Rating:
Genre:
R&B
Release Date: 11/02/2004
Those seeking an un-ironic return to the classic days of
jazz and
funk, played by a group of live musicians who
swing and churn with the best of the old-school need look no further than this album by Los Angeles-based
Connie Price & the Keystones. Produced (in the traditional sense) by
Dan Ubick for
Stones Throw's equally old-fashioned off-shoot,
Now Again,
Ubick assembled almost 30 highly skilled musicians from contemporary
funk units
Antibalas,
Poets of Rhythm, and
the Soul Destroyers, as well as the highly popular
Dap-Kings, proving that this is a growing scene in the best sense of the word, where musicians still jam together and follow the groove (and work) wherever it may lead. Bandleader and drummer
Dan Ubick (aka Connie Price) leads this gang of players through a score of horn-filled, groove-heavy originals that easily sound like they could have been laid to tape 50 years ago, with
Ubick's
jazz-infused boom-bap offering a contemporary
swing gleaned from
hip-hop as well as classic
soul. Muted horn riffs fuse with loose
jazz guitar and an ass-swaying drum break on
"Tall Day Grass" that was made for smoking filterless cigarettes on the front porch, while opener
"Sticks & Stones" incorporates a
reggae-tinted groove, with
dub-worthy bass,
ska horn punches, and vibraphone hits that chime through the low-end swell. The title track and lead single offers one of the only vocals, with a lead vox by vintage singer
Lester Abrams who sounds like
Curtis Mayfield's long lost half-brother. The last time young men made music your parents would like, it resulted in the
swing dance revival. Here's hoping this dirtier time in musical history brings with it all of the nasty
funk that accompanied it the first time around.
~Joshua Glazer, All Music Guide
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