FunkCity.net’s Hulaween 2023 Preview – Part 1
Suwannee Hulaween is a music fan’s fantasy festival. This year marks the 10th-year anniversary and will be my eighth consecutive year. The music is always super diverse, this year with more than 90 sets, and there’s something for everyone. It’s a String Cheese Incident festival where they typically play 6Continue Reading
Album Review: Dead Funk Summit from Joe Marcinek
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 “IContinue Reading
The Budos Band – Frontier’s Edge
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 andContinue Reading
Album Review: The Oscillators Deliver Good Vibrations
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 onContinue Reading
‘Raw in Amsterdam’ Is Funk Well Done
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 greatContinue Reading
Album Review: ‘Hearing The Truth’ From BT ALC Big Band
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 toContinue Reading
Snarky Puppy Concert Review – Beacon Theatre, Thursday April 13, 2023Â
The last time I wrote for FunkCity.net, I concluded my review by saying that I would love to see Snarky Puppy once venues opened up after the COVID-19 pandemic. On Thursday April 13, 2023 that wish finally came true. But before we get into that, let’s recap what Snarky PuppyContinue Reading
Album Review: Yayennings Vol. 2 Swings Hard
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 fluidContinue Reading
‘The Funk Sessions’ From Speedometer Will Make Your Heart Race
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 digitalContinue Reading
Cruising to ‘Point of No Return’ from Malcolm Strachan
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,Continue Reading