Pick of the Week

You like funk? Damn right you do. If there's ever any question of who's the funkiest jazz band in town, Buckner Funken Jazz (due at Jazz@Jack's on Saturday, October 1) answers with absolute authority. Rod Buckner, the founder and leader of this act, is flat-out scary on his trumpet. Whether...

By Shawn Bauer

September 29, 2005

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You like funk? Damn right you do. If there's ever any question of who's the funkiest jazz band in town, Buckner Funken Jazz (due at Jazz@Jack's on Saturday, October 1) answers with absolute authority. Rod Buckner, the founder and leader of this act, is flat-out scary on his trumpet. Whether he's weaving in and out through harmonies on a Miles tune or burning through some James Brown, he'll knock your traditional-jazz-loving ass out. Buckner's style is heavily influenced by the ultra-fast sax phrasing of cats like Eddie Harris and Billy Tolles, whom he grew up playing with. His sound combines a broad mix of technical multiplicity, from furious be-bop scale soloing to meticulous modal-lonely lyricism. Bassist Ron Buckner, Rod's brother, is always in the pocket, and melts into the rhythm section like a stick of butter on a hot plate. The Buckner brothers, together with their bandmates -- saxophonist Dr. Matt Brodie, guitarist Jerry Hermosillo, drummer Jason Torres, percussionist Bobby Hill and keyboardist Kyle Palmer -- make up one of the few groups in town who can masterfully transition from Parliament to Charlie Parker and back to the Funky Meters. One night after the act opened for funk legend Maceo Parker, Parker himself asked: "Did you guys leave any funk for me?"

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