Find out which Headhunters track Bill Summers describes as “nasty,” then go inside the sessions as they completely reimagine a Herbie Hancock classic.

His name is linked forever with the town, and the sound, of Memphis. But Booker T. Jones’ influence moves beyond Beale, into hip hop and today’s rhythm-and-blues — something that’s underscored on The Road from Memphis You May Also Like: Booker T. and the MGs’ ageless ‘Green Onions’ had anRead More

The Headhunters have completed an ambitious new jazz release — one that continues to push the edges of fusion, incorporating hip hop and funk You May Also Like: How Bennie Maupin Left Mwandishi Behind on ‘The Jewel in the Lotus’ Rob Dixon Trio, with Charlie Hunter and Mike Clark –Read More

Shane Endsley might not be a familiar name to you, but the Grammy-nominated funk-rock-jazz group he cofounded Kneebody might be. Even if it isn’t, this trumpeter who’d gigged with Charlie Hunter, Ben Allison and Chris Speed became more noticeable with the debut of his own Music Band. Then The OtherRead More

In a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame career dating back to the early 1950s, the Isley Brothers stayed on the move — transforming themselves from gospel shouters to doo-woppers to early rock ‘n’ rollers to nasty funksters to lover-man balladeers. You May Also Like: How the Isley Brothers MadeRead More

by Nick DeRiso Forgive me if I thought this was going to be trumpeter Nicholas Payton’s further ruminations on the turbulent brilliance of Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew. Instead, Payton really means it. You May Also Like: Nicholas Payton – ‘Smoke Sessions’ (2021)

by Nick DeRiso Maceo Parker — leader of the ferocious JB Horns, James Brown‘s band and musical backbone back in the day — once put it all in perspective, introducing a song from the stage: “We like to play two percent jazz … and 98 percent funky stuff.” You MayRead More

Even today, there’s still no roadmap for Dr. John and the Meters’ crazy-eyed co-mingling of R&B, jazz, island beats, blues, boogie funk and hoodoo.

Photograph by Andy Goetz By Nick DeRiso Big Sam’s Funky Nation, all brass and sass, opens its latest CD with a floor-rattling invitation to shake every thing you’ve got. For all of its musical prowess, that remains the one and only goal of this fun-loving, funky-butt recording by New Orleans-basedRead More

Photograph by Spencer Tweedy Over the course of a remarkable career, both with her family band the Staple Singers and as a solo artist, gospel-soul icon Mavis Staples has bravely explored the frustrations, sorrows and then joys of the African-American freedom fight. But, lest we forget, she can still rockRead More