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Maine Today
June 3, 2003
CD Review: East Coast Funk
By John Sinclair
The Boston Horns have been through a lot of changes since their early incarnation as the Heavy Metal Horns, working their way through a maze of band
members, musical idioms and actual repertoire until they’ve distilled their artistic essence into an irresistible elixir they like to call East Coast Funk.
The Horns — Henley Douglas Jr. on tenor & baritone saxophones and Garret Sayluk on trumpet — have settled down into the extremely supple and
ceaselessly swinging groove now being generated by the sensitive and ever-sympathetic rhythm team of guitarist Jeff Buckridge, keyboardist Mark Longo, Mike
"Squid" Rush on bass and Jack Howard Jr. at the drums. Here the working ensemble is augmented from time to time by Russ Lawton on multiple
percussions and the conga drums of Yahuba, with extra-special guest Melvin Sparks adding his beautifully seasoned guitar solos to the front line on four
selections.
What’s also special here is that all the songs but one have been composed and contributed by members of the band. Each tune weighs in with its own flavor,
introduced by a brisk, catchy melody and extended by muscular improvisations from Henley Douglas’s fluent saxophones, the eloquent trumpet of Garret
Savluk and the expressive guitars of Jeff Buckridge and Melvin Sparks. A group vocal on the instructive dance number "Ain’t Nothin’ 2it" offers timely advice
("Just find a groove and do it … You got to find your own groove"), and the Jimi Hendrix masterwork, "Crosstown Traffic" features a fine lead vocal as well, sung
over a charging arrangement which may well have been inspired by the classic Gil Evans treatment given the song back in the 1970s.
The album opens up with a slinky showcase for Sparks and the Horns titled "St. Charles," which flows like the river Charles and sports the kind of funky strut
that can be seen from the streetcar on the downtown end of the stately New Orleans avenue of the same name. Douglas contributes a forceful tenor
saxophone statement, showing off his strong, mature sound and impressive growth as a modern stylist.
"Soundcheck Jam" may have developed out of something played one day by Savluk on stage before the start of a show, but it’s a full-fledged Boston Horns
number now illuminated by musical speeches from Douglas and its composer. Henley’s bari lights up his own "kdoggd7," subtitled "Super-Hero Theme Music
for Kevin Douglas," with Savluk on muted trumpet and Buckridge’s guitar to the fore. The trumpeter and producer adds a heroic flourish of his own with the
dramatic "Jackie’s Song," a fast-paced showcase for his own open horn and the confident guitar of Melvin Sparks, who inserts a little country flavor before the
Horns return to the head.
Jeff Buckridge’s "Speedball" is another brisk workout for the Horns on a traditional funk framework punctuated by Longo’s organ washes, some tasty tenor sax-
trumpet counterpoint and the composer’s well-spoken guitar. "Buttered Popcorn," a Longo-Buckridge collaboration, projects the smoldering ambience of a Lee
Morgan session from the ’60s, and the final cut, Garret Savluk’s nicely heated "Skillet," brings the album to a satisfying close with another welcome taste of
Henley’s baritone sax and some rollicking interplay from Rush and Howard on bass and drums. Buckridge gets in the last word with his guitar, and the Horns
take it out.
East Coast Funk comes out of the gate riding high and sustains its elevated level of musicality and fun from beginning to end. Memorable instrumentals, a pair
of well-placed vocal numbers, top-notch soloing, and a remarkable group empathy and unity of purpose make the Boston Horns stand out in any sort of
company. This is an album you’ll play and enjoy for years to come.
—John Sinclair
Detroit
June 3, 2003
June 3, 2003
CD Review: East Coast Funk
By John Sinclair
The Boston Horns have been through a lot of changes since their early incarnation as the Heavy Metal Horns, working their way through a maze of band
members, musical idioms and actual repertoire until they’ve distilled their artistic essence into an irresistible elixir they like to call East Coast Funk.
The Horns — Henley Douglas Jr. on tenor & baritone saxophones and Garret Sayluk on trumpet — have settled down into the extremely supple and
ceaselessly swinging groove now being generated by the sensitive and ever-sympathetic rhythm team of guitarist Jeff Buckridge, keyboardist Mark Longo, Mike
"Squid" Rush on bass and Jack Howard Jr. at the drums. Here the working ensemble is augmented from time to time by Russ Lawton on multiple
percussions and the conga drums of Yahuba, with extra-special guest Melvin Sparks adding his beautifully seasoned guitar solos to the front line on four
selections.
What’s also special here is that all the songs but one have been composed and contributed by members of the band. Each tune weighs in with its own flavor,
introduced by a brisk, catchy melody and extended by muscular improvisations from Henley Douglas’s fluent saxophones, the eloquent trumpet of Garret
Savluk and the expressive guitars of Jeff Buckridge and Melvin Sparks. A group vocal on the instructive dance number "Ain’t Nothin’ 2it" offers timely advice
("Just find a groove and do it … You got to find your own groove"), and the Jimi Hendrix masterwork, "Crosstown Traffic" features a fine lead vocal as well, sung
over a charging arrangement which may well have been inspired by the classic Gil Evans treatment given the song back in the 1970s.
The album opens up with a slinky showcase for Sparks and the Horns titled "St. Charles," which flows like the river Charles and sports the kind of funky strut
that can be seen from the streetcar on the downtown end of the stately New Orleans avenue of the same name. Douglas contributes a forceful tenor
saxophone statement, showing off his strong, mature sound and impressive growth as a modern stylist.
"Soundcheck Jam" may have developed out of something played one day by Savluk on stage before the start of a show, but it’s a full-fledged Boston Horns
number now illuminated by musical speeches from Douglas and its composer. Henley’s bari lights up his own "kdoggd7," subtitled "Super-Hero Theme Music
for Kevin Douglas," with Savluk on muted trumpet and Buckridge’s guitar to the fore. The trumpeter and producer adds a heroic flourish of his own with the
dramatic "Jackie’s Song," a fast-paced showcase for his own open horn and the confident guitar of Melvin Sparks, who inserts a little country flavor before the
Horns return to the head.
Jeff Buckridge’s "Speedball" is another brisk workout for the Horns on a traditional funk framework punctuated by Longo’s organ washes, some tasty tenor sax-
trumpet counterpoint and the composer’s well-spoken guitar. "Buttered Popcorn," a Longo-Buckridge collaboration, projects the smoldering ambience of a Lee
Morgan session from the ’60s, and the final cut, Garret Savluk’s nicely heated "Skillet," brings the album to a satisfying close with another welcome taste of
Henley’s baritone sax and some rollicking interplay from Rush and Howard on bass and drums. Buckridge gets in the last word with his guitar, and the Horns
take it out.
East Coast Funk comes out of the gate riding high and sustains its elevated level of musicality and fun from beginning to end. Memorable instrumentals, a pair
of well-placed vocal numbers, top-notch soloing, and a remarkable group empathy and unity of purpose make the Boston Horns stand out in any sort of
company. This is an album you’ll play and enjoy for years to come.
—John Sinclair
Detroit
June 3, 2003
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