Jazz funk

Hootsmon

Big Miles fan here and his funk period was pretty cool......who else does that genre just as well?

not looking for a watered down jazz element though

Redlester

Love this style of music. I love Miles Davis. 

The thing about Miles was that although he was clearly funk influenced, and a lot of his stuff was funky- all of that stuff from Bitches Brew was groove based, rather than being jazz funk per se. I’d check out the video of him at the Isle of Wight Festival which I watched the other day. Some of it is undoubtedly funky, but some of the rhythms are pure heavy rock. On the Corner is a very funky record, but even then he’s got a lot of polyrhythms going on, inspired by Indian music. Agharta from 1975 is very heavy funk at times. Whack it on and turn the track ‘Prelude’ up full. Better than any drug. 

Right at the beginning (late 60s) some of Canonball Adderley’s stuff was pretty funky. 

Herb is Hancock’s Headhunters is often held up as a key album. 

Lonnie Liston Smith’s Expansions is a great record. 

Billy Cobham’s Spectrum is fabulous- a lot of jazz rock fusion (especially with the brilliant Tommy Bolin on guitar) but some tracks are pure funk. 

In a similar vein, some of the Mahavishnu Orchestra stuff (Visions of the Emerald Beyond and Inner Worlds) saw them get funkier at times than they were on the earlier records. Plus you get McLaighlin’s playing! 

Right up to date, Ezra Collective use a lot of jungle and rum and bass rhythms, but they know how to groove and a lot is very funky. God can they play. 


If you want a broad overview, I can highly recommend a radio show on Jazz FM, which is Jeff Young’s show called The Journey. Sunday morning 10-1 (there’s a listen again on the website too). I listen to it every week. He plays some fabulous stuff, and it’s all jazz funk and its near relative soul-jazz. 

Hootsmon

Red

I am going through Mile's Montreux  box set at the mo and it is wonderful...on disc 5

Blueingreen

Miles was pretty unique.  Compared to other jazz/funk/fusion guys his music is, for want of a better word, messier.  The formula is get some of the best players in the world, get the skeleton of an idea, and go for it.  It's naturally hit and miss: even the studio albums are often different sections of jams stitched together by his producer.

His contemporaries tend to be much more controlled.  There's improvisation but it's more within boundaries, cleaner, more planned, not the loose group improv of Miles's bands.  For me it's a different style of music and you could easily like one but not the other. Redlester has run through some of the options.  I don't think it follows that if you like electric Miles you'll like that stuff, but you should give it a chance.

(One curiosity I listened to recently is Witches Stew, by Lettuce, which is their take on the Bitches Brew music.  The guitarist is Eric Krasno, a player I always enjoy).

fob

Hiromi might be worth checking out.

axisus

Yeah, really like Miles jazz funk stuff. I have some of them on vinyl. I like Jazz fun in general.

fob said:

Hiromi might be worth checking out.

I'm a big fan of Hiromi! An amazing natural talent.

Moominpapa

Maybe this, @Hootsmon:

JerkMoans

fob said:

Hiromi might be worth checking out.

Wow the skills on display there are INSANE

viz

JerkMoans said:

fob said:

Hiromi might be worth checking out.

Wow the skills on display there are INSANE

That’s a pretty damned good trio! Is it Phillips and Clarke?

randella

Redlester said:

Billy Cobham’s Spectrum is fabulous- a lot of jazz rock fusion (especially with the brilliant Tommy Bolin on guitar) but some tracks are pure funk. 

Superb record - probably best known these days for the sample that Massive Attack lifted out of the track 'Stratus', but that would be to miss the rest of the album which would be a crying shame!