Places & Spaces
I think of DJ Evil Dee and Pete Rock, using the same record, both in 1994! Did they pick it up at the Roosevelt Ballroom? Did one of them buy it and then share it with the other? Was Q-Tip somehow involved?
Then, 5 years later, and not exactly connected, Tony Touch uses it again. There's a shared lineage here.
Exhibit A: Black Moon "Buck 'em Down" (Da Beatminerz Remix) 1994. I picked this 12" single up from Ronell's basement (which is another story).
Exhibit B: Pete Rock & CL Smooth "All the Places" (1994). This song comes from the absolutely essential The Main Ingredient.
Exhibit C: Tony Touch & Royce the 5'9'' "Royce the 5'9" (interlude) (2000). This appears on The Piece Maker, not exactly classic, but Tony Touch was THE man back in the day.
What I'm talking about here is Donald Byrd's Places & Spaces, released on Blue Note records in 1975. Regardless of your penchant for sourcing samples, you can enjoy this record. Amazing songs and timelessly accessible.
I've yet to find this LP, so I've settled for just a piece of it: I'll be spinning the 45 pictured below, which is the album's opening track, hoping for positive juju from the digging gods. Pray for me.
