Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Rodney Jones: Soul Manifesto

181

Rodney Jones: Soul Manifesto

By

View read count
Rodney Jones: Soul Manifesto
You've got to funkafize...

Guitarist Rodney Jones departs from the mainstream fare of his most recent recordings ( The Undiscovered Few, Blue Note 96902, 1999 and My Funny Valentine, Timeless 162, 2000) and testifies his funk philosophy on Soul Manifesto. Joined by Funk/R&B specialists Maceo Parker, Arthur Blythe, and Dr. Lonnie Smith, Jones weaves a hypnotic tapestry with a limbic collection of originals and standards so funky the listener might have to leave the room or succumb to the groove.

The foundation of Jones's Soul philosophy is grounded in Gospel, Funk, and the Blues. He began playing guitar at age 6, beginning formal lessons age 8. He saturated himself with the Funk-forefront of the day: Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone, and the formidable James Brown. "You have soul that was created by God, and you have soul created by James Brown. I've always been fascinated by that connection," says Jones. Jones joined the James Brown Mythology when he linked up with Brown alto saxophonist Maceo Parker for Parker's breakthrough Roots Revisited (Verve 843 751, 1992). Jones went on to work with the funkmeister for five years (and that definitely shows on this recording).

Jones bookends this recording with the original "Groove Bone, Parts 1 and 2." He establishes the mood of the recording with these pieces while jamming through the other funky tone orgies "Soul Makossa," "Mobius 3," and "One Turnip Green." Standards include a soulful "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Soul Eyes." The band was well chosen, particularly Maceo Parker and Arthur Blythe. They truly reveal the soulfulness of the alto saxophone. Makes one wish King Curtis was on hand for the tenor chair.

Is this Jazz? Quoting Mark Corroto in his primer on funk, "As the tee-shirt sez, 'F*** Art, Let's Dance."

Track Listing

Groove Bone, part 1; Soul Makossa; Wake Up Call (interlude); Soul Manifesto; Roll Call (interlude); One Turnip Green; Ain't No Sunshine; Mobius 3; Soup Bone; Soul Eyes; Groove Bone, part 2; Last Call (interlude).

Personnel

Rodney Jones- guitar; Maceo Parker, Arthur Blythe- alto saxophone; Dr. Lonnie Smith- Hammond B-3 organ; Lonnie Plaxico- electric bass; Idris Muhammad- drums.

Album information

Title: Soul Manifesto | Year Released: 2001 | Record Label: Blue Note Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa ŰŽÙŰ§ŰĄ - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro RuĂ­z

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.