Kool & The Gang: Kool & The Gang - 1970

Long before Kool & the Gang became exponents of chart-oriented disco soul they were, initially, an instrumental jazzy funk band. This was their 1970 debut and it plays largely like a jazz album in places, albeit a very funky one though, loaded with trumpet and various types of saxophone and devoid of any vocals. There are periodic uses of nice funky guitar from Claydes Smith and Woody Barrow and some seriously good fatback drums from George "Funky" Brown, notably on Kool & The Gang and Breeze & Soul but for many of the tracks there is a distinct jazz feel. Check out the rumbling bass and solid drums on Chocolate Buttermilk for funk, but the saxophone is also pure jazz at times. It is the drums that make this album funky, however and the ability to make jazz funky.

The funkiest cut is the grinding Give It Up, featuring some excellent funky drums while Since I Lost My Baby has a sumptuous, melodic bass line underpinning its catchy saxophone and trumpet breaks. Kool's Back Again has some fine funky breaks too and both The Gang's Back Again and the melodic Raw Hamburger are nicely funky as well. The slow Sea Of Tranquility is probably the jazziest groove. 

Remember that this was released in 1970 and, yes, we had The Meters, but in many ways this provided a foundation for the Blaxploitation soundtrack funk instrumentals that would light up subsequent years. The album is delivered in fine stereo sound and is a pleasurable background listen but it does carry a feel of a collection of instrumental backing tracks about it. Those melodies, though, are all really good, as smooth as the horn breaks are punchy. 

** The album has a bonus vocal track in the chunky, funky soul of Let The Music Take Your Mind.

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