THIS IS FUNKY JAZZ.

dereksmusicblog ♦ May 27, 2025 ♦ Leave a comment

This Is Funky Jazz.

Label: BGP.

Format: LP.

Nowadays, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey and Bud Powell are regarded as pioneers, and among the finest and most influential bebop artists. They were innovators, and played their part in this new musical movement that required instrumental virtuosity. Bebop was very different from what had gone before.

The tempo was fast, blisteringly quick, generally in excess of 200 bpm. Then there was complicated chord progressions and countless changes in key. That’s not forgetting improvisation which was based on a combination of harmonic structure, the use of scale and sometimes, a return to the melody. This was very different from swing music, which preceded it. 

It was music for the head, not the feet. Its critics called it “intellectual music.” They didn’t understand this new. innovative and modern music would revolutionise jazz.

Fast forward to London in the eighties, where the acid jazz movement was born. DJs looked to past for inspiration, playing everything from soul jazz, fusion to jazz funk, R&B and even the music that played in small clubs and lounge bars in the sixties and early seventies. This was the soundtrack to life for black Americans. It was music to dance to.

So are the ten tracks on ‘This Is Funky Jazz,’ which was recently released on BGP. There’s tracks from Richard “Groove” Holmes, Lonnie Liston Smith and The Cosmic Echoes, Oliver Nelson, Bob Thiele Emergency and legendary drummer Pretty Purdie. 

Side One.

Opening ‘This Is Funky Jazz’ is Richard “Groove” Holmes’ cover of the ‘Six Million Dollar Man Theme.’ It’s the title-track to his 1975 album, which was released on the Flying Dutchman label. This is a stunning slice of cinematic soul jazz and jazz-funk. 

Dramatic, funky and soulful describes ‘Super Strut’ by Cookin’ Bag. This oft-overlooked single with socially conscious lyrics, was released on the Solid Gold label in 1972. Fifty-three years later and it’s stood the test of time.

‘Work Song’ was released as a single by The Pazant Brothers on GWP Records, in 1969. It’s a brassy slice of joyous, summery funk. 

When Lonnie Liston Smith and The Cosmic Echoes released ‘Reflections Of A Golden Dream’ in 1976, it was their final album for Bob Thiele’s Flying Dutchman label. He produced an album that veered between fusion to jazz-funk and the meditative and dreamy ‘Quiet Dawn.’ It’s one of the album’s highlights. So is the anthemic plea for ‘Peace and Love.’ It was released as a single in 1976, and is a truly timeless track that’s even more relevant today.

The synth-driven ‘Skull Session’ is the title-track to Oliver Nelson’s 1975 album. It’s a dramatic and cinematic, with stabs of horns punctuating the arrangement. Some of the finest jazz musicians of the sixties and seventies played on the album. It’s like a who’s who of jazz. The album was produced by Bob Thiele and released on the Flying Dutchman label. This track is a tantalising taste of a vastly underrated album.

Side Two.

Harold Alexander’s album ‘Sunshine Man.’ It was recored on the 26th and 27th, May 1971, and the released later that year on Flying Dutchman. ‘Mama Soul’ was released as a single, the all-star band combine, jazz-funk, fusion and soul jazz seamlessly to create a groundbreaking track.

‘Head Start’ is the title-track to Bob Thiele Emergency’s 1969 album. It was released on his Flying Dutchman label, and was akin to a history of jazz, combined with electronic experimentation, free jazz, a tribute to John Coltrane and some infectiously catchy soul-jazz. This Thiele managed to do on one innovative double album, where he pushed musical boundaries to their limits, and sometimes, beyond.

Joe Bataan’s ‘Theme From The Men’ is a joyous and uplifting fusion of Latin, funk and soul. It was originally released in 2010, on the BGP Records’ compilation The Lost Sessions (New York, 1976). It returns for a well-deserved encore and will still fill a dancefloor.

‘Put It Where You Want It’ is a track from ‘Soul Is… Pretty Purdie.’ This uber funky album was released on Flying Dutchman in 1972, and features a truly-talented band. The result is one of the finest albums of the legendary drummer’s long and illustrious career. Sadly, it wasn’t a commercial success, but later, during the acid jazz era, the album was rediscovered by DJs, dancers and record collectors.

Closing ‘This Is Funky Jazz’ is Drifting by Chucky Thurmon and Pharris Wheel. This track was taken from ‘The Music City Sessions Volume 2: Super Strut,’ which was released in 2011. It’s a flute-led funky hidden gem that’s driven along by the rhythm section. This is the perfect way to close the compilation.

‘This Is Funky Jazz’ which was recently released on BGP, is, without doubt, one of the finest compilations of recent months. It features familiar faces and what will be new names to many music fans. The result is a carefully curated compilation that’s a mixture of funk, fusion, jazz-funk and soul-jazz. 

The music is groundbreaking and innovative, especially that tracks that were released on the Flying Dutchman label. These tracks are a tantalising taste of the music Bob Thiele’s label released. 

He released that musical maverick didn’t thrive within such an orthodox environment. Their creativity was restricted and they were unable to experiment and innovate. Thiele allowed them to do this at Flying Dutchman, and many groundbreaking albums were released between 1969 and 1976, when the label was taken over by RCA Victor. Many of the albums released during this period have been reissued by Ace Records. The six tracks from the Flying Dutchman label on ‘This Is Funky Jazz’ are, sure to be the start of a long and enjoyable musical journey.

However, there’s much more to ’This Is Funky Jazz.’ It’s a reminder of the music that was the soundtrack to black America between 1969 and 1976. Nearly fifty years later, and the music on ‘This Is Funky Jazz’ is truly timeless, and is the perfect soundtrack to the summer, and is guaranteed to get any party started.

This Is Funky Jazz.