Hello funk fans (and my grandma)! Last week was the Jazzfunked Up special, centering (obviously) on the funk subgenre jazzfunk, a slinky fusion of jazz and funk concocted in the 70s. In jazzfunk we hear the funky rhythms and syncopated grooves of funk combined with jazz-style riffs and improvisation, most often with a heavy emphasis on instrumentals. The jazzfunk greats I showed off were the dedicated genre-giant Herbie Hancock, the exceptional band of the godfather James Brown, the rock-influenced Crusaders, the poetic Gil-Scott Heron, and the funky dabbling of jazz legends like Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, and Weather Report. I hope you enjoy(-ed) the wild sophistication of the genre of jazzfunk! Beware of my missed intro though, the action starts at 1:50 with the 15-minute epic Chameleon.
This week on Thursday 5-6 is gonna be the Queens of Funk special which I’m really looking forward to. I encourage you to check that one out if you wanna hear about the underappreciated contributions of women to the funk genre. Until then!
