All Jazz/Funk/Soul/R&B Episodes

The funk band Lettuce have been out on the road and will continue to be all Summer and Fall so I wanted to catch up with someone from the band to talk about their latest release Unify, working with the great Bootsy Collins, the band’s trip to Europe in the Fall and much more. Luckily we caught up with drummer Adam Deitch to talk about it all. First song: Keep that Funk Alive (ft. Bootsy Collins) Second song: Waffles See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s incredibly difficult to describe the awesome music Dopapod makes. Is it rock, funk, progressive rock? I honestly have no clue anymore and the forthcoming self titled release the band’s 7th is a pot pourri of sonic goodness. This new album due out a May 27th has been in the works for a while now, probably dating back to when the band came off their self imposed layoff that ended in late April of 2019. Needless to say, the COVID pandemic created another break but at that point the band was al...

You gotta dig everything about Pigeons Playing Ping Pong. They are fun, have amazing shows and are supremely talented. Though their music is based in funk, they explore a lot more sonic territory in what seems like an effortless way. Like many of the bands in our community, the pandemic meant the Pigeons were grounded for almost two years. The band though used the time to create more great music and have just released their 6th album, Perspective. So I caught up with frontman Greg Ormont and gui...

Back in the summer of 2021 The Greyboy Allstars decided to create a four part series of live music they made available via stream on nugs.net ; Soul Dream. On April 1st they’re releasing Get a Job: Music from the Original Broadcast Series Soul Dream a 10 song set of some of the tunes they performed for that live event. The record specifically features covers which have all been part of the quintet’s live repertoire but never before available on any official release. I caught up with guitar wiz ...

Scott Metzger is no stranger to making music, but his latest Too Close to Reason out now on Royal Potato Family, is a bit of a departure from past efforts, not only because it’s a solo record, but also too because it’s mostly acoustic, relying heavily on his masterful playing built on practice and inspiration by many of the musicians he appreciates. We’re big fans of Scott’s various gigs in the Jam Band scene, most notably with Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, but other projects too including LaMP, with...

Christone “Kingfish” Ingram isn’t just another blues guitar prodigy. He has proven now, after releasing his sophomore album 662 on Alligator Records, that he is a bonafide, skilled and absolutely talented player that has phenomenal range not just in his playing but also in his singing. We caught up with the now 23 year old Kingfish to talk about his fairly active and prolific career just over a decade in the making. Our conversation started when I asked if he ever imagined being nominated for a ...

Grateful Deadication is a new project from saxophonist Dave McMurray. It’s a cerebral and interesting take on some of the Grateful Dead’s work. The album itself is due out next Friday on Blue Note records. Jazz renditions or even instrumental covers of Grateful Dead music isn’t specifically new, but like all of the band’s performances, the work on Grateful Deadication is fresh, exciting and very inspiring. That may be in part to the fact that before taking on the project legendary Detroit area s...

Doom Flamingo, is a synthwave band out of Charleston, South Carolina. Sure, it’s been a while since we spent a lot of time with synthwave, but what makes this band’s story a little more intriguing for our community, is that Umphrey’s McGee bassist Ryan Stasik is an active participant in this band’s rise. In fact, as you’ll soon hear, this was a kind of make work project for Ryan who was looking for people to jam with when he was off the road and home. We caught up with Ryan ahead of the band’s s...

On the surface Russ Lawton and Ray Paczkowski are two great musicians who are known mostly as the drummer and keyboard players for the Trey Anastasio Band. And though that has been the case for the better part of the past two decades, these two have also been active in their own project Soule Monde. This funk jazz outfit have now released 4 albums. I caught up with the duo to talk about Soule Monde and we got into a whole bunch is things. Since we had these guys on back in July to talk about the...

Dumpstaphunk have been honing their brand of New Orleans funk for the past 17 years. Of course it helps that Ivan and Ian Neville both have the sound in their bloodlines, but this entire outfit is more than just the sound of funk past, it's actually way bigger than those original roots. On their latest record Where Do We Go From Here, the band shows off its prowess in a pot pourri of genres and blend sounds for a fiery hot 4th record that not only packs a sonic punch, but is also politically cha...

Garage a Trois, made its debut some 22 years ago with Mysteryfunk, to wide acclaim in 1999 and then evolved into several different configurations before a hiatus in 2015 after releasing " Always Be Happy, Stay Evil". GAT was always a side project for drummer Stanton Moore, Guitarist Charlie Hunter and saxophone player Skerik. But they back with a new album Calm Down Cologne and perhaps some touring down the road. I caught up with Galactic dummer, and a third of GAT trio, the great Stanton Moore ...

For the unfamiliar, Marbin are a four piece jazz rock or more accurately jazz fusion outfit, featuring Dani Rabin on guitar and saxophonist Danny Markovitch the principles for whom the band is named. Their blend of harmonics, grooves, and stellar solos make this a band to check out! Since Marbin is as fresh to me, as it may be to you, and because I needed to know more about this awesome quarter, I got in touch with Dani Rabin to fill in some details on how the band came to be and where they are ...

Crying for Hope is the new George Porter Jr. and Runnin’ Pardners album. This is actually the first Runnin’ Pardners record since 2015 and that release was an EP. That isn’t to suggest the Meter’s alumnus and bass player George Porter Jr. hasn’t been busy, but this configuration at least has been on hiatus. So when we caught up with the legendary bass player we asked what made him decide to work on this project again... First Song: 00:14: Crying For Hope Interview Begins: 03:37 Extro Song: 27:38...

Not sure about you, but I’m a sucker for a good groove, especially one that involves the Hammond B3. When I first heard the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio a few years back now, I wasn’t only impressed with their vintage sound akin to Jimmy James or Booker T and the MGs, but also the idea that their sound was way more contemporary and very cool and hip. Until today, I’ve been rotating through their debut album Close but No Cigar which came out in 2016 and a live EP from a performance at KEXP radio rele...

You may know Cory Henry's Hammond B3 sound from his work with Snarky Puppy or his various guest appearances with Vulfpeck. What you may not know is that prior to the release of the Cory Henry and the Funk Apostles debut release in 2018, Art of Love, Cory Henry was content being an instrumentalist, and not a vocalist. Well, since that album was so well received, of course there is a follow up, Something to Say due out October 30th. Cory tackles subjects like love, breakups, social consciousness, ...

It’s been six years since Joan Osborne put out a record of original material, but her new 10 song record Trouble and Strife absolutely makes up for the wait. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved the Bob Dylan covers record, and all the live playing she did to go along with it, plus her contributions to the first version of Trigger Hippy, but I think we can all agree that Joan has always had a very strong voice for socio-political advocacy in her writing and it’s something that’s been missing f...

Mike Dillon, is without a doubt a gifted percussionist, that mostly at this point in his career dabbles in mallet instruments like the vibraphone, xylophone and marimba. In fact as you'll soon hear, not only does he play a multitude of these instruments, he has quite the collection of tools at his disposal that he has built up over the years. He has, as you could imagine, played with a whole host of musicians who have sought out his very specialized craft including, Les Claypoool, Rickie Lee Jon...

A quarter century since releasing their debut, West Coast Boogaloo, the Greyboy All-Stars are set to release their first record in almost 7 years, Como De Allstars. The title track is everything you've come to expect from this jazz and funk outfit with their boogaloo blend. While there is some timely chanting on the title track which we'll get to in our interview with Robert Walter of the band, make no mistake, this band is still the Greyboy Allstars, with even greater musical chops and prowess. I can't tell you how excited I was when I got a notification that the new single existed and indeed when I followed up and listened to it, I was giddy dancing in my condo. So it was with that, that I tracked down Robert Walter the keyboardist in the outfit to talk about the decision to put out new music even though they aren't the once active touring band they were in their hay day with each member moving on to more full time jobs. And that is exactly where the conversation started when I aske…

You may not instantly know the name Shira Elias, but you will recognize her voice from her work with Turkuaz, and while that is an important piece of her career, her new solo EP Goods is her big focus right now. The EP will be released May 29th and available wherever you listen to music, is inspired by her time in New York and in many ways represents a career path she had always intended. She teamed up with producer MEGA to create a 6 song EP that is soulful, personal and harkens back to the kind of music she grew up listening to. For more on Shira Elias' solo work, follow her on Instagram at shirashirabangbang.

For many, like myself, Lettuce are one of the favorite bands in the Jam Band community. They are this massively awesome hybrid of funk, jazz, soul, R&B, hip-hop and much more. The truth is, the band is almost impossible to categorize, but many put them in the funk category. And if it's funk that you're after Lettuce delivers on every version of funk imaginable. It's the jams, the horns, the tight rhythm section, all of it, is just outstanding. They've been sitting on this gem of a new album for a couple of months now, but I can tell you, having listened to Resonate in its entirety a few times, it delivers where their Grammy award winning Elevate left off, and in many ways, goes deeper and farther. It's that legit. We've had several members of Lettuce on the show before including Ryan Zoidis, Adam Dietch and Eric Benny Bloom, but it was time to hear from Jesus, Erick Coomes this go around, and our conversation was just great. To learn more about Resonate, hit up lettucefunk.com and do …

The forthcoming, Central City is John Papa Gros' third solo record after fronting Papa Grows Funk in the early part of the century. With some heavy hitters from the New Orleans scene joining him on the record, it's a conversation I have been looking forward to for quite a long time. John Papa Gros is amongst probably the next line of musicians coming out of New Orleans that really pay close attention to the heritage of New Orleans music scene. Like other musicians from that town, few hesitate to be ambassadors for the city. Our conversation started when I asked John what it is about New Orleans that makes everyone want to be an ambassador for the city. Sadly, with the Covid19 action hitting everyone, The New Orleans Jazz Festival has been rescheduled for the fall. The good news though, is that Central City is still scheduled for release April 17th, so you can listen to the record and soak up New Orleans then. For more info visit johnpapagros.com. 

We were sent some new music from a publicist who is very supportive of our show and often connects with great bands so we can bring them to you. A few weeks ago, she sent along a link to check out Crowd Company's latest release "Lowdon". Initially heard this band was based in the UK. Having said that they are immensely talented and have some true funk chops but also a few friends who helped make this record. In fact, the record was produced by Alan Evans, a member of Soulive in his studio in the Boston area. Also, you may not instantly recognize the horns, but they are in fact, Lettuce's Ryan Zoidis and Eric "Benny" Bloom. They are absolutely outstanding. So obviously we wanted to learn more about this band and got in touch with Rob Fleming, the lead vocalist and guitar in the band and for all intents and purposes, the band's leader. You can learn more about Crowd Company by visiting crowdcompanyfunk.com. 

Antibalas has been making music now for some 20 years. Their Afrobeat sound, which has continuously expanded beyond its origin is influenced in large part by Fela Kuti, but that’s certainly not where their sound ends. On Fu Chronicles, the Antibalas ensemble explores even more sounds, with the aid of Amayo’s lyrical borage this album becomes an interesting melange or even more sounds and ideas. Martin Perna is the baritone sax player amongst on other instruments in Antibalas and is one of the band’s ring leaders with Amayo. We caught up with Martin who has been on tour with Antibalas. Our conversation started when I asked Martin about the unusual blending of Kung Fu and Afrobeat together to make this record. For more on Antibalas including tour dates visit Antibalas.com.

Ripe is a fairly young pop funk rock seven piece outfit, but their sound is big and their chops are quite mature. So to is Ripe frontman Robbie Wulfsohn who was in town earlier this week with Ripe. We’ve chatted before, but what made this conversation so interesting is that we did it in a room Robbie had been in many times before as a fan. Make sure you follow Ripe on social media or check out their site at ripe.band.