Kool and the Gang

Listen/Download – Kool and the Gang – Jungle Jazz MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is near, and so I will encourage you to partake in the soulful smorgasmord that is the weekly Funky16Corners Radio Show, in which I endeavor to bring you the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. The show drops every week (the first show of every month at SoulGuyRadio.com) and you can subscribe to it as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, or grab an MP3 here at the blog.

We close out the week (and the year, Happy New Year!) with something deeply funky, designed (and guaranteed) to get your ass up out of the chair and onto the dance floor.

I have sung the praises of New Jersey’s own Kool and the Gang a number of times over the years, telling the story of how it was their music, way back in the 5th grade at Milford Brook School that truly introduced me to the funk.

Today’s selection will sound instantly familiar, as it is the 1975 reworking of their 1973 hit ‘Jungle Boogie’, offered here as ‘Jungle Jazz’.

While ‘Jungle Boogie’ is itself a hot piece of work, ‘Jungle Jazz’ sounds like Kool et al weren’t satisfied with the overall funk quotient of the OG, so they went back into the lab and Frankensteined that shit right up, with a mess of drums and some very tasty flute.

Sure, you get the gong at the beginning, but when those drums drop in…holy shit. George ‘Funky’ Brown beats that bass drum like it stole his lunch money, and then the various and sundry percussion accents (cowbells, conga, wood blocks etc) come in and all of a sudden you’re out on the floor shaking like a man (or woman) possessed.

That drum opening is a funky-ass miracle, which is why it was sampled so often.*

Despite the fact that what you’re getting here is a reengineered ‘Jungle Boogie’, the band really work hard to add to the cut. The flute, by Dennis Thomas is some next-level, overblowing ish in a Jeremy Steig stylee, and the horn section is really working it out, too.

This is the kind of record that funk nights were designed for, and if you cannot (or will not) dance to it (even in your seat) your shocking lack of soul will be duly noted.

So pull down the ones and zeros, and whip this on some squares.

Have a great weekend, Happy New Year and see you in 2016!

Keep the faith

Larry

 

 

* Records sampling – “Jungle Jazz”
2 Live Crew’s “Hangin Out”
3rd Bass’s “Brooklyn-Queens”
Biz Markie’s “I’m the Biz Markie”
Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.’s “Rated R”
Brand Nubian’s “Drop the Bomb”
Gus Gus’s “Believe”
Hi-C’s “Leave My Curl Alone”
Incognito’s “Roots (Back to a Way of Life)”
Jade’s “Don’t Walk Away”
MARRS’s “Pump up the Volume”
Public Enemy’s “Anti-Ni**er Machine”
Stetsasonic’s “So Let the Fun Begin”

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.