BUDOS BAND
[HORN-DRIVEN AFRO FUNK] After two well-received full-lengths and an EP, Staten Island’s Budos Band return with III in 2010. The group’s first two recordings walked a loose tightrope line between the modern jazzed-up Afro-beat sound of Antibalas and the soulful good-time funk groove of Sugarman 3. It’s also true that while they fit the Daptone label’s groove-centric aesthetic, III reveals a new direction, offering the view that they are also something other. This 11-song set, recorded in 48 hours, offers a darker, more spacious tinge. Elements of psychedelic, Far Eastern, and even Latin sounds have entered their mix, without giving up their dance party cachet. The opening “Rite of the Ancients,” “Black Venom,” “Unbroken, Unshaven,” and “Mark of the Unnamed” all feel like they could have been instrumental interludes in a ’70s blaxploitation flick, but are fully developed harmonic ideas instead of simple vamps. The horn chart on the latter track is a monster, with popping three-way dialogue between baritone saxophonist Jared Tankel, Farfisa organist Mike Deller, and all four percussionists. [Read more…] about LIVE: Budos Band at DTB tonight! (Sat. Aug 14th 7:30pm)