Cosmetic was a short lived jazz-funk band with releases in the early to mid 80's. Members included Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Timothy Murphy, & Rick McClary.
"JAMAALADEEN TACUMA is a busy man these days. As the remarkably fluent lead bassist in Ornette Coleman's trailblazing electric band Prime Time, Mr. Tacuma has been winning considerable critical acclaim.
But the 26-year-old Long Island native is also making occasional appearances with an avant-garde all-star band called the Golden Palominos, leading a band of his own called Jamaal and working with two other musicians in a cooperative band called Cosmetic.
Mr. Tacuma describes Cosmetic, which will be headlining at Danceteria on Saturday, as ''a band that performs new dance music.'' His bass playing, which combines the repeating patterns of funk and disco music with a jazz musician's ear for fresh melodic variations and modulations, is the band's most distinctive asset. But the guitarist, Timothy Murphy, is an interesting and versatile stylist who is more interested in making music than in showing off, and Rick McClary is a solid inventive drummer.
Cosmetic's first record, a 12-inch single with ''New Complexion'' on one side and ''Cosmetics'' on the other, was recently released by England's Rough Trade records and is available as an import. But the best place to hear the band is on stage at Danceteria."
from The New York Times, July 14, 1982
What I have for you today is Tacuma's first solo album, Show Stopper. It was released in 1983 on the Gramavision label. This album grew out of the jazz-funk style Tacuma had developed in his work with Coleman. As Charlie Haden had played free-jazz bass for the original Ornette Coleman group, Jamaaladeen Tacuma manned the electric bass for Coleman's funky harmolodic Prime Time group. Harmolodics may loosely be defined as an expression of music in which harmony, movement of sound, & melody all share the same value. Joe Zawinul referred to harmolodics as "nobody solos, everybody solos".
Tacuma showcased his unique style of avant-garde jazz on Coleman's 1982 album Of Human Feelings & became widely viewed as one of the most distinctive bassists since Jaco Pastorius.
In 1981 Tacuma received the highest number of votes ever for an electric bassist in the "talent deserving wider recognition" category of the Down Beat magazine critics poll.
Anyone familiar with this mess knows I have a particular fondness for bassists. I still play my red Hohner B2a Headless Stick Bass. I’m still as bad (not good bad, just bad) as on WWF (Weird White Fuckers). I have a special fondness for bassists who excel in their art. Bill Laswell...Bootsy Collins...Robbie Shakespeare...Charlie Haden...Mike Watt...Lemmy Kilmister...Aston “Family Man” Barrett...Larry Graham, well, you get the idea (I know all of you will be saying, "What about John Paul Jones, what about Entwhistle...or Les C & Kim G & Tony L & Geddy L & Flea & Jaco P). We all have different tastes, different likes, & different heroes. The above mentioned just happen to be some of my faves.
Add to that hallowed list Jamaaladeen Tacuma...
Thanks Jonder for the reminder, opening my fog-filled brain for a moment of clarity...
Jamaaladeen Tacuma - Show Stopper, Gramavision GR 8301, 1983.
decryption code in comments
Side One -
Sunk in the Funk
Rhythm Box
From Me to You
Animated Creation
Side Two -
Bird of Paradise
Show Stopper
Tacuma Song
From the Land of Sand
Sophisticated Us
Enjoy,
NØ
I didn't know that you play bass! My son does too. His favorite bassists are Thundercat and Victor Wooten.
ReplyDeleteThank you again for spreading the word. I will certainly share the Cosmetic singles with you if I get them, knowing now that you are a fan of Jamaaladeen Tacuma.
Ornette Coleman has always been a favorite of mine. I always felt that as free as jazz was purported to be, it was a form mired down in form. Ornette tried to free that form. But Jamaaldeen's been with the Last Poets, Nona Hendryx, The Golden Palominos, Linda Sharrock...all folks that I really dig.
DeleteYour is is right, of course...Thundercat (by any name) was in Suicidal Tendencies & worked with Erykah Badu, but I haven't followed him much after that...Wooten has been in Béla Fleck and the Flecktones since their inception. It's just as I said above:
"We all have different tastes, different likes, & different heroes."
Great luck with your search & your project. I'm eagerly following along.
Tell your son I said: "Slap on...pop on...keep it thumpin'"
Lend an ear to "Never Catch Me" by Flying Lotus (whose grandmother was Alice Coltrane's sister). A cosmic verse from Kendrick Lamar is followed by a jaw-dropping Thundercat solo.
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A list of my own favorite bassists would have to include Rick Danko and Joey Spampinato, Steven McDonald (Redd Kross) and some of the giants of funk (Bootsy and Larry Graham) and dub (Mr Barrett and Mr Shakespeare) "devoted to the art of moving butts". Sir Paul McCartney is also worthy of their company.
Show Stopper
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Jaco Pastorius poked his head in my rehearsal space in San Francisco just before he got killed...beaten to death by a bouncer in New Orleans....he came in and played America the Beautiful on bass, played guitar, played my drums and was so good I wanted to quit playing. He had no shirt, no shoes, boxers up to midriff and saggy jeans. I could understand the bouncer didn't recognize him as he yelled You don't know who I am over and over as he was beaten. His wife had left him and taken the kids. He was bummed. I like Algie Ward and Paul Grey, both of the Damned
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this poignant remembrance of a truly grat bassist.
DeletePaul Grey's playing on "Therapy" from The Black Album is some Damned fine bass indeed. Wish I could have been a fly on the wall at your rehearsal space -- saw you mentioned on another blog that Helios Creed and Winston Tong were also visitors!
ReplyDeleteHelios Weed
DeleteI'm only familiar with Tacuma from his work with James Blood Ulmer. I look forward to hearing this!
ReplyDeleteAll his work is phenom. Enjoy.
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