Anatomy of the Groove: “Long Come Tutu” by George Benson & Al Jarreau

Al Jarreau and George Benson’s 2006 album “Givin It Up” was one of the most common sense musical collaborations I have enjoyed since I’ve been a fan of music. The two singer/musicians existed in their own rarefied air of international jazz vocalist pop stardom. Through their successful projects they brought the vocalese innovations of King Pleasure, Eddie Jefferson, Jon Hendricks and the other great jazz singers to the masses mixed in with the genre’s of funk, soul, R&B, and slick adult contemporary pop. The passing earlier this week of the fantastic Mr. Jarreau is a great time to look back on this collaboration which is now going on 11 years old though their funky jam, “Long Come Tutu”, which features the two greats riffing on a great funky jazz song by another legend who is long gone now, the great Miles Davis.

“Along Come Tutu” is special because not only does it feature Al Jarreau’s vocals, and lyrics he wrote to Miles Davis track “Tutu”, it also features George Benson’s guitar (which was also an element on “Paraphanelia” from the Davis album “Miles in the Sky). The additional treats are jazz legend and Miles Davis alum Herbie Hancock on keyboards, and the songs composer and late era Miles Davis producer Marcus Miller on bass! The stage is set for a heavy tribute to Miles and the fusion side of jazz which was his last major musical innovation. The song begins with a soulful bass riff from Miller that sets up a vocal bass riff from Al Jarreau. Jarreau goes into his lyric, “Know what makes me smile?/is kicking this groove for Miles/it always makes me grin/no matter what mood I’m in.” As he sings his lyrics, Miller fils in the spaces after his vocals, in the vein of a guitar player, with fluid bass licks that wouldn’t have been expected from bass guitar before bassists like Miller and Jaco Pastorious took the scene. The groove kicks in with some snare hits from Marcus White. The famous Tutu bassline comes in, which Marcus has said was inspired by the dark, brooding Miles Davis “Prince of Darkness” persona. But also in Marcus patented style, he also plays another bassline on top of that which riffs in that guitar/fill in style. After that Hancock begins to play the beautiful “Tutu” harmonies on keyboard, with that famous 1980s vocal sample tone, on the top of which Al Jarreau adds his vocals, which in the melody he sings, “A long, long time/we were waiting.” Al sings right along with the songs musical climax, after which George Benson plays his guitar during the break, to which he also adds his patented guitar playing/scat combo. Benson’s guitar riffs are interspersed with Al Jarreau’s hook, “Long Came Tu-Tu!”, after which Benson gets to do more guitar scat. The next go round Benson gets a chance to sing the lyric while also accompanying himself on guitar. After which Herbie Hancock gets a chance to solo with an acoustic piano tone. Herbie starts his solo playing trilling bluesy licks down the keyboard, then plays some soft licks that leave plenty of space, while starting to harmonize the melody and ending with silence. After which George Benson plays a guitar solo, and what’s interesting is Marcus Miller adds a different section and groove behind his solo that extends on the arrangement from the original Tutu. And its still wonderful after all these years to hear George Benson solo with Herbie Hancock’s wonderful comping behind it. Even Al Jarreau has to laugh, but he also has the last laugh because after Benson solo’s he takes a fine vocalese solo himself. On the next solo break, Mr. Hancock gets a chance to play again, and this time he plays with much more force while also exploring his patented colors, behind which both Miller and Benson add tasteful riffs. After Hancock’s solo, the song goes back to the top, with Jarreau singing and Benson comping, followed by a restating of the stop time chorus, with Jarreau singing “Along come TU-TU!” with George Benson riffing and scatting to the songs end.

“Along Come Tutu” is a treat for me on several levels. For one I was always a fan of the song “Tutu” and it was amazing to me that a musician like Miles Davis could release something so funky and fresh in the twilight of his career. Of course he was able to do that by working with musicians like the song’s composer, Marcus Miller, who had new and fresh ideas yet also great respect for Miles. Miller is here, along with Hancock, Benson, and Al Jarreau. Together these four form a veritable Mt. Rushmore of jazz trained musicians with funky soulful chops who have been major players in the pop field. “Along Come Tutu” is a song that proves to be a fine vehicle for the talents of these master musicians. Quite excitingly they add “Tutu” to the jazz song book alongside other Miles tunes such as “Four”, with it’s famous lyric penned by Jon Hendricks that they also covered on “Givin’ It Up.”  And it’s a fine tribute to Al Jarreau’s legacy that he stands alongside George Benson and Herbie Hancock on this song and solo’s with as much verve, confidence and musicality as they do on their instruments. And that is how I will always remember him, as a singer with a fine instrument that he always explored in the most dynamic of fashions!

Music 4 the Nxt 1, Andresmusictalk III: “March of the Panther” by Mongo Santamaria

 

Mongo Santamaria is the one of the best artists to talk about during Black History Month because the cultural forces behind his music cover such a large part of the African diaspora. A native of pre Revolutionary Cuba, he learned music in his community based on rhythms that had come directly from Africa. It was said one of his grandfathers had in fact been a Yoruba priest. His composition, “Afro Blue”, was considered to be the first jazz standard based on an African “3 over 2” rhythm, and was popularized by John Coltrane. In the ’60s he moved from a straight Afro Latin jazz to a Boogaloo based melange of Afro Latin rhythms interlaid with the popular sounds of Soul and Funk. One album I grew up with during that period was an album he did called “Soul Bag”, that featured an incredible version of “Cold Sweat.” Today’s Black History Month special is a song from his 1970 LP, “Mongo 70”, entitled “March of the Panther.” This song was composed by guitarist Sonny Henry, who was the composer of Carlos Santana’s breakthrough hit, “Evil Ways”, which he originally recorded with Willie Bobo. “March of the Panther” is a funky, strident, striving number with the electric energy of the Black Panther Party in the late ’60s and early ’70s.

The song begins with an old school military march theme, featuring snare drum, tuba, flutes and horns playing in a style straight out of the Revolutionary War period. The allusion is very clear as the song transitions from music for that old school revolutionary army to a groove for the new school revolutionary army, The Black Panther Party, as the drummer plays a snare fill that leads to the groove. Bass Player John Hart plays a funky two note baseline supported by two pickup notes in the classic late ’60s, early ’70s style. There is a call and response relationship between the bass line and the electric piano, as the piano plays a syncopated rhythm chord figure after the bass plays its eighth notes. The drums play two strong kick drum notes in harmony with the bass but besides the cracking snare drum hits the drums are partially obscured by Mongo’s powerful African percussive figures, which are both pattern setting but also communicate in an improvisational way. These provide the setting for the rousing horn fanfare, which is a national anthem type melody that plays long, sustained notes, in the style of marching/military music, but also reminiscent of horn sections in African and Afro Latin bands, playing horn lines in unison. The bass and horn melody goes between two chords, as the bass line walks down to second chord sequence and the horns follow. After playing through that sequence the arrangement goes to a change part where the whole arrangement seems to come together in unity for the chorus, which is then followed by another vamp/statement of the main melody, with more attention paid to the trumpets, followed by another chorus that is again, heavier on the top end of the horns. After that a tenor sax solo is introduced, under which the bass player is given more freedom to improvise funky lines that support the solo. After the solo ends, Mongo’s conga playing becomes more pronounced, as he varies his rhythm and begins to take more of a leadership role, introducing the sections of the song with his drum flurries. The song grooves on and fades out, shifting back to a straight military march at the end.

“March of the Panther” took up the call that was made during the 1960s for new forms of Black art that would be the new symbols of the New Black Nation. In this case, it envisions itself as the theme for The Black Panther Party as the military arm of that nation. Mongo always foregrounded African/Black identity in his music, naming songs after Yoruba Gods and Black figures such as Malcom X. It was amazing for me to discover this funky song that took the idea of a military march and remade it for the age of The Panthers. The song itself is a good example of uptempo, super rhythmic, boogaloo inspired early 70s funk, in fact it would work very well over a montage movie scene about The Panthers or activists set in that time period. It was said that Herbie Hancock played his classic “Watermelon Man” for Mongo after Mongo had said he couldn’t see the connection between Afro Cuban and Afro American music. Upon hearing the funky tune, Mongo immediately got excited and began playing along with it. Of course, in Mongo’s hands, “Watermelon Man” went on to become one of the biggest hits in jazz history. It was this ability to connect the African roots, modern Afro Cuban music, jazz, and the then current funk and soul vibes that gave Mongo the unique place in Black music history and Black culture that he occupies. And that is one reason, along with his excellent musicianship, that a figure like Mongo deserves more consideration when contemplating the bonds of Africans in the Americas. And “March of the Panther” stands tall as an anthem for the Party that is no longer that brings together the energy of the whole African diaspora for the long waged fight for total prosperity and liberation!

Music 4 the Nxt 1, Andresmusictalk Special Presentation: Black History Month Music

 

Black History Month is admittedly one of those things my opinion of has vacillated on through the course of my life. When I was a young child in school I enjoyed it more than anything else in my school curriculum. I have always been the type of individual who views the acquisition of knowledge with the attitude of exploration and discovery. And Black history, both in Africa and America having the “Hidden” quality that it does, due to suppression, ignorance, arrogance the profitability of subjugation and domination. My parents always had a strong sense of Black history simply from their backgrounds, my father being born in the Depression era south and being active in the Civil Rights movement, and my mother being a Liberian with a rich understanding of both Africa and her country’s roots in being established as a haven from American slavery and white supremacy. Still, I don’t think the majority of Black parents want to overburden their children with sad and negative messages. So even with my parents having the knowledge of things that they did, some of the most substantial information would come out when they were watching and responding to news items.

I was fortunate enough to have Asian and white teachers in Oakland, California who were very responsive and understanding of the predominantly Black demographics of their school, under the guidance of Mrs. Kelly, a strong Black Principal, to inject Black and multi cultural information into the curriculum. I still remember my kindergarten Teacher Ms. Huen giving us red envelopes for Chinese New Year, which is also this month, and marks the return of my birth sign, the Rooster!

So I always enjoyed learning about Carter G Woodson, Lewis Latimer, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglas, Phyllis Wheatley, W.E.B DuBois, Madame C.J Walker, and the numerous other luminary figures who against all odds contributed to America and kept Black people alive to get to the point we are today. Many of their inventions and discoveries proved to me a truth my father related to me from his experience down south, that a great many things were invented by very hands on Black people who were tasked with getting the work done and took it upon themselves to find an easier way to get those tasks accomplished.

Then when I grew up, in the Def Comedy Jam ’90s, I got innundated with the same jokes as everybody else, about how they “gave Black people the shortest month.” Which totally overlooks the contributions of Carter G Woodson and the fact that Black History Month is a BLACK invention. More recently the line has been “Black history is all year round”, which is one that I wholeheartedly agree with and try to practice on this blog and my other writing activities. However, just as with holidays, wedding anniversaries, birthdays and other events, there is a reason Human beings choose dates to commemorate things. There is a great power to Human ritual that we sometimes forget in our modern fragmented world, a certain purification of purpose and inspiration. And it’s in that spirit that I’m adding a supplement to “Music 4 the Nxt 1” in honor of Black history month. I will still review funky songs but the scope will expand in terms of era, genre, and locale. I will cover songs of inspiration, songs in honor of Black historical figures, and songs that were just breakthroughs or inspiring to Black people at any given point of time. These grooves will come from Reggae, Soul, Funk, Rock, Gospel, Spirituals, Jazz and many other genres. I hope that my readers enjoy it and that it reminds you of the struggles, accomplishments, joys, pains and exultations of peoples of African descent and why it is critical our position continue to be strengthened for the good of all.

Music 4 the Nx 1, Andresmusictalk III: “Diamonds” by Herb Alpert featuring Janet Jackson

 

The year 1987 is one of my favorite ones for Funk, Soul, and Hip Hop. This particular song from that year has a mighty periodic table of elements. How much funk power can be conjured up when you mix a production team from Minneapolis that was affiliated with Prince, a singing Jackson sister in the midst of her own musical coming out party, and a legendary music biz figure who’d gone from outselling the Beatles to owning the label for the aforementioned artists? The results were the hit album “Keep Your Eye on Me” and the MPLS Funk Sound classic, “Diamonds.” Herb Alpert, trumpet and flugelhorn player was the artist, as well as record company President. In fact, he would go on to sell A&M Records for $500 million in ’87, enough money to purchase a whole boat load of “Diamonds”. Maybe this song had something to do with that? Alpert already had one of the most successful careers one could imagine, outselling the Beatles with his Tijuana Brass group in the 1960s, and enjoying a super funky #1 hit with “Rise” in 1980. Alpert had also collaborated with South African great Hugh Masekela and his label was home to the musical projects of Quincy Jones, including ’70s funk band The Brothers Johnson. “Diamonds” lyrically continues on in the materialistic, no nonsense “Aint nothing going on but the rent” female attitude of much of ’80s R&B music, the perfect antidote to mens newly unfettered, post-sexual revolution, unabated horn dogishness. In it’s unique presentation of a funky trumpet player over a funky groove, it delivers on the type of sound the great Miles Davis himself seemed to be searching for in the last decade of his career, a jazz improv based trumpeter riffing over the hottest of contemporary funk grooves.

“Diamonds” starts off with a prototypical Minneapolis drum beat, featuring a heavy kick as well as a heavy snare, accented every two bars by a big hand clap on beat four that starts the beat over again for the dancers, one clap the first time, two claps the second. There is also a rhythm in the background with a prototypical ’80s feel, like somebody playing Clave’s in an echo chamber, with a three beat rhythm. After the rhythm makes our acquaintence Alpert begins to blow his horn, and he conjures up something like a mix of Bubber Miley/early Duke Ellington growling, funky down home trumpet mixed with a fragile Miles Davis tone when he plays open notes. Alpert’s playing is really funky rhythmically, supported by a sustained Rhodes patch from a digital keyboard and Jam & Lewis typical big, brassy Fairlight keyboard stabs. Underneath the groove Terry Lewis is chugging and choking and beating up his bass strings, with very few notes breaking free from his rhythmic spanking, but a serious push and pull happening on the lower level of the groove. Alpert solo’s for 16 bars and then the main theme emerges.

The main theme of the song hits with a new energy as the keyboard plays one of them ‘ol Minneapolis riffs, 4 notes that sound like the biggest notes ever due to the digital keyboard and Jam & Lewis’s masterful studio layerings. The bass throb becomes louder and more prominent, with notes actually becoming audible. Janet Jackson sings her part in a funky, strident near mono tone, which only enhances her tough, “Diamonds are a girls best friend” stance. Her story sounds like she’s talking about a rich man who has her for eye (and arm) candy because when she’s there, “It’s like I’m not there.” The story makes you think of rich, 50 something year old Herb Alpert in 1987, with the biggest artist on his label telling him about himself. The song invokes the classic Bond trope of “Diamonds are Forever” by mentioning, “I want me a token/that wont go to waste.” Janet Jacksons vocals sound harsh and somewhat disembodied, but super funky at the same time.

The distance of Janet’s vocals makes it sound all the more human when Alpert comes back on a strong open trumpet, with a much more powerful tone than the walking on eggshells growl of the opening solo. The “fellas” encourage Alpert, singing riffs right along with his solo. They really throw down on the end vamp, as Alpert spits funky licks over a more prominent and dominant Terry Lewis bass vamp. The boys are boisterous and happy at the end of the song as they call for the next tune.

“Diamonds” pairs music biz legend and record company head Herb Alpert with two musical entities from his stable at the height of their powers. It was a song that stormed all the way up the pop and R&B charts but represented a very unique approach to a hit record, taking an instrumentalist and pairing him with the hottest female vocalist of the moment on a blazing dance/Funk track. The results more than paid off for everybody involved, with this song even making some of Janet Jackson’s greatest hits compilations. The video is a lot of fun as well, with Jerome serving as aide de camp to Herb Alpert in the same way he did for Morris Day and Prince, and TK Carter making an appearance as a DJ named Bunkh. Herb Alpert is a musician who took a lot of flak in the jazz world for blowing all the way up with a musical style that was probably less than he could play, but on this song and the whole “Keep Your Eye On Me” album he showed that the Funk is one of the most liberating musical styles a musician can get their lips on.

Music 4 the Nx 1, Andresmusctalk Edition II: “Famous” by the Internet

I was introduced to the music of L.A based band The Internet by my good friend and musical associate Andre Grindle, when he wrote about their Nu-Funk banger “Dontcha”, produced by Chad Hugo of The Neptunes. That song is a funky tune that struck me for it’s fresh takes on “I Need a Freak” by Sexual Harrasment and “Boogie Nights” by Heatwave, melded with a dry, Neo-Soul influenced studio sound, prominent phat drums, and singer Syd the Kid’s sensually soulful vocals. There was something about this combination of regular looking Black kids playing instrumental, Hip Hop inflected modern R&B Funk that activated my hope genes. And I’m not the only one, as their music became a favorite of most of my music loving friends, without any prior discussion among us about the bands dopeness. One of my favorite music podcasts, “The Music Snobs”, actually recorded an episode with the conversation starter of a theme, “Is the group The Internet the future of R&B?” As the band represents for me a package of good instrumental Funky R&B, with a dynamically modern, relate able and up to date image, with a slyly charismatic front in Syd the Kid, who breaks new ground with her boyish stud vibe. It’s not enough for a would be paradigm shifting Black band to simply play instruments, they must also make those instruments relate able to a young public nourished on drum machines and samplers, beyond the traditional instrumental mainstays of the church and school band room. Today’s Funk feature, “Famous”, is an uptempo stepper released as a digital bonus to their 2015 album, “Ego Death.”

“Famous” wastes no time jumping on the One, starting off with a lead in snare fill from the drummer, setting off the groove at a brisk tempo. The groove has an uptempo Afro-Latin syncopated funk feel, executed as crisply as a funky song from Earth, Wind & Fire, Barry White, M.J, or Sade. The bass line’s broken up syncopated beats combine to create a funky, quick, short and simple pattern. This bass pattern leaves space for the funky, low rhythm guitar part, which goes from single line to emphasizing the holes in the groove with chopping guitar chords. The drum part is recorded in the bands trademark crisp drum style! with. Sizzling hi hats and an anticipatory kick drum. Every fourth bar the instruments stop the groove a fraction of a beat early, creating a bouncy, stop/start groove.

At the chorus, the chords are extended out, the bass has more room to play notes, and the guitar strumming becomes more prominent, as the vocals are enhanced by a multi tracked choir of Syd the Kid’s. Syd flips the script with her lyrics on this one, making the traditional, “I can make you famous”, casting couch romantic jive from a female stud’s perspective. Syd sings “You have something special/I can tell just by the way you dance.” “if you knew girl/the things that I could do for your career.” The whole band punches out a James Brown horn like band “stab” to move from the chorus to the next verse, which is enriched by Fender Rhodes sustained chording. The music grows in nuance, as the guitar adds wahw ah slides up the neck to accentuate the holes in the groove. The song also goes into a slow/rubato/free time breakdown before kicking the groove back into high gear, with the rhythm guitar and drummer in particular showing up to show out.

What I appreciate so much about this joint is the usage of traditional groove band techniques in a modern context. Even a tremendously funky groove like “Uptown Funk” sounds like a “track”. In this song, The Internet steps toward mastering the Funk band ability to create a wall of sound with limited musicians, in this case, 5. The way the drummer kicks it off at the top, then goes to the ride cymbal to give the chorus a different texture, the contrast in bass feels on the verse and chorus, the ratcheting up of guitar activity as the band progresses, the horn stabs that spee rate the chorus from the following verses, the slowing down of the song and picking it back up to end with energy; all musical techniques of a tight, well rehearsed, BAND. They ain’t trying to emulate drum machines or sequenced loops on this one, they’re giving you a sound only a well rehearsed band can give you. And Syd puts a new sincerity to the line, “I can make you famous.” It all adds upto The internet taking this live band thing very seriously!,

Music 4 the Next One/Andresmusictalk I: “Virtual Chocolate Cherry” by Wallace Roney

Well, as Bootsy Collins famously (and funkily) once sang, “I just can’t stay away!” I’ve been graciously invited back to Andresmusictalk to share some of my new funk music articles I’ve been doing on my own site http://www.riquespeaks.wordpress.com. I’m excited about this regular feature which will appear from here on out on Sunday’s! For my first article, I’m sharing a song by Wallace Roney that managed to mix the musics of both Miles Davis and Prince! A fine tribute to two of my favorite artists who are both now gone!

 

The only way I’ve been able to really come to grips with Prince’s passing has been through the artistic medium he mastered the most during his lifetime, music. Today’s “Music for the NEXT One selection, “Virtual Choclate Cherry” has several layers of musical and personal associations with Prince’s life and music. Wallace Roney is one of the “Young Lions” of Jazz who appeared on the scene in the 1980s. Unlike Wynton Marsalis, who although greatly influenced by Miles’ second Great Quintet, allowed himself to be positioned in the media as a sort of Anti Miles Davis, Wallace Roney embraced the broad, “Social Music” concept of post “In a Silent Way” Miles. He did this with a tone that was so Miles influenced that the members of the second Great Quintet, with all the original members save Miles himself, used him to take Miles place when they staged a reunion tour during the ’80s. Roney is also reputed to be one of Miles few trumpet students, and he supported Miles at the 1991 Montreaux Jazz Festival, with Quincy jones conducting Gil Evans classic arrangements from his collaborations with Miles. Of course, Miles and Prince were mutual fans of each other’s work as well as their mutual Gemini complexities. One of my big musical “what ifs” is imagining how the music would have sounded if those two Giants were able to record more. There are a few examples of their collaborations, but today’s song, “Virtual Chocolate Cherry” by Wallace Roney, might be the best example I’ve yet heard of a Miles musical attitude in a Prince type of musical environment. Roney takes Prince’s classic from the “1999” album, “D.M.S.R” and keeps the party going with room for the musicians to solo, and a fascinating new mix of synthesized pop and acoustic jazz textures.

The song begins at the beginning with the 8 note funky synth riff from “D.M.S.R”, played on a synth, sitting right on top of Lenny White’s drums. White’s drums have his classic, full, wide marching jazz sound, playing a funky, laid back variation of Prince’s original Linn Drum beat. In the 4th bar the acoustic bass comes in, and it has the freedom to improvise different funky lines as the electric piano plays a bluesy sounding riff. There is an electric wave sound in the background most likely added by co-producer Kareiem Riggens. At this point in my first hearing of the song I knew I was hearing “D.M.S.R” but I didn’t know how far Roney and company would go.

When the five note “D.M.S.R” blues riff comes in (DA-Da-DAAAH-DADA) you realize they’re going all out into full Purple mode! The synth hits with Mineapolis sound gospel chords as the acoustic bass begins to play Prince’s classic line. The Acoustic piano of Geri Allen takes over the playing of the introductory line played on synth. Wallace Roney comes in playing his variation of Prince’s vocal melody from the song, and he Tounges his trumpet very aggressively, spitting out staccato, funky notes, with the same type of bluesy tail off that was a trademark of the Miles Davis sound. Underneath Roney’s melody, Lenny White plays funky drum rolls, which he builds up to crescendo’s that pop right along with the synthesizers at the end holes in Roney’s melodic phrases (Wear lingerie to the restaurant!!!)

About 1:33 in, a very Minneapolis sounding keyboard riff comes in that moves the song through several keys, supported by Whites drums. This is the setup for the instrumental solo section of the song, which is still very well arranged through Roney’s solo. The first time around it serves as a cue for Roney to play the melody from the top again. The second time it appears it serves as a bridge to a serious minor key groove, which White begins by playing a James Brown style stop and start funk beat while the piano plays some dark sounding, ominous phrases. This serves as the launch pad for Roney to play some very Miles style things, one moment he’s playing a well shaped phrase and leaving space between it, the next he’s soaring like Miles in the ’60s and tumbling back down the horn. What makes it unique is he goes from ’60s Miles to playing things more reminiscent of an ’80s album like “Star People.” The sax and keyboards come in and play a unison line taken from Miles Davis song “Star on Cicely.” As the sax solo plays the piano stabs out well stated chords.

After the sax solo, a Fender Rhodes solo is introduced, quite tellingly it’s not the lush Rhodes sound we know and love, but the brittle, time heavy Rhodes sound from Miles recordings with Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea in the ’60s. After that piano comes in and plays a groove supported by synth. The Mineapolis key changes again bring us right back to the top, with Roney playing the “Dance Music Sex Romance” melody, the band laying down some calamitous jazz funk, and trumpet and tenor playing a duet on the way out that Roney leaves with an abrupt trumpet call, leaving it to the Tenor man to play us on out.

I love “Virtual Chocolate Cherry” because it realizes in a musical sense, the deep love and respect Miles Davis had for the music of Prince. It Los gives us a taste of how the ’80s could have sounded if the soul jazz musicians like Jimmy Smith, Lou Donaldson, and Jimmy McGriff could have gotten their hands on Prince’s music and created true fusions of electronics and acoustics in line with their ’60s records. The mixture of Prince’s composition and arrangement, Roney’s rearrangement to fit a jazz style, and Miles way of musical thinking, trumpet sound (through Roney), and even some phrases and instrumental textures from “Star People” and “Bitches Brew” make for an incredible, never heard before musical combination. And a good way to console ourselves in this time of a Prince’s passing and “Miles Ahead” in the theaters, thanks to musicians like Wallace Roney and his band, Jazz, Miles Davis music, and the music of Prince will live on!!

Anatomy of THE Groove 3/6/15 Rique’s Pick : “We Know We Got to Live Together” by Eugene Blacknell

Today’s Anatomy of THE Groove is special because I’m introducing a new to our blog that expands the definition of “New Funk.” The interest generated in Funk music by Hip Hop artists and movie directors and producers such as Quentin Tarantino and The Hughes Brothers also helped generate a wave of Funk re issues as well as wide releases for songs that were obscure even in the 1970s and ’80s. I guess it was natural that after the main hits of the big bands had been somewhat exhausted, the desire to hear classic era funk from lesser known artists would become greater and greater. In the case of today’s 1973 rediscovered Funk stomper, “We Know We Got to Live Together” by Eugene Blacknell and his band The New Bohemians, what we’re dealing with is a single that was released and played regionally but didn’t see widespread release until the ’00s. The region Eugene Blackwell came from and made his music in was my region, The East Bay Area of Northern California. Blacknell had a reputation as an ace guitar player who led bands from his teens on, making a handsome living playing in bars and clubs before the introduction of the Disc Jockey into the club scene. “We Know We Got To Live Together” is an anthemic, super funky, swaggering cut that fits right in with the very best of mid 70s funk. The song is so anthemic in quality that now, films have begun to use it as fresh music that has the classic funk sound, but by virtue of it’s obscurity, still fires the imagination as new music.

The song begins with a guitar riff from Blacknell, super funky, with bass notes leading up to a funky chord pattern. The guitar part is played through a wah wah of course, and the rhythmic feel is funky and laid back. Funky drum fills come in next and the sound is big and phat. The rest of the band kicks in and they strike up a stone cold groove, bass super funky in both note and feel, with the organ chiming in. The groove that Blacknell and his band gets is one that is so funky it could almost serve as a representative of mid ’70s laid back funk! The vocals come in and they’re super direct and down home soulful. The lyrical story laments several problems of the time and comes to a point where they say, “we’ve got to realise/its not the way/we want it to be.” After this the song goes to the vocal refrain of “We’ve Got to Live Together”, and under this vocal the band strikes up another super funky groove. When the lyric returns, Blacknell lays out the bleak mid ’70s scenario, taxes are going up and jobs are scarce. In this environment, the musician takes up the task of telling the people’s story “Help this population/understand this situation.”

The song next features a funky break, with the wah wah and the keyboard playing a call and response, with the wah wah letting a chord linger out and the organ answering with a tumbling piano riff and the vocals saying simply “Stay Together.” Blackwell then says, “Keep peace with me/I’ll keep peace with you/let me live and love my own way.” The song then goes to my favorite part, a heavy stomping tom tom drum lead part with Blacknell’s wah wah chiming on, that leads to the refrain “I’m so glad/Trouble don’t last always/no it don’t!” When I first got this CD back around 2007, that refrain, sung in Blacknell’s down home soulful style was my rallyinig cry, and it never failed to lift my spirits with its soulfully earnest optimism (and realism).

Eugene Blacknell and his various bands recorded many excellent sides in the 1970s and early ’80s, as well as performed and brought the funk to many audiences. It’s an amazing testament to the power and durability of the recorded mediums that their music has been rediscovered and accepted as part of the fabric of it’s time, regardless of it’s reception in that time. It also very useful for me as a Bay Area native to imagine what exactly the Bay Area sounded like in 1973. The message of “We Know We Got to Live Together” of course, is the right one, and its stated here in a very soulful and sensible way. We as people should be well aware of the alternative. But the groove Blacknell and co strike up is one that is highly distinct, funk that is laid back yet aggressive, a strong reputation of the hand clapping, whistle blowing, foot stomping mid ’70s. And I’m so glad it didn’t stay there, but that we now have it to enjoy for our times.

“The One” on the One, with a Bullet : The Triumph of “Uptown Funk”

Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars song “Uptown Funk” has been #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 9 weeks and counting. When I first heard the song and saw the video I knew it would be a triumph for funky music in the mainstream unlike any we’ve seen in quite some time. The past few years we’ve had funky songs such as “Blurred Lines”, “Get Lucky”, and “Happy” all enjoy long reigns at the top of the Billboard single charts. The history of funk at fifty years and counting has had periodic momments of great success on the pop charts. Funky songs like “Superstition”, “Thank You Fa Lettin Me Be Mice Elf”, “Got to Give it Up”, “Kiss”, “Theme from Shaft”, “Tighten Up”, “Keep on Truckin”, “Love Hangover”, “Family Affair”, and several others have thumped their way all the way to the top of the charts. But when we think of the funk, its never judged by sales and chart positions, what’s truly funky is determined by the way it makes us groove.

For that reason “Atomic Dog”, while being one of the most anthemic songs in the funk music canon, topped out just outside of the Hot 100 at 101. Graham Central Station’s classic funk workout “The Jam” topped out at #63 on the pop charts in 1976. One could go on and on but any funk fan would agree that Funk is not judged by what hit’s the top of the billboard charts. Funk sightings at the top of the pop 100 have been so unique however, that when a song does climb that summit, it calls for serious appreciation and assesment of how the artist managed to put together a package of funk that breaks out with such mass appeal.

The story behind “Uptown Funk” is that D.J, Producer and Artist Mark Ronson took a riff that Bruno Mars and his band had been performing in concert and expanded on it until they came up with “Uptown Funk.” This origin story mirrors that of many great songs in funk music, with bands taking snippets of music and expanding them into larger song forms. James Brown, the cornerstone in the House of Funk himself, was known for doing the same thing with his seminal “Cold Sweat”, developing from live vamps. The Genius Ray Charles was also known for the same, developing his classic funky soul groover “What’d I Say” from a routine at the end of a live song. So “Uptown Funk’s” in a live gem Bruno and his crew had laying around that Ronson heard potential in is firmly in the funk tradition and it may be part of the reason the groove is so lively. Ronson’s triumph with “Uptown Funk”, much like the success of “Blurred Lines”, and Daft Punk on “Get Lucky”, also represents a coming of age of Gen X music makers and their ability to create music in the mold of their influences as opposed to just using their music. Ronson began his career in music as a DJ, and his albums have always reflected his musicology, somewhat comparable to a figure like Questlove of The Roots. I’d been a fan of these music makers for their earnest devotion to archiving and reviving classic sounds for years but the one thing most of them lacked was signature, great, songs. Ronson had them through his productions for Amy Winehouse but this is a whole other level. “Uptown Funk” is a song that belongs in the canon of funk in its own right.

James Brown once said that the primary value of his musical emphasis, “The One”, was it’s ability to get people’s attention. He said the “Two and Four” beats had been played so long they couldn’t hold people’s attention anymore. In a similar vein, Hip Hop generation musicians and producers such as Mark Ronson can no longer sample “Funky Drummer” and “More Bounce to the Ounce” and catch people’s attention. Kanye West in his early oughts prominence as a hip hop producer, mostly stayed away from funk samples, preferring to take from soul ballads. The only way to bring the funk back then, is in it’s own right, with actual new funk grooves. This approach has been championed by many bands from the ’90s to now, but has especially heated up in the past ten years or so. In fact, I read a brief interview with Ronson himself over five years ago where he said “Funk” was the next direction for music or the next direction music needed.

“Uptown Funk” in particular builds from the work of artists such as Dam-Funk in highlighting the underappreciated Funk of the early ’80s. Early ’80s funk suffered from a particular embargo on black dance music in the wake of the rejection of disco that many writers term “The post disco freeze out.” So while a group like The Ohio Players was able to enjoy two Number One Pop Hits that indelibly burn them into the memory of the 1970s, their Ohio successor Roger Troutman and his group Zapp, had a successful career more limited to the R&B charts in the ’80s. In fact, Roger didn’t enjoy his first #1 pop hit until 2Pac and Dr. Dre used him to sing on a sample of an imitation of him, “California Love” in 1996.

Thus it’s fitting that Roger’s sound is one of the sounds most heavily invoked on “Uptown Funk.” The song has a high on the neck guitar part quite similar to his guitar playing on a tune like “So Ruff, So Tuff” and a vocal bassline like his work on “Doo Waa Ditty.” There are echoes of many kinds of funk on the song, from the works of Prince and his band The Time, to bright brassy funk band horns, from Bruno’s end chant “Uptown Funk you up” which is reminiscent of early hip hop group The Sequence’s “We’re gonna funk you right on up”, to the early ’80s new wavey funk synths. Bruno’s vocals remind you very much of the sung/spoken/rapped stylings of St. Louis rapper Nelly, who himself voiced one of the funkiest hits of the ’00s, the “Bustin Loose” inspired, “Hot in Herrre.”

All of this adds up to a somewhat new sound for the top of the pop charts. The sounds that “Uptown Funk” is reviving never made it to the top of the pop charts in their own forms, but their musical innovations remain a part of the DNA of the past 35 years. Many times people would ask me what kind of music I liked. Of course I’m a fan of hip hop, rock, soul, R&B and jazz, but Funk has got to e my favorite. When I’d tell people this, they’d look at me strangely, with no recognition of what I was talking about. Of course, folks older than me understood, but people my own age didn’t. They vaguely understood what it meant for a song to be “Funky”, and they knew many funky songs, but somehow they didn’t understand what a funk band was or that Funk could be it’s own category.

Hopefully “Uptown Funk” lays that attitude to rest for good. It’s long reign at the top of the pop charts reminds me of Funkadelics proclaimation “Us is what time it is!” The great Funk Master George Clinton, in his raps spoke of “Returning to reclaim the pyramids.” He also spoke of this as being carried out by “Clones of Dr. Funkenstein.” Well, Ronson, Bruno and everybody involved in playing on, producing and recording this record have proven to be very good clones. And I hope we all succeed in the quest to make this world a whole lot funkier.

Anatomy of THE Groove 03/27/15 Rique’s Pick : “Out Come the Freaks” by Was (Not Was)

It’s been fairly well documented how the Kingdoms of Funk and Disco splintered off into many different factions around 1980 or so. In truth, there were always several different approaches to both genre’s, mainly tied to region. One of the great ironies of the early ’80s era is that even after the terms “Disco” and to a lesser but signifigant degree, “Funk”, fell out of favor in the marketing and description of music, the Funk itself survived in many different guises. Early ’80s genre’s such as Post Punk, Dance Punk, New Wave, Electro, Boogie and Post Disco all kept people on the dance floors as well as the sound systems rocking. One of the primary influence’s it seemed, for anybody touching Funk in the early ’80s, was the sleek, sophisticated funky sound introduced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic. “Out Come the Freaks” by the Detroit band Was (Not Was), is a excellent stomping example of this early ’80s Funk groove. Was (Not Was) led by Motor city friends Dave and Don Was, was a very diverse ’80s group that always included the funk very prominently in it’s mix. “Out Come the Freaks” is a tight, slick funky song with a dance floor seducing beat and much more lyrical depth than most songs of it’s era.

The song begins with accapella choral vocals repeating the songs hook and chorus, “Woodwork squeaks and out come the freaks.” After several repetitions of the title, a synthesizer makes a deep resonant tone that revs up the groove. The groove that’s introduced is uptempo and dancefloor based in the tradition of Chic, with a tight bass groove that was the first thing that caught my attention. The song also features funky rhythm guitars scratching in the back in fine Chic style. The combination of solid up front bass and rhythm guitar gives the song it’s sophistifunkated Chic feeling. When the groove kicks in a prototypical early ’80s rap does as well. The rap features a smooth conversational voice with a nice rhythmic syncopation, that could almost be jazz poetry like Oscar Brown Jr, but is a little bit more rhytmically aggressive. The rap carries the idea of the song, starting off in a manner that would influence Whodini’s classic, ‘The Freaks Come Out at Night”, “When the sun comes down/they hit the streets/in the bars/the try to meet/some other stranger/to ease the pain/of living alone/till it drives them insane.” They go on to paint cautionary tales of singles playing the dating game, again highlighting the underlying danger that accompanies the night life. They paint an early ’80s landscape that features young men suffering from Vietnam War PTSD and women out chasing rich men “even if they have no hair (don’t worry she’ll get him a toupe). This slice of life lyrical imagery and lyricism is paired to very funky, well produced, clean music, with nice touches like a saxophone riffing during the dance breaks.

“Out Come the Freaks” became a recurring motif Was (Not Was) would use to illuminate the absurdity of people in their life times, with the group recording three versions spanning 1981 to 1988. Every time they do it they add new lyrics and new sad yet realistic characters around the idea of “woodwork squeaks and out come the freaks.” Don Was, the bass player and co founder of the group, has moved on to being a seminally important producer, producing quality albums and songs for many artists who generally carry that high honor of being considered “legends” in the music industry. But 1981’s “Out Come the Freaks” shows that even by the early ’80s, the Funky beat was still considered a conduit for both moving people physically and describing the times in which we live in. And the image of “The Freak”, popular in disco and funk, from social dances to songs like Chic’s “Le Freak” and Funkadelic’s “Freak of the Week”, would go on to become one of the defining subject matters of ’80s urban music, from “I Need a Freak”, to Whodini’s aforementioned “The Freaks Come out at Night.” In the hands of Was (Not Was) “The Freak” was not just a supreme lover, but also, a representative of our troubled times.

Anatomy of THE Groove 2/20/15 Rique’s Pick: “Sho You Right” by Barry White

In retrospect, the year 1987 was the most meaningful,
impactful and enjoyable musical year of my childhood. In that particular year, the sounds of the past, present and future came together, all providing musical enjoyment on the one. I recall in particular my dad taping radio broadcasts on the local soul stations to carry on a trip he was making to Liberia, West Africa on business. Liberians have always been fans of the up to the minute latest in soul, funk, jazz, R&B, Gospel and eventually, hip hop too! What makes ’87 so special for me is the fact that veterans such as Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson, The Bar Kays, and The Commodores put out powerful, funky music right next to the Kings and Queens of the era such as Michael Jackson, Prince, Janet Jackson and Jody Watley. They were also joined by the beginning of the golden age of hip hop, with artists such as Big Daddy Kane, Public Enemy, Eric B & Rakim, Boogie Down Productions, Kool Moe Dee, Ice-T and N.W.A all dropping their ’70s funk sampling hip hop. Among the many artists who enjoyed comebacks that year was the Maestro, Barry White, who hit with today’s funky classic, “Sho You Right.” This song stands tall alongside cuts such as “Skeletons” by Stevie Wonder, “System of Survival” by EWF, and of course “Housequake” by Prince and “The Way You Make Me Feel” by M.J. “Sho You Right” would begin a comeback path that would peak with the 1995 hit “Practice What You Preach.”

One of the things I love about “Sho You Right” is it translates White’s classic rhythmic sense into the contemporary idiom of drum machines and synthesizers. It might have been jarring when an artist like Barry went electro. After all, he was a pioneer in bringing a rich symphonic layer to the primal pulsations of Rhythm and Blues. But one thing some fans miss is the fact that Barry White often had a powerful, Afro-Latin rhythm underneath his symphonic soul that could definitley stand alone when called upon to. This funky hump is present on the classics such as “It’s Ecstacy When You Lay Next to Me”, “I’m Gonna Love You Just a Little More”, “Love Serenade”, “Your Sweetness is My Weakness” and countless other classics.

“Sho You Right” was based on a track White’s long time collaborator Jack Perry brought in. The Maestro himself played the many electronic instruments on the track. The song begins with a funky Carribean sounding drum roll which leads into a hard, semi industrial ’80s beat. Sometimes the industrial side of the ’80s drum machine programs can sound a little harsh to my ears, but on this cut its well modulated with more mid range warmth than usually heard on such a beat. The beat is centered around an eighth note drum kick that sounds like its main purpose is to lead you to the abnormally loud snare drum sounds on the 2 and 4. The kick drum is very syncopated and sets the stage for the multiple syncopations of the song. BW gives a shortened version of his classic love raps from the ’70s saying simply “Baby you got my undivided attention.”

A mean, strutting, jumping Afro-Carribean-Latin groove is introduced with keyboard horns playing on the “1” beat and the “3”. With the horns on the 1 and 3 and the heavy snare on the 2 and 4, the groove has the irresistible push and pull, jumpy quality. While I’m generally not crazy about synth horns, the horns here are wisely programmed like a horn section and restricted to a brief clipped horn burst, which heightens their effectiveness. In the background there is a synth guitar part seemingly played with some sort of bending effect that allows it to effectively mimic a real guitar. The groove breathes with vibrancy through its synthesized textures and BW and Perry introduce all kinds of fills, syncopations and Reggae style off beats that keep the groove vital and moving.

As far as The Maestro’s vocals? I always loved the way he slurred out his lines on this song. The lyrics are built around the line “Baby I’m relating” which was a finalist for the song title, with Jack Perry choosing “Sho You Right” out of the two song titles Barry presented him. The Maestro was back, turned on, and ready to relate!!!! This song along with many others was a soundtrack to many bike rides, basketball games and long weekend afternoons for me back in ’87 and ’88. And although I didn’t understand the sensual text of the lyrics, I surely understood the vitality of the groove! Proving that whether the Maestro is orchestrating men and women or machines, his wand will always direct something funky!