From the Soundboard is a program that usually focuses on concerts regardless of genre. This is where the artist and (or) group perfect the art of the “call and response” with its audience. On Tuesday, June 9, at midnight (that’s Monday into Tuesday)  the month of June is known as African American Music Appreciation Month (Black Music Month) and this week’s focus will be on the man who gave Afrofuturism some Philly Soul and synth-laced Jazz Fusion.  He was Dexter Wansel.

Dexter Gilman Wansel grew up in Philadelphia, and he served as an errand boy at the city’s Uptown Theater as a kid. He played in local bands as a young person, then served in the Army. After getting his honorable discharge, Wansel returned to Philadelphia, got interested in modular synths, and played in a number of local R&B groups. He became a part of MFSB, the legendary house band at Philadelphia International Records, and he signed with the label as an artist and an in-house producer and songwriter. [Tom Breihan – Stereogum]