"Grand Performances commemorates 15 Years of Dilla’s Donuts, in partnership with Fusicology. Rebroadcast from the live show, recorded Saturday August 7, 2021 at California Plaza in downtown Los Angeles, featuring live performances by Talib Kweli with Frank N Dank + Illa J, plus DJ Rhettmatic of The Beat Junkies, and Grammy winner Daru Jones serving as Music Director and drummer for the show!"

SONGS IN THE KEY OF LOS ANGELES was a multi-platform collaboration between USC professor Josh Kun and Los Angeles Public Library, presented by Grand Performances at California Plaza in 2013 featuring special guests Stevie Wonder, Ozomatli, Cheech Marin, La Santa Cecilia, Jackson Browne, Ceci Bastida and more.

Consisting of sheet music pieces that range from the 1840s through the 1950s, SONGS IN THE KEY OF LOS ANGELES brought to life the extraordinary history of Southern California sheet music, offering a singular portrait of Los Angeles culture rendered in music and visual art.

original air date: November 27 2015
playlist here: bit.ly/1NnSY3F

"Grand groove radio's RTA segment pays tribute to a true architect...one of the first female horn players ,Cynthia Robinson, on the week of her untimely passing.
we do so by exploring her contributions to via the vast catalog of Sly & The Family Stone
+ new selections from Jay Prince, Hiatus Kaiyote (re-worked by Mo Serious), Tony Momrelle (Reel People edit), 7 Samurai and our usual blend of all things soulful."

"Top Soul indeed, as Fusion is a hip Chilean funk band from the early 70s – one who take plenty of influence from American grooves, but also bring in their own soulful elements as well! The sound here is somewhere between Kool & The Gang and Banda Black Rio – with quite a bit of the blend of the latter, especially in the way more local percussion riffs fill out grooves that have a solid grounding in American funk! Instrumentation listed is tenor, guitar, keyboards, bass, and drums – but there's clearly a lot more horns too, as well as some very hip percussion – played in ways that are almost more Brazilian than straight Latin – with a really fluid sensibility that jams nicely with the grooves. There's a slight bit of vocals on the record, but most of the album is instrumental – and titles include versions of Sly Stone's "Thank You" and The Crusaders "Way Back Home" – plus "Dedos", "Balada De Matias", "Dee Blooz", "Para Toda La Gente", "Pulsearas", and "Lamentation"." - review by Dusty Groove

Purchase the new CD reissue of "Top Soul" by Fusion here at Juno UK.

This 24k audiophile gold disc reissue of Sly & The Family Stone's classic There's A Riot Goin' On is packaged in a deluxe box emblazoned with a unique embroidered flag cover and includes a 48 page hard cover book filled with photos and liner notes.

Press release from Get On Down:

"Here’s a brand-new video for Get On Down’s Sly & The Family Stone “Gold Edition” deluxe reissue of There’s A Riot Goin’ On, to be released July 30 (www.GetOnDown.com):

[You will also see a little "behind the curtain" action in the video with images of the infamous "Funk Box" drum machine Sly used on the album, courtesy of Get On Down's Joe Mansfield]

Super-fans might know the story behind the iconic “flag” album cover, from 1971. But many do not, so here is a summary, taken from the set’s 48-page liner notes book (text by A. Scott Galloway):

“…Sly definitively explained his concept for the cover art as it related to the overall theme of the album: ‘I wanted the flag to truly represent people of all colors. I wanted the color black because it is the absence of color. I wanted the color white because it is the combination of all colors. And I wanted the color red because it represents the one thing that all people have in common: blood. I wanted suns instead of stars because stars to me imply searching, like you search for your star. And there are already too many stars in this world. But the sun, that’s something that is always there, looking right at you. Betsy Ross did the best she could with what she had. I thought I could do better.’”

That flag has been recreated and is presented on the set’s CD box cover as an embroidered fabric square."



Sly & The Family Stone were highly influential participants in an era of promoting education, and social change through music. In this April 2013 interview, Jake Feinberg speaks with Sly Stone drummer Greg Errico as the two reflect deeply about musical innovations and the inter-connection between music and society during the 60's and 70's. This interview demonstrates how absorbing life experiences and practicing diversity as a musician effects the outcome of songs.

With great questions and a deep knowledge of music, Jake goes in-depth beyond the music to make you picture the atmosphere of Sly Stone's heyday as he draws interesting life experiences out of Greg Errico's mind. The musical discussion is as deep as the reflections of life as the two discuss various genres which contributed to the great diversity and social climate of Sly Stone's active period.

Japanese musician SyunsukeOno gets funky on the electric piano while adding a slight electronic touch to the music of Sly & The Family Stone in a 2012 cover of "Say You Will" and "Loose Booty". Like Hugo Monenegro and other artists who have interpreted Funk in an electronic synth fashion during the 70's, Syunsuke creates a pleasant ear-opening blend of the two musical forms for a fine tribute.

From "Electro Voice Sings Sly Stone" by Syunsuke Ono