California Soul

"Documented with great care and affection, this book is filled with revelations about the intermingling of peoples, styles of music, business interests, night-life pleasures, and the strange ways lived experience shaped black music as America's music in California." —Charles Keil, co-author of Music Grooves

A sharply crafted and unflinchingly honest memoir about gangs, drugs, cooking, and living life on the line—both on the streets and in the kitchen—from one of the most exciting stars in the food world today “A remarkable memoir.”—Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, National Book Award winner and author of the #1 New York Times bestseller How to Be an Antiracist Chef Keith Corbin has been cooking his entire life. Born on the home turf of the notorious Grape Street Crips in 1980s Watts, Los Angeles, he got his start cooking crack at age thirteen, becoming so skilled that he was flown across the country to cook for drug operations in other cities. After his criminal enterprises caught up with him, though, Corbin spent years in California’s most notorious maximum security prisons—witnessing the resourcefulness of other inmates who made kimchi out of leftover vegetables and tamales from ground-up Fritos. He developed his own culinary palate and ingenuity, creating “spreads” out of the unbearable commissary ingredients and experimenting during his shifts in the prison kitchen. After his release, Corbin got a job managing the kitchen at LocoL, an ambitious fast food restaurant spearheaded by celebrity chefs Roy Choi and Daniel Patterson, designed to bring inexpensive, quality food and good jobs into underserved neighborhoods. But when Corbin was suddenly thrust into the spotlight, he struggled to live up to or accept the simplified “gangbanger redemption” portrayal of him in the media. As he battles private demons while achieving public success, Corbin traces the origins of his vision for “California soul food” and takes readers inside the worlds of gang hierarchy , drug dealing, prison politics, gentrification, and culinary achievement to tell the story of how he became head chef of Alta Adams, one of America’s best restaurants.

80+ comfort-filled recipes that trace the roots of modern California soul food to the Great Migration—from the acclaimed chef and author of Brown Sugar Kitchen. “The new California Cuisine is California Soul.”—Questlove “California Soul is a book that will live on my kitchen counter with drips of California olive oil and splats of buttermilk on every page.”—Bobby Flay ONE OF THE TEN BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR: San Francisco Chronicle ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR: Saveur, Food & Wine, Epicurious, Library Journal Through more than 80 seasonally inspired recipes, Tanya Holland's California Soul showcases modern soul food from the acclaimed chef of Brown Sugar Kitchen and host of Tanya's Kitchen Table. Tanya’s inventive cuisine—rooted in a Black Southern cultural repertoire with a twenty-first-century sensibility using local, sustainable, chef-driven, seasonal ingredients—is showcased in recipes for every season, such as Collard Green Tabbouleh, Zucchini–Scallion Waffles with Toasted Pecan Romesco, Grilled Shrimp and Corn with Avocado White BBQ Sauce, Fried Chicken Paillards with Arugula and Pea Shoots Salad, Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake, and Honey Lavender Chess Pie. The recipes—influenced by the historical migration of African American families, including Tanya’s own—reveal the key ingredients, techniques, and traditions that African Americans brought with them as they left the South for California, creating a beloved version of soul food. Beyond recipes, Tanya spotlights fifteen contemporary Black Californian foodmakers—farmers, coffee roasters, and other talented artisans—whose work help defines California soul food, with stunning portraiture and stories. Filtered through the rich history of African American migration that brought her own family from the Deep South to the West Coast, Tanya's recipes are as comforting and delicious as they are steeped in history.

JAMES BEARD AWARD NOMINEE • A sharply crafted and unflinchingly honest memoir about gangs, drugs, cooking, and living life on the line—both on the streets and in the kitchen—from one of the most exciting stars in the food world today “Beautiful. Moving. Inspiring. Get it.”—Chris Storer, Emmy Award–winning creator of The Bear A SALON BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR Chef Keith Corbin has been cooking his entire life. Born on the home turf of the notorious Grape Street Crips in 1980s Watts, Los Angeles, he got his start cooking crack at age thirteen, becoming so skilled that he was flown across the country to cook for drug operations in other cities. After his criminal enterprises caught up with him, though, Corbin spent years in California’s most notorious maximum security prisons—witnessing the resourcefulness of other inmates who made kimchi out of leftover vegetables and tamales from ground-up Fritos. He developed his own culinary palate and ingenuity, creating “spreads” out of the unbearable commissary ingredients and experimenting during his shifts in the prison kitchen. After his release, Corbin got a job managing the kitchen at LocoL, an ambitious fast food restaurant spearheaded by celebrity chefs Roy Choi and Daniel Patterson, designed to bring inexpensive, quality food and good jobs into underserved neighborhoods. But when Corbin was suddenly thrust into the spotlight, he struggled to live up to or accept the simplified “gangbanger redemption” portrayal of him in the media. As he battles private demons while achieving public success, Corbin traces the origins of his vision for “California soul food” and takes readers inside the worlds of gang hierarchy, drug dealing, prison politics, gentrification, and culinary achievement to tell the story of how he became head chef of Alta Adams, one of America’s best restaurants.

The Ukulele is one of the most versatile little instruments ever invented — and here’s the proof. Jazz, Funk & Soul Classics For Ukulele contains 30 classics, specially arranged with Ukulele accompaniment, full lyrics and chord boxes. This songbook features hits by Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Earth Wind & Fire, Bill Withers and many more. Tune up, choose your own personal favourites and start playing and singing now. Songlist: - Abraham, Martin & John [Marvin Gaye] - Across 110th Street [Bobby Womack] - Aht Uh Mi Hed [Shuggie Otis] - California Soul [Marlena Shaw] - (Fallin' Like) Dominoes [Donald Byrd] - Easy [The Commodores] - Family Affair [Sly & The Family Stone] - I Get The Sweetest Feeling [Jackie Wilson] - I Had A Talk With My Man Last Night [Mitty Collier] - I Thought It Was You [Herbie Hancock] - I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free [Nina Simone] - Just The Two Of Us [Bill Withers] - Lady Day & John Coltrane [Gil Scott-Heron] - Let’s Stay Together [Al Green] - Let's Groove [Earth Wind & Fire] - Lovin' You [Minnie Riperton] - Midnight At The Oasis [Maria Muldaur] - Midnight Train To Georgia [Gladys Knight & The Pips] - Ordinary Joe [Terry Callier] - Sir Duke [Stevie Wonder] - Spanish Harlem [Aretha Franklin] - Strawberry Letter 23 [Brothers Johnson] - Summer Breeze [The Isley Brothers] - Sunny [Bobby Hebb] - Super Freak [Rick James] - Teardrops [Womack & Womack] - The Fez [Steely Dan] - The 'In' Crowd [Dobie Gray] - Theme from 'Shaft' [Isaac Hayes] - We Are Family [Sister Sledge]

A Blues Bibliography, Second Edition is a revised and enlarged version of the definitive blues bibliography first published in 1999. Material previously omitted from the first edition has now been included, and the bibliography has been expanded to include works published since then. In addition to biographical references, this work includes entries on the history and background of the blues, instruments, record labels, reference sources, regional variations and lyric transcriptions and musical analysis. The Blues Bibliography is an invaluable guide to the enthusiastic market among libraries specializing in music and African-American culture and among individual blues scholars.

This collection of essays written by a stellar cast of art historians and scholars looks closely at the forces that shaped fine art and material culture in California. Illustrations.