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!
Category archive: Reviews
Nils Landgren Funk Unit – “Funk For Life” (2010)
February 26, 2010 - posted in Albums, Reviews.
Daryl Easlea – “Everybody Dance: Chic and the Politics of Disco” (2004)
November 20, 2009 - posted in Publications, Reviews.
“ALERT: Yet another upper working-class white boy from Britain writes about a group and phenomena that occurred in another country when he was only 12″. It may not be the best way for an author to start a book about one of the most well known yet thoroughly underrated (disco) bands in history, and even though that statement is true, it is no way indicative of the content in this finely crafted book about the people behind the name and the music.
Syrup – “Different Flavours” (2000)
November 9, 2009 - posted in Albums, Reviews.
Hidden behind the unknown band name is what can best be described as the disco bastard child of the German old school funk maestros The Poets of Rhythm, a simple fact that should speak volumes about the quality of the music. This is disco in the good and “classical” sense, not the diluted kind that has more or less attached itself to the genre over the past 20 years or so. Ironically, there are a couple of house tracks included here that honestly sound out of place when compared to the rest of the material.
Quincy Jones – “Ndeda” (1972)
October 26, 2009 - posted in Albums, Reviews.
This man needs no introduction, his creative legacy speaks for itself, and it puts him in the company of the select few who have changed popular music forever either directly or indirectly, or in his case, both. What is perhaps not so well known is the body of work he created as a jazz arranger, conductor, producer and performer in the 50’s and 60’s, which is what this excellent compilation album is all about.
Newtone – “Newtone” (1996)
October 19, 2009 - posted in Albums, Reviews.
I don’t know why or how their only album got made, because the band appeared and then disappeared again almost immediately without any trace. “Newtone” was released just as the acid jazz wave faded out from the charts around the world, and I’m guessing that bad timing probably killed any chance it had to succeed. Originally, a friend of mine bought it on impulse sometime in the late 90’s because the cover looked, well, kinda funky, and surprisingly, the music actually matched his initial expectations and then some!
Jazzland Sessions – “Saturday Session” (1999)
October 17, 2009 - posted in Albums, Reviews.
This live recording is a perfect example of capturing a musical performance that can only happen once because all the right elements were at the right place at the right time. Unfortunately, only about half of the actual concert is present on the album, but still, what is there is a remarkable mix of improvised jazz-funk by performers in total control of their craft, just letting the groove guide them wherever it might go.
Breakestra – “Dusk Till Dawn” (2009)
October 16, 2009 - posted in Albums, Reviews.
Four years in the making, this is the second all-original Breakestra album after their long awaited debut “Hit The Floor” was released back in 2005, well, debut may not be the correct term here since they have been performing and releasing live mix albums and 7″/12″ vinyl since the late nineties. Anyway, they continue here in the same vein as their previous outing, and that can only be a good thing, because this is a solid dose of down and dirty funk, soul and jazz that would have made James himself proud!
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