| Product Summary | | Label: Qualiton Imports Ltd. | | UPC: 00602517643437 | | Release Date: 4/29/2008 | | Buy.com Sku: 207684928 | | Item#: M449GH | Format:  CD |
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| Song Listing |  |
(P) 2008 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
(C) 2008 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
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| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel: Brian Culbertson (vocals, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, Clavinet, keyboards, mini-Moog synthesizer, percussion); Ray Parker, Jr. (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Sheldon Reynolds (vocals, guitar, background vocals); Paul Jackson, Jr. , Tony Maiden (vocals, guitar); Eddie Miller (vocals, Fender Rhodes piano, Wurlitzer organ, keyboards, background vocals); Chance Howard (vocals, Clavinet, bass synthesizer, background vocals); Lori Perri, Sharon Perri, Darlene Perri (vocals, tambourine); Musiq (Soulchild) (vocals, background vocals); Zion Planet 10, Ice Candi, Ricky Peterson, Sam Sims, Bootsy Collins (vocals); David T. Walker, Sonny Thompson , Ron Jennings, Phelps "Catfish" Collins (guitar); Eric Marienthal (clarinet, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Gerald Albright, Maceo Parker (alto saxophone); Tom Scott (tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Ronnie Laws (tenor saxophone); Dan Fornero, Greg Adams, Lee Thornburg (trumpet, flugelhorn); Kush Gardner, Rick Gardner (trumpet); Fred Wesley (trombone); Larry Dunn (Fender Rhodes piano, mini-Moog synthesizer); Bernie Worrell (keyboards); Monty Neuble (synthesizer, talk box); Morris Pleasure (bass synthesizer); Chris Miskel, Cora Dunham, Michael Bland, Sonny Emory (drums); Lenny Castro (percussion); David Pack (background vocals); Oscar Seaton Jr., Zion Planet 10, The Perri Sisters, Ice Candi, DJizzle, Cora Dunham, Derek "D.O.A." Allen, Eddie Miller, Larry Graham, Ledisi, Maurice White, Sonny Thompson , Bleu, Maurice Fitzgerald, Rhonda Smith , Bobby Watson, Kush. | | Audio Mixers: Maurice White; Bob Horn; Brian Culbertson. | | Photographer: Beth Herzhaft. | | Unknown Contributor Roles: Bobby Ray Watson; Michael Bland. | | Arranger: Brian Culbertson. | | The music of light jazz superstar Brian Culbertson is more likely to be associated with candlelit dinners and walks on the beach than shaking one's tailfeather on the dance floor, but BRINGING BACK THE FUNK aims to change all that. With help from a veritable who's who of funk luminaries, including Maceo Parker, Bootsy Collins, Fred Wesley, Bernie Worrell, and Sharon Jones, among others, the trombonist/keyboardist/composer lays down some serious grooves on tracks like "Funkin' Like My Father," "Hollywood Swinging," and "You Got to Funkatize." There is enough of a smooth sheen here to satisfy Culbertson's old fans, but enough funk punch to keep things bouncing. | | In the 14 years since the Illinois-born and bred composer, producer, and keyboard whiz released his debut Long Night Out at the age of 21, he's evolved from a shy kid writing cheerful pop songs in a bedroom studio to one of contemporary jazz's most electrifying A-list performers. His fan base is large enough that he would have made a killing even had chosen to simply follow the easy grooving candlelit approach of his last non-holiday CD It's on Tonight with something similarly low-key and seductive. Fortunately for everyone who had been complaining that smooth jazz artists had been getting way too predictable in the latter 2000s, he had the pull and the wherewithal to make his dreams come true and seriously bring back the groove with just about every heavy hitting funkateer from the '70s. The cover shot of "little Culby" sitting and listening on headphones says it all -- he was a tyke when his guest list was defining all that was cool and happening. The luminaries included one-time James Brown bassist Bootsy Collins and Phelps "Catfish" Collins plus members of the Rubber Band and the Horny Horns (all out of P-Funk); Larry Graham (the slap bass great of Sly & the Family Stone and his own Graham Central Station -- no laid-back "One in a Million You" happening here!); Larry Dunn and Sheldon Reynolds (Earth, Wind & Fire); Greg Adams (Tower of Power), Tony Maiden and Bobby Watson (Rufus), Michael Bland, Cora Dunham, and Rhonda Smith (from Prince's bands), solo stars Ray Parker, Jr., David T. Walker, Ronnie Laws, Gerald Albright, Tom Scott, Paul Jackson, Jr., Perri, etc. Modern neo-soul was well represented as well, with Ledisi swaying dreamily through horn accents and multiple keyboard flavors on Bill Withers' lightly obscure gem "The World Keeps Going Around" and Musiq (Soulchild) slammin' it with urban sax god Gerald Albright, a sea of crunching horns and Culbertson's bright chordings on "Hollywood Swinging." Culbertson's choice of covers, which includes Candy Dulfer and Prince vocalist Chance Howard's urgent command from TOP that "You Got to Funkifize" (featuring Adams on trumpet), is inspired, but he also co-wrote a batch of gems that stand proudly alongside the classics. Reynolds and Collins are among the co-writers of the bright, brass splashed "Funkin' Like My Father" that comes across like an invitation to the party with a series of vocalists connecting past to present. The EWF-inspired Culbertson-Reynolds co-write "Always Remember" shows that no matter how crazy he gets with the production, Culbertson is still a joyfully melodic jazz keyboardist at heart. Other original highlights include the simmering gospel-blues number "The House of Music" (Graham and Laws are the billed stars, but Ricky Peterson's Hammond B-3 carries the soul), and the buoyant piano and horn section dance dubbed "The Groove" Parker (who cut his teeth on R&B sessions a decade before "Ghostbusters") chimes in on the percussive, two-minute interlude throw down "Excuse Me...What's Your Name?" which features Culbertson on the trombone, trumpet and Mini-Moog. An even more powerful party all night affair than Dulfer's magnificent Candy Store was the previous year, Bringing Back the Funk is Culbertson's masterwork that took contemporary urban jazz to a whole new level in 2008. ~ Jonathan Widran |
Producer: Scott Steiner; Sheldon Reynolds; Bootsy Collins; Brian Culbertson; Maurice White; Brian Culbertson |
Engineer: Eddie King; Ed Cherney; Jim Ryberg; Scott Steiner; Sheldon Reynolds; Tommy Tucker; Bob Horn; Bootsy Collins; Brian Culbertson |
Musical Guests | | Bootsy Collins | | Sheldon Reynolds | | Gerald Albright | | Musiq Soulchild | | Larry Graham | | Ronnie Laws | | Chance Howard | | Ledisi | | David T. Walker | | Eddie Miller |
| | Compilation Appearances |
| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 04/22/2008 | | Original Release Date : 2008 | | Catalog ID : 001092702 | | Label : GRP Records (USA) | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : n/a | | UPC : 00602517643437 |
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| | Professional Reviews | | JazzTimes (p.122)
- "Culbertson puts his trombone through calisthenics...and rounds up Larry Graham and saxophonist Ronnie Laws for 'The House Of Music,' a sweet blues trip that breaks down near its end to a wonderfully chaotic resolution of brass and party chants." |
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