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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Exuberant, energetic, electrifying !, February 15, 2008
Alto saxophonist Maceo Parker, the former James Brown sideman and P-Funk all-star, is heard for the very first time fronting a big band, the Germany's acclaimed WDR Big Band Cologne on this 2007 2CD live recording during a European tour.
The first disc is a tribute to Ray Charles; the second contains Parker's trademark stuff and digs deep into the soul/funk groove.
Parker rose to prominence as a member of James Brown's band (his first tenor sax recording was on Papa's Got A Brand New Bag) and was a key member of George Clinton's Parliament and Funkadelic.
He has arranged his new album with one CD devoted to his homage to Ray Charles and the other one as a showcase for Parker's own fiery hybrid of R&B, soul and funk.
Parker plays powerfully on his alto sax and does a decent job of singing like Charles, he stretches the potential of his instrument to unprecedented limits, exhibiting an uncanny ability to alternate the saxophone from a melodic instrument to a percussive one, and then back again, in the span of just a couple of beats, often less.
The group provides a terrific backdrop for a Disc 1 tribute to Charles -- tearing through the opener, "Hallelujah I Love Her So", then settling into an elegant rhythm under the direction of conductor and arranger Michael Abene (Check out Avant Gershwin).
In fact, it's maybe the most fully realized compliment paid to the late soul stirrer -- sensitive, yet still swinging.
Most of the other titles are familiar, to be sure. But Abene and company dust them with a polish that matched Charles' later, often regal recordings.
There's an appropriate reverence that perfectly offsets Parker's funky growl, both on the sax and on a sprinkling of rough-hewn vocals.
In this way, you come to realize that tunes like "Busted", "You Don't Know Me", "Hit the Road, Jack", "Georgia on My Mind" (recast here as moody retro-'60s avant-garde jazz) and "What I'd Say?" worked like signposts for Parker's nascent sound.
On "Busted," Parker ups the ante, singing in a manner that recalls Charles without slipping into imitation.
Unlike Ray Charles', however, Parker's stuff doesn't always clean up so well in the second CD "Back to Funk".
The second disc features some of Parker's best playing since he was a member of the J.B.'s.
His rhythm section -- Dennis Chambers (drums) and Rodney "Skeet" Curtis (bass) -- lays down a heavy groove, and the WDR band keeps up, resulting in some thrilling sounds.
But the larger band behind them isn't limber enough to do justice to such glorious hip-shakers.
"To Be or Not to Be" though you can't argue with the clustered brilliance inside that soloing group of horns, can't get down-home enough to connect.
The backing group similarly mars standby party-starters like "Shake Everything You've Got" and that timeless James Brown-era closer "Pass the Peas" -- both of which shuffle along, too often sounding polite when they ought to be nasty and fun.
Playing Charles songs and funk with a big band has been a dream come true, Parker has said in an interview.
It sure sounds like it. "I run out of words when I try to describe exactly how good and kid-like this project made me feel', says Maceo, who counts Charles among his earliest and most important influences. "I'm playing the same saxophone I always play, but it was like a whole new adventure for me to play with a big band. And it's very rewarding to get the kind of feedback I've been getting from people about this project. We started with a blank sheet and we ended up with this whole big wonderful thing."
He calls "Roots & Grooves" 'a dream come true' in more ways than one.
In fact the album not only serves as his opportunity to pay tribute to an revered mentor, but also illustrates how those early influences laid the groundwork for the funk sound and sensibility that Parker himself helped spawn
All in all, it's great stuff. You can't really go wrong with "What'd I Say?"
It's just one of the great singles of all time.
Maceo Parker is terrific. He really is a great sax player. It's the kind of thing, if you're feeling a bit low, that's the sort of thing you want to put on loud. A great feel to it.
I just love that funky sound. What's not to love about this? maybe it appeals to the ignoramus in me, but I just like the inevitability of it, the predictability of the blues chord sequence, just enjoying the return to the top line again and that driving bass line, the sparkling percussion and the blaring horns.
Dig the roots, ride the groove with Maceo !
I love it. You'll love it.
George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic - Live at Montreux 2004
Papa's Got a Brand New Bag
Avant Gershwin
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Oh Maceo!, February 18, 2008
Do you like Funk? Do you like Ray Charles music? Do you like a Big Band with a killer rhythym section with several kickin' horns to boot? Then look no further...buy this double CD from Maceo Parker.
I have bought 3 or 4 Maceo Parker CDs in the past and have have found some great cuts on all of them but never a completely satisfying total CD. Well, this fills the bill in all the departments.
My favorite CD is the one that is devoted to Maceo's funk specialties but both CDs are excellent. Especially when he and the WDR Big Band are blowing one of my all time favorite cuts, "What'd I Say" for over 9 minutes. Brother Ray would be very pleased, indeed.
The only thing better would have been if the Godfather himself had come back from his final resting place and squealed his way through a good cut of "Cold Sweat" with this band.
Again, you will not be disappointed....buy it and enjoy!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Maceo's Best, April 27, 2008
R&B is vocal music. Although it's fertile soil for any accompanist--horn, bass, or keys--transcriptions to instrumental arrangements tend to be one-dimensional. Any segue to jazzier flights are against the rigid conventions expected by R&B devotees (a prejudice stated by Jimmy Rabbitte in "The Commitments" who insists jazz is "musical wanking").
Maceo Parker has been no exception to the rule: his work with James Brown was notable, even by the standards set for The Famous Flames, but his solo R&B instrumental works have tended to be literal transcriptions of traditional melodies over standard charts. Not so his newest production, "Roots and Grooves."
Several factors contribute to the success of this double CD: the diversity of the music (one CD is a tribute to Ray Charles and the second is a funk set), the fact that Maceo Parker proves himself a capable vocalist who can interpret Ray Charles convincingly, the power and groove of the WDR Big Band that backs him, the complexity and synergy of the arrangements, and, finally, the immediacy of the live performance.
Songs that Ray Charles lovers probably believe are doomed to fail in the hands of other performers--songs like "Hit the Road Jack" and "What'd I Say?"--take on new life with Parker's interpretations and exceptional alto sax work. And he does it without all with out the safety net of vocal backing.
The second CD is propelled by extraordinary funk bass work by Rodney "Skeet" Curtis (a Parliament-Funkadelic fixture). Parker surfs over Curtis's rolling, punchy lines gracefully and forcefully. The opening of "Off the Hook" and the instrumental layering that follows is as good as has ever been recorded in the genre.
This Maceo Parker CD is a must have for funk lovers and is likely to appeal to Ray Charles purists as well.
Note: Copyright 2008 Elmore magazine and reprinted with permission.
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