Dennis Coffey - Down by the River

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:20
Size: 95,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:02)  1. Polka Dots and Moonbeams
(4:18)  2. Sunny
(3:00)  3. The Shadow of Your Smile
(3:47)  4. You Are the Sunshine of My Life
(3:27)  5. Kansas City
(3:56)  6. Little Sunflower
(3:57)  7. Just My Imagination
(3:40)  8. Baby, What You Want Me to Do?
(5:53)  9. Impressions
(4:15) 10. Cherokee

Dennis Coffey is an American original. Only in America (and specifically, only in Detroit) could one man play guitar with a group of legends as diverse as Del Shannon, The Temptations, and George Clinton and Funkadelic. However, the list of iconic artists, producers and writers Dennis has worked with the world over only scratches the surface of what the man has done and the contributions he’s made to the canon of popular music. Dennis Coffey first began to make his mark as a member of The Royaltones, a group which had hits in the late 50’s and early 60’s and who performed sessions with other artists, including Del Shannon. From there, Dennis moved on to a distinguished run as a session guitarist for various labels operating at the peak of Detroit’s influence as a hub of musical innovation and commercial success. He’s perhaps best known for his work as a member of the legendary Funk Brothers, backing a veritable trunk load of hits for Motown, specifically The Temptations’ classics “Cloud Nine,” “Ball Of Confusion,” and “Just My Imagination.” It is in those works that his introduction of the wah-wah guitar sound to Motown (and soul / R&B in general) first reared its head, and the resulting influence on all kinds of popular music continues to reverberate to this day. His work with The Temptations is just the tip of the iceberg, though… he’s on stuff like “War” by Edwin Starr… “Band Of Gold” by Freda Payne…on and on the list goes. In the early 70’s, Dennis struck out on his own as an artist, film scorer and producer. 

He scored the cult classic film Black Belt Jones. He recorded “Scorpio” in 1971 as part of his second solo record and first for Sussex (“Evolution”). “Scorpio” was a million selling single and was a key foundational track in the history and development of hip-hop, totally apart from its status as a funk classic. Dennis has recorded several other solo records, and he has co-produced a million seller in Gallery’s Nice To Be With You as well as cult record Cold Fact by Rodriguez, a release that has gained increasing notoriety over the decades since it initially appeared, and which is now regarded as a rediscovered gem. He also continued session guitar work through the 1970’s, appearing on such disco classics as “Boogie Fever” by the Sylvers. Dennis is also featured in the 2002 film Standing In The Shadows Of Motown, further cementing his legacy as a key contributor to the development of some of the most cherished and important popular music of the 20th Century. So, yeah… the man’s important. This isn’t just a history lesson, though. Dennis has continued to write and perform music. He’s a lifer. Now, it’s time for a new chapter. An opportunity to both remind music fans of what he’s done and show them what’s to come. Dennis is a cast member in the Sony film Searching for Sugarman. He is also co-producer and co-arranger along with Mike Theodore for some of the songs on the soundtrack. He also plays guitar and bass in some of those songs. https://getjazz.net/dennis-coffey-down-by-the-river-2019/

Down by the River

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Dennis Coffey - Dennis Coffey

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:39
Size: 89,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:53)  1. 7th Galaxy
(2:15)  2. Don't Knock My Love
(3:40)  3. All Your Goodies Are Gone
(5:26)  4. I Bet You
(3:15)  5. Miss Millie
(3:54)  6. Somebody's Been Sleeping
(2:08)  7. Plutonius
(3:59)  8. Knockabout
(2:28)  9. Only Good For Conversation
(4:17) 10. Space Traveller
(3:19) 11. Don't Knock My Love (part 2)

Too rarely, some small justice gets meted out in the music biz; in the 21st century, legendary Detroit guitarist and Motown Funk Brother Dennis Coffey is getting some. Hip-hop and electronic music fans have long sought his seminal recordings for Sussex and his voluminous session dates. His appearance in the 2002 film Standin' in the Shadows of Motown, his autobiography Guitars, Bars and Motown Superstars, and three different late-2000s compilations re-upped his profile. Dennis Coffey, the guitarist's debut for Strut, places his guitar front and center in a multi-generational group of musicians from Detroit and elsewhere. Coffey lays his trademark psychedelic soul wah-wah-and-fuzz guitar to 11 tracks. Some new; others being new versions of legendary jams he played on. The set opens with ultra-funky instrumental orgy "7th Galaxy" (with ex-Big Chief guitarist Phil Durr and Motor City session gods Rayse Biggs and David McMurray on horns, and a rhythm section of session masters bassist Tony “T-Money” Green, drummer Nate Winn, and percussionists Larry Fratangelo and Dennis Sheridan). Other instrumentals include the moody groover "Space Traveler" (with Deadstring Brothers' Jim Simonson on bass and Eric Hoegemeyer on drums), the big horn and guitar burner "Miss Millie" (with Milwaukee's Kings Go Forth), and the wah-wah bass and percussion blowout "Knockabout."These tracks are on a par with Coffey's legendary "Scorpio" and his Black Belt Jones soundtrack. The vocal tracks are no less spectacular. There is the Parliaments' "All Your Goodies Are Gone," with soulster Mayer Hawthorne, and Funkadelic's "I Bet You," featuring the Detroit Cobras' Rachel Nagy and the Dirtbombs' Mick Collins. Fanny Franklin of Orgone lends her voice to a sultry cover of Wilson Pickett's slow-burning "Don't Knock My Love." Rodriguez's venomous "Only Good for Conversation" features Paolo Nutini in a knockout performance, and the Bell Rays' Lisa Kekaula offers a boiling, raw read of Holland-Dozier-Holland's eternal, "Somebody's Been Sleeping" (Coffey played on the 100 Proof (Aged in Soul) original. "Plutonius," a cosmic funk jam, is another Coffey original sung by Herschel Boone and includes a ripping guitar solo by, Durr, and groove alicious B3 by Detroit keyboard master Luis Resto. 

The album is co-produced to maximum kinetic effect by Al Sutton and Hoegemeyer at Detroit's Rust Belt Studio. Dennis Coffey is overflowing with inspiration and the molten pathos, passion, humor, volume, grit, and nasty grooves that Detroit is famous for. As an artist, Coffey, at 70, is at the top of his game as a guitarist and composer; he proves that he can not only hold his own with the youngbloods, but push toward a new level. This self-titled offering is monster; a masterpiece of tough, psychedelic soul. ~ Thom Jurek https://www.allmusic.com/album/dennis-coffey-mw0002110283

Dennis Coffey

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Dennis Coffey - Back Home

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1977
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:57
Size: 99,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:21)  1. Funk Connection
(5:33)  2. Back Home
(5:49)  3. Free Spirit
(5:59)  4. Our Love Goes On Forever
(6:40)  5. High On Love
(5:50)  6. Boogie Magic
(7:41)  7. Wings Of Fire

With each successive effort for the Westbound label, Dennis Coffey moved further away from the heady funk-rock of his earliest LPs and towards a glossy, unapologetically commercial approach informed by the growing popularity of disco. With Back Home, he essentially abandons funk for good, in the process scoring a major disco hit with "Wings of Fire." But disco is about production, not virtuoso playing, and too much of Back Home stifles Coffey's innovative fretwork in favor of overbaked arrangements and repetitive rhythms. The end result smoothes away the rough edges that made Coffey such an exciting and singular guitarist. ~ Jason Ankeny http://www.allmusic.com/album/back-home-mw0000909827

Personnel:  Guitar – Dennis Coffey;  Alto Saxophone, Flute, Tenor Saxophone – Larry Nozero;  Bass – Roderick Chandler (Penut);  Drums – Lee Nathan Marcus;  Piano – Garry Schunk, Rudy Robinson;  Rhythm Guitar – Bruce Nazarian, Eddie Willis;  Trombone – Stu Sanders;  Trumpet – Johnny Trudell, Marcus Belgraves, Maurice Davis;  Vocals – Brandy

Back Home

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Dennis Coffey - Flight Of The Phoenix

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:00
Size: 137.4 MB
Styles: Guitar jazz
Year: 1996
Art: Front

[5:00] 1. Outer Limitz
[3:38] 2. Blue Tuesday
[3:29] 3. Moonwalker
[3:40] 4. Love Will Neve
[5:07] 5. Midnight Fantasy
[5:00] 6. Written On The Wind
[5:47] 7. Fly Away With Me
[6:40] 8. Shaken Not Stirred
[5:20] 9. Since You've Been Gone
[5:26] 10. Strawberry Lane
[5:37] 11. Tequila Sunset
[5:11] 12. Vision Of Aquarius

Dennis Coffey remains an unsung hero from the halcyon era of Detroit soul, contributing guitar to landmark records issued on the Motown, Ric-Tic, and Revilot labels in addition to cutting a series of efforts under his own name, most notably the cult classic blaxploitation soundtrack Black Belt Jones. Born and raised in the Motor City, Coffey learned to play guitar at age 13 while visiting relatives in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Though a fan of country music throughout adolescence, while attending Detroit's McKenzie High he immersed himself in rock & roll, jazz, and blues, drawing inspiration from guitarists from Chuck Berry to Scotty Moore to Wes Montgomery. Coffey made his studio debut backing little-known rockabilly cat Vic Gallon on "I'm Gone," issued on the singer's own Gondola label. From there he played in a rockabilly duo with vocalist Durwood Hutto, eventually signing a recording contract with Jackie Wilson's manager, Nat Tarnopol. Through Tarnopol, Coffey met Motown owner Berry Gordy, Jr., but he nevertheless established his reputation as a session player under the aegis of Ed Wingate's Ric-Tic label, contributing to records including Edwin Starr's "S.O.S. (Stop Her on Sight)," J.J. Barnes' "Real Humdinger," and the San Remo Strings' "Hungry for Love."

Coffey stayed active guesting on recordings by several artists including Booker T. Jones, Adrian Younge, and Andre Williams. He also engaged fans via his website with intriguing and enlightening revelations about his career, Detroit music history, and his guitar heroes, and answering questions. His own group plays a weekly residency at the Northern Lights Lounge; he's also done numerous headline gigs in and around the city at prestigious venues such as Baker's Keyboard Lounge and Dirty Dawg Jazz Cafe and played national festivals and showcases.

Coffey and his production partner Theodore remain active writing and recording new music. On Record Store Day 2016, in collaboration with the non-profit Resonance Records label, Coffey released Hot Coffey in the D: Burnin' at Morey Baker's Showplace Lounge as a limited-edition LP. The live trio album was compiled from 1968 recordings at the famed Motor City institution with organist Lyman Woodard and drummer Melvin Davis (and was originally recorded by Theodore, whose own studio was down the street at the time. The set saw wide release in other formats in January 2017. ~ Jason Ankeny

Flight Of The Phoenix

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