Funkallisto : Saturday Night Dogs

Italian funk band, Funkallisto, comes from Rome's Trastevere neighborhood, a fascinating maze of medieval streets along the Tiber. I originally got turned onto these Roman funkateers because of their smoking cover version of Willie Bobo's Latin funk classic, "Broasted Or Fried." Influenced by the great funk bands of the 1970s, Funkallisto keeps to those roots as they carry the funk torch in Italy. 

Their 2017 album, Saturday Night Dogs, is the band's best record to date. You can tell they put a lot of heart & soul power into making this one. When in Rome...make it funky!

"Saturday Night Dogs," the title track, gets the party started on a high-energy note. Baritone saxophone, funky chicken scratch, potent percussion, and sensational keys stimulate the groove...and set the tone for 7 more diverse, funky songs. 

"Take A Little Time" is the only song on Saturday Night Dogs with full lyrics. Jess Roberts sings a super soulful song with a positive message. The organ vibe gives it a greasy, early 70s feel. 

"Rhythm" is exactly what it says it is. In this tune the rhythm section gets to show off. Powerful percussion, tight drumming, and a dope bass line hold down the groove for the horns to soar. 

"The Devil" begins with super funky guitar, syncopated cymbals, and fiery horn lines. Listen for the heavy breakdown on drums just after the halfway mark. Hot horns jump back on the groove, and the wah-wah flows throughout. 

"Piamose Trastevere" captures the band's high energy—showing off its horny horns, old-school organ grooves, funky wah-wah guitar, and deep rhythm section. And, it's one of my favorite instrumental funk songs of 2017. 

"Marcelito el Tropicano" captures the band's sensational energy. The tune oscillates between a mellow jazz groove and exhilarating Latin funk. The percussion shines, the electric piano dances on top of the beat, and the impressive horns astonish alongside electrifying funk guitar playing, and proper drumming. 

"Fatebenefratelli" arouses even the most devoid-of-funk folks because of its electrifying rhythm & impelling groove. This tune is totally irresistible, and must get people on the dance floor instantly at Funkallisto's live shows. 

"Darkalabro" ends the album with an extended jam. It's got a jazzy Afrobeat vibe, and genre-bending funk demeanor. I love it because it's too cool to categorize, and impossible not to dig. 

Funkallisto is the dopest funk band in The Eternal City! Their 2017 record, Saturday Night Dogs, is fabulously funky all the way through. Listen to more of their music, and hopefully catch them live in Rome.

Saburo K, Saitama, Japan.

Satoko Fujii Orchestra New York : Fukushima

Satoko Fujii's Orchestra New York has been together since their 1997 debut South Wind (Leo Lab/Libra). A "super group" by any standards, it has remained largely intact over the course of twenty years, bringing the ensemble to its latest release, Fukushima, a memorial suite. The Fukushima nuclear accident was caused by a major earthquake and a subsequent tsunami and was the worst such incident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Fujii was in Tokyo at the time, in 2011. There were no immediate deaths from the accident, but there are estimates of future cancer-related fatalities that number in the hundreds. That uncertain future is part of the anxiety that Japan lives with on an ongoing basis.

The fourteen-member orchestra includes such notable artists as saxophonists Oscar Noriega, Ellery Eskelin and Tony Malaby, trumpeters Dave Ballou, Herb Robertson and Natsuki Tamura (Fujii's husband and frequent musical partner), as well as Nels Cline and Ches Smith. Fujii serves as the composer/conductor, leaving aside the piano for this recording.

There are five untitled tracks on Fukushima; bookending three extended pieces are two shorter ones that are correspondingly abstinent and tranquil. Breaking through the heterogeneous sound waves of "Track 1," Cline's guitar and Andy Laster's baritone saxophone provide their own chemical reaction. Only when "Track 2" begins to swell—approximately half-way through its sixteen minutes—do we grasp the full power of the orchestra. "Track 3" is dark and frantic and appropriate to the sense of unknowing that must have gripped those present in the disaster. Robertson and Smith share standout performances here. "Track 4" begins in cautious near-silence—an evaluation of the circumstances, followed by shock. The tenor saxophone and trumpet figuratively dig their way out of the chaos and the sounds of nature barely emerge. The final three minutes of the seventeen minute track are the most structured, as if rebuilding before Noriega's beautiful closing track epilogue.

Fujii is not unfamiliar with expressing her personal emotions through her music. She has done so through the loss of bassist Norikatsu Koreyasu and guitarist Kazuhiko Tsumura, both from Gato Libre. A different—less predictable—sense of loss pervades much of Fukushima. Among the characteristics that make Fujii unique as a composer, is her process of building minimal structures within conventional forms, and then turning them loose to free and extended techniques. Each of Fujii's orchestras produce consistently exceptional projects but Fukushima is the best to date. Highly recommended.

Note: the CD will be offered in an alternate version that includes Fujii's vocals on "Track 2." The CD features a cover photo by Ann Braithwaite.

Saburo K, Saitama, Japan.