funk/groove – Page 6

The first time I heard Omar Hakim was on the Burning for Buddy tribute. I was 15 then, and “Slow Funk” remains one of my favorite tracks on that album. Beyond technical ability and “groove”, there’s just a certain energy to Omar’s playing that I’ve always really liked.

These aren’t necessarily the best clips of Omar out there, just a few I hadn’t seen before and found enjoyable.

With Sting:

Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Stanley Clarke, and Omar Hakim with “Footprints” in 1991, Montreax:

Omar Hakim in Weather Report – “Where the Moon Goes”

Omar Hakim with Bobby McFerrin (too bad Richard Bona doesn’t get in on the action in this clip):

Band: Robert Randolph & the Family Band
Drums: Marcus Randolph
Album: We Walk This Road
Label: Warner Bros.
Release Date: 22-Jun-2010
DD Rating:

I’m relatively new to the music of Robert Randolph & the Family Band. I’d heard of them while working at Newbury Comics a few years ago, but kept forgetting to actually check them out. It wasn’t until I saw a live concert on HDNET that I became a fan. Within a few days of seeing that I picked up Unclassified and Colorblind. These are great funky, soulful albums that manage to capture some of the raw energy of the live concert I saw on TV.

This is my only complaint about the new album, We Walk This Road. Produced by T Bone Burnett, it is a much more polished offering than the previous albums. This is, of course, most evident to may ears in the recording of drummer Marcus Randolph. On the majority of the tracks, the drums function more as background percussion than an equal speaking voice. An actual drum set (e.g. hi-hat, kick, snare) isn’t present on most tracks. This is used appropriately and to great textural effect, but it gives the whole album a lighter feel. There aren’t any songs that kick like Colorblind‘s “Ain’t Nothing Wrong With That” or “Homecoming”, for instance. One may argue that bombastic fills like the double-bass sextuplets Marcus Randolph employed on the last album were a bit too “drummy” for mass consumption, but it kept the aforementioned “raw” and live feel of a band playing its ass off in front of a festival crowd.

This is not to say the new album is boring or not good. As a whole, it’s very well written and has an enjoyable and logical flow from beginning to end. Highlights include “Traveling Shoes”; “Back to the Wall”; “If I Had My Way”, which features Ben Harper and a traditional-but-hip train beat; John Lennon’s “I Don’t Wanna Be a Soldier Mama”; and “I’m Not Listening”, which has some simple but neat syncopation.

We Walk This Road is aimed at a wider audience for sure, and I have no doubt the Family Band will keep their usual energy on the supporting tour. It just would have been nice to get at least a slight inkling of that captured on the new album.