It’s time to close the book on 2023 with my annual Best Albums coverage of a whopping 27 recordings. The list includes many from my Track-by-Track reviews and several on top of that from which the FunkCity.net album of the year will be selected. The selections are not in any special order so dig in anywhere you’d like. Links to each album on YouTube are included in the writeup and links to my full album reviews are included where available (and will be updated as time permits).
These albums were my most listened to and include selections in jazz, funk, prog rock, blues, soul and much more. I hope that you find some music to soothe your soul and elevate your spirits in the coming days and new year!
Polyrhythmics have quickly become one of my top bands to see live and to listen to recorded. Their blend of lysergic afro-beat, funk vibes hits the mark. The Polyrhythmics sensibilities conjure up feelings of mysticism, nature, and flowing vibes.
Filter System has everything from dark toned cinematic tunes like the title track to more playful, Eastern Euro references mixed with DN Garden Gnomes. Throughout the album there are terrific solos as well, for example the sultry sax on Clydesdale from Art Brown and the funky trombone solo on March of Darkness from Elijah Clark. Jason Gray and Ben Bloom on bass and guitar respectively always drive the tunes hard. The horn section is as tight as any in the business, especially on tunes like Roller where they take the lead voice. Fans of other bands like Lettuce, The Budos Band, and The Motet will dig this album.
Eddie Roberts & the Lucky Strokes is another excellent project for Eddie, the leader of The New Mastersounds and founder of Color Red records which released this album.
The band features the vocals of Shelby Kemp, with just the right grit for the funky Southern blues and rock tunes they crank out. Everything I do Saywas written by Shelby and actually included on the New Mastersounds album The Deplar Effect under the title “Gonna Get In My Way.” This set of tunes fit like a pair of broken in boots with just the right amount of dirt on them.
TWYN is a dynamic duo comprised of Jason Matthews (Electric Kif) on keys and Aaron Glueckauf (Lemon City Trio) on drums. I’m familiar with both of their respective bands and got to see them live at North Beach Music Festival in December. This album is full of sonically rich electronic jams with truly incredible range. Jason explained to me a NBMF that the drums and keys are connected not only in the mind but also electronically with each being able to hear, trigger and play the others instruments to create the depth that they put out.
Couch is a group on the rise, coming out of the Northeast, blasting out good vibes from their Sunshower album. The group put on a great set at Hulaween Saturday evening on the Amp stage, a timeslot usually reserved for more veteran acts.
Their horn and vocal driven melodies are on point and the single Alright will be on playlists for a long time. They’re on my hit list to catch again the next time our schedules coincide.
The Comeback from J-Rod Sullivan is a great album, sounding like a modern cross between Spyro Gyra and Return to Forever. Jerrod (J-Rod) and his band are comprised of former bandmates from The Four Korners with the addition of percussion and sax. The tunes and playing are tight and uplifting. Of particular note are funk grooves Piece by Piece and Ripple Effect.
Too Much To Hold from the New Orleans Nightcrawlers has been nominated for the Grammy in the Best Regional Roots Music Album category. It’s following in the footeps of their 2020 album, Atmosphere, which won in the same category (and was written up in my best of 2020 recap). The band is definitely one of my favorite brass bands and I’m glad to see they’re back on a more frequent recording schedule. This one holds up as a blend of traditional march music and more soloing style. Through and through it’s got the NOLA groove to make you move!
Start It! is the first solo album from the NOLA saxophonist Jason Mingledorff. Jason, known for his work with the now disbanded Papa Gros Funk, as well as a leader of the New Orleans Nightcrawlers, has put together a rock solid jazz album. The quintet comprised of guitar, bass, drums and keys in addition to Jason complement each other well and have ample opportunity for individual soloing.
The album lets Jason stretch out demonstraing his composing skill and versatility as a front man. Jason’s range and volume control are outstanding. In particular, I dig the low end tenor riffs. I really enjoy listening to this album that falls more in the contemporary jazz category than NOLA style.
The Bamboos are one of my favorite funk and soul bands. They’re evocative of the great 70s and 80s bands like Chic, The Pointer Sisters, Rufus with Chaka Khan and the like. Their videos reflect the same with roller dancing street vibes. When they hit Jam Cruise this year for the first time, they converted a lot of US fans. I’m still waiting for my first live set but in the meantime, “This Is How You Do It” will do just fine.
Stings is the third studio album from Kamaal Williams and it’s a masterpiece. This large compendium stretches across 13 tunes and almost as many genres, from hip-hop to acid jazz to neo-classical. The diversity of the vibes keep it interesting from start to finish. Gotta give props to Atlanta native Marquinn Mason on sax who crushes every track he’s on. Particular highlights for me are Stings (title tract), Little River and Dogtown.
Odd Times is powerful follow up to lespecials previous release Ancient Homies. I had this album on heavy rotation since it’s fall release and then got to see them perform it live at Hulaween and back in Atlanta at Terminal West. It’s all at once dark, funky, bass-heavy, melodic and danceable prog-rock. The tune’s range from the socially-conscious Lungs of the Planet to the anthem-sounding Divider.
Corinne Bailey Rae (CBR) is one of my all-time favorite vocalists and I’ve been a fan for just about 20 years, ever since I first heard her sing ‘Your Love Is Mine” with The New Mastersounds (NMS) back in 2003 on their ‘Be Yourself’ album. She’s got an ethereal quality to her, sensual, sensitive, spiritual and of course soulful. Her songs were often about love, loss, pleasure, pain, optimism, sadness and generally had a softer tone to them.
Flash forward to the here and now and Corinne just released this monumental album – Black Rainbows. Why is it monumental? Well, it’s a departure from those she’s previously released. The album is inspired by objects and artworks collected by Theaster Gates at the Stony Island Arts Bank in Chicago. The songs are more edgy, more balanced between the instruments and the vocals, and more varied in style as well. So, monumental in more ways than one. ‘Black Diamonds’ is different yet naturally wonderful.
On Becoming from House of Waters is a stunning album all around — an exquisite listening journey that takes you to places you’ve not previously imagined. Max ZT (hammered dulcimer) and Moto Fukushima (6-string bass) are joined by Antonio Sanchez on drums, and they weave a tapestry of feelings that will soothe your soul. On top of all that, it’s been nominated for a Grammy as for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album!
It’s incredible to have a trio create such a richness in sound. Max can make his instrument sound like a harp or piano among other instruments and naturally as a dulcimer. Moto’s two-handed playing on the bass gives him astonishing range as well. And Antonio, new to the group on this recording, somehow takes their playing to another level. As if that weren’t enough, Priya Darshini elevates them ever further with her beautiful vocals on The Wall. Mike Stern, one of the world’s most acclaimed jazz guitarists joins on Hang In The Air.
Adam Deitch Quartet’s second album is a heater, with some of the grooviest, soul-jazz around. Adam is known as the drummer, composer and founding member of today’s leading funk band, Lettuce. For the quartet, he is joined by fellow Lettuce bandmates, Eric “Benny” Bloom on trumpet and Ryan Zoidis on saxophones as well as Wil Blades, a master of the B3 organ.
Like it’s predecessor, Egyptian Secrets, this album is brilliant with the full 4 playing syncrhonously and then dividing in pairs drum-organ / trumpet-sax and then again with each taking rich solos throughout. I really dig the jazzier side with this crew, each member is able to stretch out a little bit individually and weave in and out of each other in a very streamlined fashion.
Chris Bullock is perhaps best known as the sax player for Snarky Puppy, the 5-time Grammy-winning funk-world-jazz fusion band. Chris leans most heavily on tenor sax with the band but also hits flute regularly and occasionally on soprano sax and bass clarinet. His solos are always adventurous and powerful. On the recent Empire Central album, he penned one of the funkiest tunes called East Bay.
On Chris’ prior solo release, Boomtown, he relied heavily on keys and electronic jams for a very modern musical journey. Now, with the release of his latest album, he takes it back to some straight ahead funky jazz with seven absolutely super cool tracks.
The Soul Sessions is an album I’ve been looking forward to most of the year after reviewing The Funk Sessions back in April. Like its predecessor, it was recorded live by Speedometer at the legendary Studio 3 in Abbey Roads Studios in London. Universal Music commissioned both albums for their Abbey Road Masters label and released them on all digital platforms.
This iteration pays homage to Motown and you can hear it instantly and all the way through. It’s authentic, from the soulful riffs of horns, the tasty licks of guitar, the thumping rhythm section, and the handclaps and backing vocals, right up to the spectacular vocals from Angelo Starr (younger brother to Edwin Starr) and Shezar.
The album drives a stake through the heart of the saying “they don’t make music like that anymore” because this all original album has all the elements you could want.
Leisure Suit, is an old school funk fusion album with new era notions of jam. That’s right, it’s a leisure suit from the 70s that’s back with a flair and so much panache. That’s a lot of fancy words for an album that’s got great catchy tunes, some dramatic moments and great production values. Did I mention the band, Organ Fairchild has only been around since 2020 and is a breakout band in Buffalo, NY?
Well, get ready to be bowled over by this terrific trio. They mix their style from track to track but keep it interesting throughout. This is just the second album from the group following their 2021 debut ”Brewed in Buffalo.”
Bokanté encapsulates world rhythms like no other band. The band is the brainchild of Snarky Puppy’s Michael League and a vehicle for the marvelous vocals of Malika Tirolien, along with a roster of some of the most uniquely accomplished musicians around. Bokanté’s albums are always a treat.
The songs are always percussion rich due to the amazing crew of Weedie Braimah,
Keita Ogawa, Jamey Haddad and André Ferrari with a huge battery of instruments and sounds. They are offset by the amazing string instrument team of Michael League, Chris McQueen, Bob Lanzetti and Roosevelt “The Dr.” Collier. Malika is an absolute star vocalist with an extroadinarily emotive voice able to sound tenderly sweet and extremely angry, sometimes within the same tune.
Jonathan Scales is the current world leader steel pannist and each of his albums are great listens end to end. He follows his predecessor pannists Dave Samuels (Spyro Gyra), Andy Narell (Caribbean Jazz Project), and Robert Greenidge (Jimmy Buffet) in bringing the island sound to the world jazz scene.
In his own words, RE-POTTED arose and “began production shortly after relocating to NYC from North Carolina, just months before the pandemic, and this conceptual album explores what it means to ‘uproot & replant’ into a more expansive yet more challenging environment.”
In addition to the young lions Maison Guidry on drums and E’Lon JD on bass, Scales has brought in a veritable all-star team for each song including horns, strings and vocals.
Joe Marcinek consistently puts out great albums with a rotating roster of players. He’s a musician’s musician, well known amongst his peers for his sharp compositions and ability to play with anyone in multiple styles. It reminds me of a quote from legendary Crusaders’ pianist Joe Sample, who said “I get called a lot to play on different albums because I play whatever is needed for that particular session.”
Marcinek definitely has a flair and imprints his sound on this album of all originals playing with Melvin Seals (Dead) and George Porter (Funk) in a slick grouping that shows the collective chops of this veteran crew, in an eight-track delight of an album. We move from straight up funk (Fever Dream), to blues (Still Got It), to some classic fusion (Ethereal) to some hard-edged rock (Delete).
The Budos Band is one of my favorite recording bands and live they’re especially crazy fun. They tour only on a limited basis so I’ve been fortunate enough to catch them a handful of times and each time it’s a party. The band and crowd feed off each other and the set gets increasingly more wild right up to the end.
The band started on the Daptone label and originally fell pretty squarely in the afrobeat category but even early on they had a dark, edgy sound as reflected in their first three album covers of a volcano, scorpion and cobra. The get deeper and darker with the Burnt Offering album never looking back. Now, they’re in a class of their own with what call funk metal and they reference proto-metal, with screeching horns and deep motifs.
It’s always great to get new tunage from them and the year’s EO offering Frontier’s Edge is a winner. It’s their first on their new label Diamond West Records founded by the band’s leaders Jared Tankel and Thomas Brenneck.
Over the last five years or so, when I hear Seattle Funk my ears perk up. There’s been so much great stuff coming out including Polyrhythmics, The True Loves, Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, The Dip, and now add The Oscillators to the list. As a recording collaborative, the instrumentation on each tune varies and so each is fresh and carves a differnt path. There’s everything from psychdelia, to jazz, NOLA jazz, fusion and plenty of funk, Olli Klomp makes this engine run on time with up to three layers of drums on a track. It’s innovative and relatable at the same time. Here’s the press release on the album, followed by my track by track coverage. Dig in and enjoy.
Raw in Amsterdam, just released from Philip Lassiter, is a well done live funk party. I was first introduced to Lassiter when he and his band opened for Snarky Puppy in Atlanta in 2015. If you know anything about Michael League, SP’s leader, you know that he only brings great talent to open and I was a fan right away.
Lassiter mixes funk, gospel, New Orleans jazz, and soul in his work and is an 11-time Grammy award winner including his work with Prince. This album in live big band format includes some very special guests, notably Candy Dulfer, Amsterdam’s resident sax goddess anf former Prince saxophonist as well as Durand Bernard for some smashing lead vocals.
I’ve been looking forward to this release as the singles were trickling out, especially since his album ‘Party Crashers’ made it on my Best of 2018 list.
BT ALC Big Band hit my radar a few years about three years ago with the release of their single ‘The Iguana,’ now included on this new album Hearing the Truth. It served as a signal of great tunes on the horizon and now the album totally lives up to the hype. The New England based bandwith a 13-piece horn section delivers a fast-paced, power-packed, funk feast in a 9-track package. On top of that, there’s special guest sit-ins from Adam Deitch, Eric Benny Bloom and Nigel Hall of Lettuce, Eric Krasno, John Medeski, Karl Denson, G Love and The A-Beez each of whom amp up the tracks to maxium funkiness.
Yayennings Vol. 2 is a terrific album of conversations and chemistry. Jay Jennings (trumpet, flugelhorn) and Bob Reynolds (tenor sax) are chatting and trading riffs constantly throughout each song. They flow in and out of unison alternating leads at breakneck speeds and relink back in sync. It’s incredible how fluid they are together and with Jose Perez on drums and and Ross Schodek on bass laying down the grooves end-to-end.
I first got hip to this quartet at GroundUP Music Festival (GUMF) 2018 late night set (click for video) and taken in by an all drum brushes set from Jose and the nascent rapport between the band. Of course Jay and Bob are longtime bandmates in Snarky Puppy and plenty of experience grooving together. With Jose and Ross driving the rhythm, I could listen to these four talking all night long. Here’s my track-by-track coverage of this excellent new album — and check out Jay’s liner notes to the right.
The Funk Sessions is the first of 2 albums recorded at the legendary Abbey Roads Studios in London. Both albums were played live by the band in the famous Studio 3. Universal Music commissioned both albums for their Abbey Road Masters label and released The Funk Sessions on all digital platforms. This LP features the classic heavy raw funk that Speedometer has consistently delivered over the last 20 years. The second LP (The Soul Sessions) will be released in July and like the funk lp, was recorded live and features guest vocalists including Angelo Starr (younger brother to Edwin Starr).
With a title like Abbey Road Masters: The Funk Sessions ya better well bring all the kick ass funkiness your band can muster! Speedometer delivered it all and then some. These tunes are all slick, slick, slick! The band has been pumping out great for 25 years. I last covered their mid-pandemic album Our Kind of Movement and it was one of my most played in 2020 so this one was highly anticipated. Speedometer is geared for funk with a full three piece horn section and this album is richer for the baritone sax work of George Phillips. My only complaint is that the album is too short — but no worries, the group is coming out with another Abbey Road Masters set and I can’t wait!
Malcolm Strachan, the trumpeter for The Haggis Horns, released his second “solo” album this year, Point of No Return. Although it’s a solo album, the core band on “Point Of No Return” are musicians that Malcolm has known and worked with for over two decades, often in The Haggis Horns, and most appeared on the debut album. Newcomers this time are longtime Haggis Horns guest percussionist Sam Bell plus special guest vocalist UK jazz singer Jo Harrop, who adds non-verbal Flora Purim style vocals on tracks one and three.
I covered his debut album About Time back in 2020 so I was keen to dig in on this one and it definitely is a great soph release with styles ranging from modal jazz grooves to Brazilian samba beats, Latin rhythms to cinematic soundtrack vibes, and along the way, some beautiful ballads.
When I think of Denver funk, The Motet is the first band I think of. They’ve been putting out great albums for more than 20 years, with All Day, being their 10th and I’ve been with them most of that time. This album takes them back to their funk roots of hard hitting, retro-echoing, mood-enhancing instrumental music.
In a way, the band has come full circle, from its afro-cuban stylings through it’s two eras with lead vocals and back. All throughout, The Motet‘s live sets always featured two or three tunes featuring instrumentals. One new twist for this release is the center around two keyboards from Joey Porter and Garret Sayers, who also doubles on sax. Previous releases had more pronounced horn lines. The result here is a more spatial envelope that wraps you up in feel good funk All Day!