Recommendations for Instrumental Funk? (guitar, keys, bass & drums)

farboozle · #1 03-08-2010, 09:24 AM

I did a search and came up with some options, but I thought I'd throw a new thread up as well. I recently started playing with a four piece funk instrumental band, guitar, keys, bass, drums. I'm looking for recommendations for funk covers. We have the neo-New Orleans funk genre well represented (Galactic, The New Mastersounds, Lefties Soul Connection, etc). I was hoping the community here could suggest some hidden gems that I could bring to the band. Thanks!

Bassnut62 · #2 03-09-2010, 07:01 AM

Iron Leg by Micky & The Soul Generation - instrumental funk carved out of solid concrete

What's Up Front That Counts by The Counts - dark, dark funk from deep in the forest

The Message by Cymande - great instrumental groove from here in the UK

4lPh4n0m3g4 · #3 03-09-2010, 07:50 AM

For an instrumental funk cover band, may want to add some funk songs that people recognize into your set. Many songs that were originally recorded w/ vocals are just as cool done as instrumentals.

Kool & The Gang
Tower Of Power
Earth, Wind & Fire
Sly and the Family Stone
The Blackbyrds
The Ohio Players
The Brothers Johnson
The Isley Brothers
Parliament Funkadelic
Rufus & Chaka Khan
The Meters
Mother's Finest
Labelle
Confunkshun
The Brand New Heavies
Cameo
Zapp
The Gap Band
The Bar-Kays
The Dazz Band

okcrum · #4 03-09-2010, 08:18 AM

Check out some Grant Green, esp. Jan Jan and The Windjammer (lots of bands cover this one up tempo). Seriously funky. Don't forget Herbie Hancock Headhunters.

Some TV show themes work pretty well. The Quincy Jones original Sanford and Son theme (The Streetbeater) killed for us as a break tune. Night Court, Barney Miller, and a few others might do too.

COOL AND DEADLY · #5 03-09-2010, 08:19 AM

How about "Cissy Strut" by The Meters?

banditcosmo · #6 03-09-2010, 08:22 AM

Check out The JB's. James Brown's backing band. Great stuff.

farboozle · #7 03-09-2010, 08:30 AM

Doesn't most of the JB's stuff have horns? I guess I don't have any of their stuff in my regular rotation.

Great suggestions so far, keep them coming. I'm really looking for straight translations to the four piece instrumental thing we have going on. I have a lot of music we can adapt, but I know the talkbass community has listened to more music than I ever could. Trying to leverage that, crowdsource a bit.

Don't worry about obscurity, as long as there is a recording I can find.

Thanks!

4lPh4n0m3g4 · #8 03-09-2010, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by okcrum

Don't forget Herbie Hancock Headhunters..

IMO, thats Jazz-Funk; but with the releases that followed, he deff. went more for a funk, rather than jazz sound, eventually moving into Electro.

But if material like Jazz-Funk is cool, also check out Miles Davis (On The Corner.)

As for songs that include horns, couldn't your keyboardist handle some of those?

farboozle · #9 03-09-2010, 09:24 AM

Quote:

As for songs that include horns, couldn't your keyboardist handle some of those?

Yeah, if there's a will, there's a way for every tune. And I definitely agree that there's a motivation to add some very recognizable songs into a rotation, even without vocals, etc. But if you open it to everything, then we're pretty much at the funk 101, 102 threads, and I have a pretty extensive funk library as is. Most "standard" funk tunes have either vocals or horns. I'm hoping the community has a few gems that I either haven't heard, or haven't thought of, that are keys, guitar, bass, drums, and even more unreasonably, less of a derivative of the Meters (i.e. New Mastersounds.). We have enough material on the list to fill 3ish hours, but I'm thinking there must be more out there. A couple needles in the haystack, etc.

On the other hand, I don't want to discourage people from chiming in, so fire away. Just recognize that if it isn't a specific song, I might ask whether my memories of that band having horns/vocals are failing me.

I should go back and carefully listen to the headhunters stuff I have, probably something in there that we would play.

Thanks again, people!

bass12 · #10 03-09-2010, 10:02 AM

I'll throw some names out. Some of the tunes I'm mentioning have horns and some might have one-line vocal hooks, but you can decide whether they interest you or not. Also, I wouldn't be too concerned about the funk vs jazz-funk debate. At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter.

"Who Knows" - Beau Dollar
"Hook 'N' Sling" - Eddie Bo
"Humpin'" - The Bar-Kays
"God Made Me Funky" - The Headhunters
"Evolution" - Roy Ayers
"Joyous" - Pleasure (works as an instrumental)
"Inner City Blues" - Marvin Gaye (check out "Monticello" by Monty Alexander)
"Sun Goddess" - Ramsey Lewis
"Oakland Stroke" & "Squib Cakes" - Tower Of Power
"Gator Bait" - The Gaturs
"Colibri" - Incognito
"Snake Hips" - Brand New Heavies

IotaNet · #11 03-09-2010, 10:16 AM

How about some of the stuff Heavyshift did? Some call this acid jazz but I still think it's funky.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUAe7eeNYJc

JimK · #12 03-09-2010, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by COOL AND DEADLY

How about "Cissy Strut" by The Meters?

Recently, I played in a 4-tet that played this...my take (& others that came out to hear us)-
Why do "Cissy Strut" when The Meters have so much more material...as good & maybe not so played out?
IIRC, in the past 100 years, I have heard 3 good versions-

1)The Meters
2)John Scofield...where he does a cool modulation
3)Oz Noy w/ Will Lee...a bit revamped with a displaced rhythm that might make you scratch your head.

valenore · #13 03-09-2010, 03:28 PM

I play in a band that plays the same type stuff (covers and originals).

Here are some other songs of that nature that we play (obviously these are some that we liked the best out of those genres):

Watermelon Man - Herbie Hancock and the Head Hunters (the fusion type version)

Bamboo Grove - The Bamboos (this is a cool one)

Little Walter Rides Again - Medeski, Martin, Wood, Scofield
New, New Orleans - Medeski, Martin, Wood

Stratus - Billy Cobham
Red Baron - Billy Cobham

Scores of Spores - Robert Walter

Thanks Again! - Stanton Moore
Licorice - Stanton Moore

Boogaloo Joe Jones - Boogaloo Joe Jones

Some other bands in general to check out:

Greyboy Allstars
Stanton Moore's solo stuff (and Stanton Moore Trio)
Robert Walter's
John Scofield (as has been mentioned)
Otis Grove

I have always wanted to play Squib Cakes by Tower of Power too but we have never got around to it. Anyway, those are some for starters!

false404 · #14 03-09-2010, 07:22 PM

Here's another great NO funk group, Papa Grows Funk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9anTP...eature=related

I also dig Maceo Parker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABLwmYI09Lw

And a +1 to "Cissy Strut" not being the only Meters song! =)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jrmtmQIc9k

false404 · #15 03-10-2010, 09:35 PM

Oh, I also dig Lettuce: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=059bkniXvw0

and The Motet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prbZAEP4seI

and Karl Denson: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfOfn44r7Ts

and Down to the Bone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQHTPcfWajQ

bongomania · #16 03-10-2010, 11:07 PM

Check out Booker T and the MG's. Might not fall under everybody's definition of funk, but IMO they laid down some of the funkiest instrumental tracks around.