Monday, September 14, 2009

Intelligent Party Funk


It was with tangible trepidation that I plucked Rudder’s "Matorning" (www.ruddermusic.com) out from my pile of rejected and neglected CDs.  A quartet of accomplished but relatively obscure “musicians’ musicians” collaborating on a chops-heavy, instrumental Jazz Funk album, I expected Rudder to be a self-serving project, more about blazing solos and impressing the diehards than about making truly enjoyable music.  Worst case scenario, these musical heavyweights may have been too impressed with their own resumes to actually rehearse together or *gasp* bring any interesting tunes to the recording session. Ugh.


Upon seeing the melting boom box graphic on the cover, color palette lifted straight from the opening credits of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” I steeled myself against the interminable noodling, disinterested comping, and over-reliance on jamming on a funk riff that was sure to ensue.  Finally, just in case my prejudgment needed a little icing on top, the cover artwork was in the style of graffiti as if to suggest the contents within may be regarded as art by the musicians and their ilk, but will be a nuisance to the majority of society. 


To my great surprise “Matorning” is not simply a showcase of the musicians’ technical abilities but a showcase of Rudder’s prowess in creating a kind of hybrid strain of intelligent party funk. Yes, they rock the hell out of these of the tunes, but there are subtler touches pervading the recording as well; seamless group improv, unexpected mood shifts, thoughtful bridges, and a malleable collective sound that deftly jumps from P-Funk jams to New Orleans boogaloo, often in the same tune. 

 

The opening track, “3H Club” is a powerful declaration of Rudder’s M.O.  Dripping with reverb, saxist Chris Cheek establishes a wandering melody that left in less tasteful hands could be the foundation for a Smooth Jazz hit. Luckily Henry Hey is backing with a Hammond B3 Organ, full of evil to scare away any comparison to Kenny G, and Tim Lefebvre and Keith Carlock, on bass and drums respectively, are wailing away on a deep groove that sounds less like elevator music and more like your elevator is plummeting towards the basement.  One instrument or another drops out for heightened tension, returning with a renewed fervor, all the while Cheek’s saxophone sounds an alarm in the background: “This is dirty, nasty music and you’ve been warned.” Chord progressions are explored, new melodies come into play, and “3H Club” just keeps rocking harder.

 

In the following tunes the energy level is not reined in but rather focused into a pointed intensity. In “Daitu” a drum and bass jam opens up and develops in a concentrated trajectory rather than weakly riffing its way towards a point. After a few minutes or so we eventually arrive somewhere in a mid-1970’s Herbie Hancock album (in a good way) with only the electronic tweaks of the following “Neppe” to bring us back to the future.

 

Yet another sign of “Matorning’s” willingness to stretch past the limitations of the Funk beat, “One Note Mosh” features Carlock’s precise New Orleans shuffle working hard to tether soaring sax melodies and a driving chorus to this planet as his band mates explore the outer reaches of the stratosphere with face melting solos. Intriguing group harmonies develop and morph giving the listener a fresh sonic perspective over and over again as the tune makes its way towards climax.

 

Sometimes the listener is caught off guard, sometimes his nodding head may have to change course in mid-bob as the band turns a groove ninety degrees on its ear.  After donning a neck-brace, one can take consolation in the fact that Rudder is an enormously gifted band and instead of hitting “record” and coasting on their collective chops, the band has put together a series of intelligent tunes that engage with the audience and provide real musical meat to sink teeth into.  I’m not sure that “Matorning” will be a great commercial success but I do hope it is indicative of a movement to create smart AND aesthetic jazz music. 

4 comments:

  1. This post is not a bona fide dog turd. The anticipation for the next post is killing me already.

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  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  3. Great Writing! Can't wait for more!

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  4. Dear Free Bin,
    Enjoyed your reviews. It makes me want to go buy the CD at my local CD store.
    Keep 'em comin'

    ReplyDelete