Madhouse 8. Released January 21, 1987

Can you believe that 25 years ago on January 21, 1987, Prince’s Paisley Park label released the epic album “8″ by the jazz fusion group Madhouse?  The album featured Eric Leeds on saxophone and flute, while Prince played all the other instruments on the record.  Every song is a great exercise in funk and because what mattered was the music and not the labels, each of the eight songs on the record was named only by a number (and the tracks are called “One,” “Two,” “Three,” “Four,” “Five,” “Six,” “Seven” and “Eight.”)  The album suffered from Prince’s short attention span when it comes to promoting a project (mainly because by the time an album could be released through the proper distribution channels, Prince had probably recorded several albums worth of new material and thus he was not excited by the ‘old’ material)  and it immediately slipped into mainstream obscurity and yet is one of the most sought after side-project albums from Prince’s career.  Happy anniversary “8.”  You’ve sure brought a lot of smiles to my face over the last quarter of a century and I will love you until the day I die.

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No Re-Entry

Well, this was at a club – but it was on the street so it counts!

Love When Doves Cry-era Prince disapproving of your behavior, don’t you?  It was obviously a sign of the times…

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Eric Leeds

Happy birthday to one of the best saxophone players of all time – Eric Leeds.  Eric Leeds has played off and on with Prince and Prince’s many protegés since the 1980s and every time he appears on one of the tracks, his solos and accents are often the highlight of the song.  He’s also been in Prince’s jazz fusion group Madhouse and if you ever get a chance to track down their albums, your ears will thank you for it.  Eric is also a solo artist, having released 3 great records as well and he is currently on tour in fDeluxe (formerly known as The Family) so if you need some funk in our life, check out the music of Eric Leeds.  I can’t even count how many hours of my life have been spent listening to Eric’s music both with and without Prince, but I can say – it’s a lot!  I thank Eric for always putting my ears in a good mood and I hope you have a very happy birthday!

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From L to R: Susannah Melvoin, St. Paul Peterson, Eric Leeds of fDeluxe

European funkateers - get ready!  fDeluxe (formerly known as The Family) have announced some January 2012 European tour dates.  As the US audiences can attest, it might have been 20 years in between albums but the funk is still fresh and fDeluxe are a band you must see live!

fDeluxe will be playing:

Le Réservoir / Paris, FR / Wed Jan 18 12 /08:00 PM

Jazz Cafe / London, UK / Thu Jan 19 12 /07:00 PM

Paradiso / Amsterdam, NL / Fri Jan 20 12 /08:00 PM

Ancienne Belgique AB / Brussels, BE / Sun Jan 22 12 /08:00 PM

You can purchase tickets here.

In other fDeluxe news, the band have announced that 2012 will see the release of a remix cd of their latest album “Gaslight” as well as a new video and a live album.  Stay tuned to fDeluxe’s official website for all the latest funk!

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