also fit into the contemporary jazz thing.” With its refreshing blend of the familiar and the innovative, the straightforward and the experimental, The Big Blast is an album that should find eager listeners among fans of all genres.

The Big Blast will be released on CD October 12, 1999.

[This was the original 1999 press release for The Big Blast by Kombo]

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Sample, a founding member of The Crusaders, had already established himself as a composer with a gift for crafting expressive, sophisticated melodies. Hathaway—blessed with a husky, resonant voice and the musical DNA of her father, R&B great Donny Hathaway—brought her own powerful instincts as a vocalist. Their partnership began with a U.S. tour in 1992 and continued with a run through Japan  later.

“Working so closely with Lalah has helped me to better appreciate her ability to convey powerful emotions in subtle ways which is not typical of so many of today’s pop singers,” Sample explained.

“I’ve never been a formulaic Top 40 songwriter, and usually the singers like Crawford or Al Jarreau who have done well with my tunes are great interpreters. Lalah has those same instincts. Aside from being an incredibly positive person, she and I really seem to understand where each of us is coming from musically.”

During their time in Japan, Hathaway and Sample performed timeless standards like “Fever” and “For All We Know,” with Hathaway bringing new depth to each track.

“She took very easily to the songs Randy had sung,” said Sample, “and gave a lift to timeworn favorites like Fever, which we performed in Japan, and For All We Know.”

On The Song Lives On, Hathaway breathes new life into several Sample/Jennings classics familiar to longtime fans, including:

• the brassy energy of “Street Life” (originally a Top 40 hit in 1979),

• the poignant “When Your Life Was Low”,

• the hopeful “One Day I’ll Fly Away”, and

• the bittersweet “When the World Turns Blue.”

The album also features “Come Along With Me,” a new take on Sample’s “All God’s Children” with lyrics added by Norman Gimbel, showcasing Hathaway’s upbeat spirit.

Sample composed four new instrumental pieces for the album:

• the smoky and elegant “The Song Lives On”,

• the softly textured “Living in Blue”,

• the reflective “A Long Way From Home”, and

• the percussion-driven bonus track “Bittersweet.”
  

Reflecting on the album’s deeper meaning, Sample shared:

“I grew up in a time and place where segregation was an acceptable way of life, and for me the piano was the only place I could run for an act of healing. I still feel that expressing myself this way is my great sanctuary.

I would like my legacy to be not only that I reflected the times in which I lived, but also that my music had the power to help heal people’s pain the way it has healed mine.”

With The Song Lives On, Joe Sample didn’t just craft an album—he shared a sanctuary. And with Lalah Hathaway’s voice carrying the message forward, the legacy lives on.

From the liner notes of the album:

THE SONG LIVES ON

“The gift of artistic senses is given by the Almighty to many. Some develop those senses to high levels of professional ability. The professionals take different journeys, whether by choice or instinct. The path they take can lead them to the spirit and soul of classical, opera, latin, jazz, blues, gospel, pop, rock or combinations thereof. The majority of the gifted embrace popular forms of music. Some of those are innovators who utilize the essence of a culture’s musical soul to define their concept of reaching heights of popular taste. Most others choose to imitate the innovators. Consequently, the concept of formula is born, and flourishes in a manner which seems to indicate the natural order of things.

There are those gifted whose artistic senses are the natural order of things. They are carriers and bearers who represent the DNA of a culture’s musical soul and spirit. Through their artistic senses, the spirit of a culture will survive, and the song will live on.”

– Joe Sample

Content adapted from the label press release sent with the CD in 1999! 

The post Joe Sample and Lalah Hathaway – The Song Lives On appeared first on ContemporaryJazz.com.

Top Contemporary Jazz for the
Week of December 3, 1999:

1. Kenny G, Faith: A Holiday Album
2. Fourplay, Snowbound
3. Kenny G, Classics in the Key of G
4. Windham Hill Jazz Artists, A Jazz Noel
5. Hiroshima, Between Black and White
6. Dave Koz, The Dance
7. Take 6, We Wish You A Merry Christmas
8. Various Instinct Label Artists, This Is Smooth Jazz 
9. Yada Yada, Fingalikkin’ Good
10. Brian Culbertson, Somethin’ About Love

Listen to music from these recordings on this YouTube playlist or on Apple Music:

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