When Ari Joshua comes with a track named "Pork Fat," you already know it's going to hit heavy and greasy, in all the right ways. That's the case with this funky, analog-cooked single, and it sizzles with the band's take-no-prisoners vibe, though this is a band that needs a lot of prisoners. "Pork Fat" is the latest release in Music Factory Records' recent rampage with The Clinic (Medeski & Martin) and Tagine (with Marco Benevento and Joe Russo) breaking genre norms along the way. But this one feels like a throwback in the best possible way, an analog resurgence that isn't an imitation, but an emulation with a new purpose.
The result is a song that struts with swagger, pulses with pocket, and leaves a smoky aftertaste of funk, jazz, and gritty soul. From the first bar, "Pork Fat" feels like a mix recorded on tape in a basement that reeks of old vinyl and barbecue, but not polished, and thankfully, it's real, raw, and alive. There's a studied looseness here that only a master can achieve. Each player gets plenty of room to stretch out without stepping on the other's toes. Delvon's organ shimmers and growls, Skerik's sax slinks through the mix like a panther in a funk jungle, and Schroff keeps the whole thing locked down with a groove so deep it's downright subterranean.
"Pork Fat" is the sound of years spent sweating it out in dark clubs throughout the Pacific Northwest, where Ari Joshua and Delvon Lamarr became adept at laying out their jams gig after gig, night after night, until the groove was cemented in their bones. That chemistry is in full effect here, this time bolstered by the otherworldly saxophone of Skerik (the Critters Buggin, Garage A Trois) and the razor-sharp drumming of Grant Schroff (Polyrhythmics). Jazzheads, funk freaks, and anyone who likes their music with soul and grit: "Pork Fat" is worth every bite, and don't be surprised if it feels like it sticks to your ribs.
0 Comments