Introducing " Get off the Ground "aka " The Bottom End "

Everything started in 1988 circa when Acid Jazz records issue their 2nd maxi 45 Jazid 2T .
Side one : The Byron Morris Unity " Kitty Bey " and Side two :Brother Davis Miles " The Bottom End"(Jazid 1T were Galliano " Frederic Lies Still ") .
When I heard the side 2 i falled in love with that kind of " speed Jazz with an electric Acid taste thing " with a kind of outroduction by an incredible female voice .
After then I started to ask to my usual record dealers allaroud if there were an Lp ...nothing, nobody knew that Band .
In many years of reserching I never find out this Band called Brother Davis Miles .
After many years , during a gig together with Eddie Pilller I asked him something about but he just says " its a very rare thing , don't remember " ...( professional reasons)?
Some times ago after years of researching without anything find , I started again and I find out everything in a kind of magical way ...
Everything happened thanks to a DJ from London called Seymour Nurse and his web site " The Botton End " ( see links and visit it !).
The incredible thing was that after few days I had the big fortune to find a copy of the original one , It looks like theres only few copies pressed ...
To see all this story I want you to go to my friend Seymour's site and enjoy all the big work he did , because thanks him I find a great treasure to put on the Jazzmotel Deluxe Suite ! and I never could do a better work than Him .
But first I would like to tell you that I was lucky again cause I get in touch with the man who played that incredible track , not Brother Davis Miles but a man called Don Baaska his wife Valli Scavelli .
Please enjoy the interview and read some friends comments about that trasure , cooments by Seymour Nurse and the incredible Chriss Bangs who were the first one to find that record in the early 80's and start together with Paul Murphy , Gilles Peterson and later Eddie Piller " The Bottom end " Saga .

Chriss Bangs quote:

"When I first picked up an interesting record while diggin' the crates 20-odd years ago, I little thought that that record would go on to acquire the legendary status that it has achieved over the years. Looking back you can see why Murphy turned it into such an anthem, as it has everything a DJ could possibly want from a record…
DJ'ing on a rare record scene, which is what all us Jazzers were doing at the time, you look for certain things in a record:
1) Exclusivity - well, it took 20-odd years before even another copy was found!
2) Longevity - timeless bass, driven hard jazz that was never out of fashion 'cos it was never in fashion either!
3) Mystery - the record itself gave no clue to who it was by- it just said "THE BOTTOM END" on the sleeve. One side was with some geezer noodling around on a church organ and the other side had this dirty live jammin' jazz cut direct to disc with enuff bass…. and it just played really, really, really loud!!
On the Northern soul scene people used to cover up records, so no one else could get hold of a copy- this was so obscure you didn't even need to bother - perfect! Add to that a few dodgy bootleg releases and you have a record that's been one of the most in demand and hard to get on the planet! Until now!!"
Chris Bangs


Seymour Nurse quote:

Ken Kreisel (who produced the track), said that, "not many were pressed", but he could not remember exactly how many were cut.
A few have turned up on ebay...
I recently managed to get hold of the original acetate/test pressing of The Bottom End/ Get off the Ground. I still cannot believe it, as only 1 or 2 of these are in existence.
Best,
Seymour

Interview to Don Baaska and Valli Scavelli

I know you went to Puertorico in the mid 50's , many musicians did the 
opposite , see the New York Barrio Bands and musicians ..
Which were your musical influences in the beginning ?




Baaska : Nat Cole and Teddy Wilson were my first influences. Then Errol Garner & 
Monk. Currently my favorite pianist is Jay McShan. He takes it back to 
basics. I didn't go to Puerto Rico to play music. Just got drunk one night in Key 
West and the bartender & I ended up in San Juan on a DC 3 with a load of 
live chickens and decided to stay and got a hotel gig.





Many of your compositions tastes Latin but with a strong American Jazz 
feeling , how did your musical taste changed during your staying in South 
America?




Baaska : Necessity. I don't do day jobs and Latin music was what was needed and 
wanted although the musicians I worked with appreciated my Jazz harmony and 
phrasing. I absorbed the clave by osmosis, playing with some great Latin 
rhythm sections.




Talking about the famous " Get off the Ground " aka " The Bottom End "...
I own the Acid Jazz reissue from the late eighties , many time i was looking 
for the existance of possible LP or other things about the Band called 
Brother Davies Miles ...
I Spoke to Eddie Piller about where he get the record from , but he were 
always not clear about the origin of that tune , just says " Its a very rare 
tune ".
From Gilles Peterson I already heard about the " Short " version sunged , 
but I thought it was a Janet Lawson tune..and I was not the only one ...
At the end , thanks to DJ Seymour Nurse I realize that it was a Baaska and 
Scavelli song, made during a kind of "rehearsal" and recorded to test a Sub 
Woofer ...incredible , isnt it ?
It's true the fact that you did'nt know that tune were released , and that 
it was also one of the more Jazz-dance tunes in the London Jazz scene ?




Baaska : Yeah, that was a big surprise!

A thing that I always liked on that track was the Jazz Trio combo with 
Electric Piano feeling ...very underground in that way ..In wich occasion 
you use to get the Fender Rhodes sound ?

Baaska : I was enamored with the Rhodes and used it with effects and for a while in 
the 70's preferred it to acoustic and used it on all gigs. It also 
complimented Valli's voice very well. I wish I still had it. But I found a 
new love in the DX 7 and gave the Rhodes to a kid to practice on. Right now 
I record on a Roland EP 7 but really prefer an acoustic for performance when 
available. Hell, whatever has keys on it I can make do with.





I really like " Floating " tune sound , can you tell us if there are more 
Baaska tracks that sounds like "Get off the Ground" so you can save us other 
20 years of researching ...ha ha !





Baaska : Yeah, the whole Album "Planet of the Seven Moons" 12 songs. It's on my web 
site with some sound samples.
www.donbaaska.com Can send you a copy if you like. The production on some of 
the tracks is a bit primitive but the feel is good.





At the end, whats your feeling about all whole story that takes people more 
than 20 years to realize that you are the composer and performer of that 
amazing Rare Jazz Dance track !?





Baaska : Hey, shit happens




Mrs Valli :




Which where your musical influence when you start to sing ?which singers did 
inspire you?





Valli Scavelli : My first love was Sinatra and of course Sarah, Ella & Billie. But Annie Ross 
was the big one.