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Bugge Wesseltoft generated a lot of attention when he called his debut album A New Conception in Jazz, Possibly Dean Mucetti’s debut, “Isolate/Integrate”, could have been called A New Conception in Funk Jazz or Papa’s Got a Newer Brand New Bag, because this album is funk jazz like you have never heard it before. The rhythms on here are based somewhat on James Brown etc, but there is something kind of deliberate, almost mechanical about these grooves, and that is the appeal. You may recall the late 70s when P-funk got pushed off the dance floors by Kraftwerk and DEVO, which spawned the whole electric boogaloo craze and the robot dance, but Mucetti’s music doesn’t sound like any of that either, no, this is the new funk for the millennial generation and it bears influence from their video games, anime soundtracks and current hip-hop. Other influences you might hear would include the static funk of Miles’ “On the Corner” and “Get Up With It” albums and the joyful chaos of Ornette Coleman’s Prime Time. The way in which Dean’s structured rhythms unfold can recall the compositions of Steve Reich and some of his rapidly changing arrangements resemble the big band music of Fletcher Henderson or the prog rock of Gentle Giant. Its all here and well worth checking out for those curious for something new.
A super tight rhythm section of drums, bass and two guitars lay down the poly rhythms while the two keyboardist snake across the interlocking patterns with their solos. Sometimes there are polyphonic sections with multiple simultaneous solos in the style of Ornette’s Prime Time. “Loose Satin” is probably the track closest to traditional funk with its call and response guitar figures recalling the JBs and Fela Kuti. “Mother Alone” is a thick down tempo gravy that has that mid-70s Miles vibe to it. All of the tracks are great, there is not a dull moment on here. If you are down with the funk you have to check this one out, Dean and his crew are taking the Mothership to new frontiers.