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Snarky Puppy released Somni on November 21, and it’s one of the best albums you’ve ever heard and will ever hear. It’s already on my deserted island list and a certain (multi) Grammy winner. I’m confident that once people hear it, they will be astounded based on its sonic impact, novel approach to melodies and rhythms, range of emotions stirred, musicality, and technical achievements. Now that the superlatives are out there, I’ll offer up the rationale for the buildup. Somni was recorded with the Metropole Orkest under the direction of Jules Buckley over the course of three days (two sessionsContinue Reading

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REARview Album: Friends and Strangers Friends and Strangers (1977) is an all-time classic album for me. It sounds as fresh today as it did almost 50 years ago. F&S is his third solo album (Pressure Sensitive and Fever preceded) following  a stint with Earth, Wind & Fire. The opening track “Goodtime Ride” sounds so futuristic like an rocket taking off. The synth bounces from ear to ear. Ronnie’s sopranos trades licks with the background vocal sighs. In that way, it was probably the first instrumental album that I heard that had ‘background vocals. The title track, with its synth openingContinue Reading

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In: Aisle 5, Album of the Week, ALBUMS, BLOG POSTS, VENUES

The Polyrhythmics have put out an outstanding album with Life From Below. Each tune is distinctive in its color and theme while still recognizable as a Polyrhythmics song. The group has become a personal favorite over the last few years, based on their dynamic live sets and consistently high-quality studio releases. As usual, there is a prominent role for the stellar horn section and the album is peppered with tight riffs and several spectacular solo sojourns, which I’ll cover in detail. The dazzling guitar-bass-drum of Ben Bloom, Jason Gray, and Grant Schroff alway keep the energy at a high level.Continue Reading

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Lafayette Gilchrist’s “Move with Love” features his ensemble, The New Volcanoes, blending jazz, funk, and hip-hop in a live recording. Celebrated for its infectious rhythms and community focus, the album reflects resilience and joy during difficult times. Each track showcases individual talents, making it a standout release of 2025.Continue Reading

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Garaj Majal is one of the most sophisticated funk-jazz-world-fusion bands of the past 25 years and a personal favorite. They’ve just released the terrific album “Rotifer,” an eclectic collection of nine tunes, each one sparkling in its own right. The band started as a quartet in the year 2000 with two of the founding members Fareed Haque (guitar) and Kai Eckhardt (bass) still active as the core of the band. In the early 2000s, the band was a major touring act and released four albums. When their first album, “Mondo Garaj,”  was released in 2003, it was on repeat onContinue Reading

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The Mighty Mocambos have been around since 2006 but only hit my radar a few years back. The band, out of Hamburg, Germany, has just put out a superfine album, “A Higher Frequency,” that cooks across a range of instrumental and vocal tunes with ingredients of soul, Afrobeat, jazz, and funk that make you feel good head to toe. This album showcases The Mighty Mocambos command of the funk lexicon with a terrific rhythm section, hard-hitting horn riffs and solos and soulful singing. I find it easy to connect their sound to styles from the past while still recognizing thatContinue Reading

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Analog Son is a super funky band comprised of Josh Fairman (SunSquabi) on bass and Jordan Linit on guitar joined by complementary artists for recording. “Keep It Coming” is a shimmy-shaking, earth-quaking ride. It’s their first full release since Funky Mother in 2018 (Funky Mother Review), which was also a killer album. In addition to the two founders, veterans Joe Tatton (The New Mastersounds) on keyboards and Neal Evans (Dopapod) join the mix, as well as stellar guest musicians on each track including songstress Adryon de León, trumpeters Eric “Benny” Bloom (Lettuce) and Gabe Mervine (The Motet), and saxophonist NickContinue Reading

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In: Album of the Week, ALBUMS, BANDS, BLOG POSTS, Lettuce

Organ trios have been a mainstay of the jazz-funk-fusion stable since the 60s. In recent years, there’s been a surge in popularity of the format, as the B3 can emulate a broad range of sounds and the small format enables each of the musicians to stretch out in a big way. Deitch, Teitel Fribush (DTF) is a powerhouse within that realm, and the newly released  “Another Side of the Sound” brings fresh ideas while maintaining ligature to tradition. As described in the liner notes, the album was recorded directly to a Tascam 388 tape machine to give it that old-school feel.Continue Reading

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Budos Band carved out a unique genre for themselves as masters of cinematic, occult, mystical, edgy, foreboding music. This album, VII (most of their albums are simply titled sequentially), is their latest offering of deep, dark metal funk, and it’s a frightfully fun listen. The band started about 20 years ago in Staten Island, NY, with their first three heavy on Afrobeat and Afro-soul in the mold of Fela Kuti and the JBs. That meant a great rhythm section, heavy on percussion and terrific horns. Even in that era, which included the albums I (2005), II (2007), III (2010), andContinue Reading

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I’ve been a Galactic fan for more than 20 years, listened to every album they’ve put out, and seen them live about 20 times through several configurations. They’ve changed from emphasizing vocals to instrumentals and back and play a wide range of music, from heart-pumping funk to jazz and blues and gospel. And I like it all, but I’ve gotta say “Audience with the Queen” is a new favorite album. In the “Behind the Scenes,” videos,  they tell Irma that she’s going to sound young on the record and much to her amazement, she does, and I can absolutely confirmContinue Reading