Welcome back!

I hope you’re all suitably refreshed from the weekend? With British Summer Time apparently having just begun over the weekend (although a brief glance outside seems to somewhat contradict that theory!), I thought I’d drop some sunshine on you in the form of a nice slice of Bahamian Funk.

‘Goombay Bump’ is a great feel good number from Jay Mitchell, and is a 45 that I’ve only just acquired after several months spent hankering after it. Now it’s firmly filed away in The Hook And Sling hoard, I thought I’d spread the love a little and see if we can banish those Monday blues.

There appears to be very limited information around about Jay Mitchell, but a brief scratch about the interwebs seem to confirm a few interesting points. Mitchell hailed from the Bahamas and was somewhat of a local musical celebrity. So much so he turned down a recording contract with Ahmet Ertegün’s Atlantic Records to focus on developing his local island fame! This came after a stint that saw him going on tour with Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin. Interestingly Atlantic had arranged for Otis Redding to produce Mitchell’s LP if he had gone ahead and signed the deal.

Jay Mitchell worked closely alongside Frank Penn, a name you may be familiar with, as his track ‘Gimme Some Skin’ was included on one of Keb Darge’s ‘Legendary Deep Funk’ compilation albums. Aside from writing and performing, Frank Penn owned a successful night spot called Bamboo East. He set about creating a buzz around the place and used that to launch GBI (Grand Bahama Island) International, his own record company, as well as his own recording studio. ‘Goombay Bump’ wasn’t released on GBI International but instead on Penn’s, a label I can only assume was set up as a subsidiary by Frank Penn.

As the Bahamas are just a stones throw from the coast of Florida, the music that emerged from the island was heavily influenced by both the Funk and Soul sounds that were popular in America at the time. Recorded somewhen during the front half of the Seventies, ‘Goombay Bump’ (‘Goombay’ was a local term for anything Bahamian) is an upfront funk jam with some nice island style percussion and rhythms that certainly takes no prisoners along the way.

Those amongst you drawn to the organ sound should find the track of interest as there are some chugging chops laid down which drive the cut along. I’ve also included the B-side, Pt 2, which is a bit more of a jam session styled take on the cut and sees Jay Mitchell calling each musician forward in turn to “Bump” with him. Also the more careful listeners amongst you may be able to hear the voices in the background of the track. I can only imagine it was someone orchestrating the group or that of an unfortunate studio worker picked up on the mikes.

All that said, I wonder wether Jay Mitchell’s musical offerings would still have had such an island styled influence had he signed the Atlantic deal and gone more mainstream. After listening to ‘Goombay Bump’ I’m glad he didn’t!

I hope you enjoy today’s offering and I want to give you all a heads up for our monthly funk and soul night at La Havana Bar in Chichester on the South Coast. We return there this Saturday and hopefully if you are close enough, you’ll roll by to join us for what should be another great night. As always all the details can be found in the tabs at the top of the page. Time permitting I will hopefully return here before then with some more of the ‘Good Stuff’ for you. Until then stay safe and don’t venture too far!

Jay Mitchell – Goombay Bump Pt 1 – Penn’s

Jay Mitchell – Goombay Bump Pt 2 – Penn’s