Blues Wailin’ at the Sunday Soul Scream!

Robert Kimbrough, Sr. & his band.

Jonathan Toubin is considered the most successful DJ of reet music in the country. His New York Night Train brand stages the Soul Clap & Dance Off that has travelled the country, bringing the reet sound to other towns. Also, Mr. T has a hand in such boss night clubs as 96 Tears and TV Eye. His hustle is boss and we try to attend his shows whenever possible.

Jonathan Toubin swings at the Sunday Soul Scream!

During the summer months he hosts the Sunday Soul Scream, a wild happening that takes place on the rooftop of a venue called Our Wicked Lady, located in industrial East Williamsburg, Brooklyn. On June 2, this event included performances by Howlin’ Hurd, Harlem Slim and Robert Kimbrough, Sr. Guest DJ was Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus.

Howlin’ Hurd swings at Sunday Soul Scream!

Howlin’ Hurd is our buddy Brian Hurd—lead screamer of the great rockin’ blues combo Daddy Long Legs. Here he was joined by a drummer and a stand-up bass player and the trio performed some rockin’ blues wailin’. Fookin’ fantastic!

Harlem Slim swings at Sunday Soul Scream!

Harlem Slim did a solo act with his National steel guitar. He literally kicked up quite a noise by banging his foot on the stage to create a boss beat that had attendees boppin’ around. At one point, Brian Hurd joined him on harmonica for some cool blues harp action.

Robert Kimbrough, Sr. swings at Sunday Soul Scream!

Robert Kimbrough, Sr. is a son of the legendary Mississippi bluesman Junior Kimbrough. The elder Kimbrough worked a style of blues music known as Cotton Patch Soul Blues. It is a rather simplistic style, similar to early John Lee Hooker records, that sets a groove and that groove is worked for the duration of the composition. In the proper setting—such as a small club or juke joint where the band can play all night long—the song can last for ten to twenty minutes, creating a hypnotic beat similar to that of such African musicians as King Sunny Adé, Fela Anikilapo Kuti or the sufi vocalist Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Junior Kimbrough’s son, who played in his band, has continued this tradition in the years since his father passed away. On this night, however, Robert Kimbrough, Sr. was restricted by time limits and his songs were abbreviated—but the message came across: this is boss stuff.

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus played some jumpin’ blues and R&B records before and in between the acts. After Robert Kimbrough, Sr.’s set, Jonathan Toubin played some fantastic records for a while. There was a change-over of some sort—perhaps the DJ booth was hooked up to the performance public address system and needed to be switched to the house system, or something—and soon after that was completed, The Boogaloo Omnibus took over for nearly an hour as he played some of his favorite party records. He had a long drive back to Dutchess County that night and had to cut out soon after midnight. However, the dance portion of the show was left in the more than capable hands of Mr. Toubin, who, no doubt, played more of his fantastic records.

Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus swings at Sunday Soul Scream!

Here is a list of all the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus at the Sunday Soul Scream:

None of these records are for sale.