Nils Landgren Funk Unit – “Funk For Life” (2010)

If you have read some of the previous reviews or other posts on this site written by me, you might have noticed that a majority of it is focused on relatively new artists and music, and that is no coincidence. I truly love funk, soul and jazz music from the 60′s and onward (even earlier with jazz), but one of the reasons I have for contributing to this site is to help spread the word about all the bands and musicians that keeps the music alive and fresh today by creating original material, and Nils Landgren together with his Funk Unit does just that, and they do it well!

The multitude of projects and roles that the man himself has had over the past 30 years or so are too numerous to list here, but since the unit was started back in 1992, they have managed to record nine albums, all strongly rooted in the funk, but with a wide variety of influences from many other genres. Although the members in the unit have varied greatly over time (R.I.P. Esbjörn Svensson), they’ve still managed to create a distinct sound and style that suits them well.

Jazz and funk improvisation has a stronger presence on “Funk For Life” than the previous albums released since 2000, and six of the twelve tracks are instrumental, some of them close to the 8 minute mark — letting the groove lock and then flow freely, allowing ample space for solos is something these highly skilled performers should do more often! I think that was the main reason it took some time for this record to grow on me, but it really has over the past few weeks since its release.

Nils and long time unit collaborator Magnum Coltrane Price are lead singers on the remaining tracks, with the exception of the uptempo Moog bass driven Tower Of Power inspired song “Finish What You Started”, one of the many standouts on the album. The rather laid-back atmosphere that permeates it all, is nicely balanced out by the lively and organic production that really captures the feeling of extensive studio jam sessions recorded and released for our listening pleasure.

Homepage: Funk For Life | Nils Landgren

Purchase & audio samples: Amazon.com (digital download)