Funk Jazz Rock
tagStarted 1972Peak 1974-1980Last big hit 2000s
Located in 1 route
Jazz-rock built on a deep funk pocket: syncopated sixteenth-note basslines, wah and clavinet, and razor-tight horn-section punctuation over a hard backbeat. Solos blow over one- and two-chord vamps, clipped and percussive. Sweaty, danceable and rhythmically front-loaded, prizing the groove and the horn stab over open modal exploration.
History
Sparked when Herbie Hancock's Head Hunters (1973) wedded fusion to street funk, and Oakland's Tower of Power perfected the tight-horn funk-rock band. The Brecker Brothers brought bebop chops to a funk rhythm crew; Britain's Average White Band scored with the instrumental 'Pick Up the Pieces' (1974), cementing the horn-funk-fusion sound.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://www.popmatters.com/randy-brecker-with-michael-brecker-some-skunk-funk-2495714710.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average_White_Band
- https://jazzfuel.com/headhunters-herbie-hancock/