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Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe is a seven-piece outfit
specializing in soul-jazz-funk music. After starting out as
Lenny Kravtiz’s sax man on his first two albums, Let Love Rule
and Mama Said, Denson has been carving out a nice niche for
himself in the jazz world in the past ten years with solo
releases before being an essential part of the super-group
Greyboy All-stars. He’s now taken a further step towards what
he wants to be doing by collecting such diverse musicians to
make up his “tiny universe” band.
Karl takes up lead vocals as well as his signature sounds of
tenor & alto sax along with the flute. Brian Jordan is on
electric guitar. Ron Johnson supplies the funky bass lines.
David Veith provides the keyboards. Zak Najor mans the drums.
Chris Littlefield blows on the trumpet and finally, you have
Mike Dillon giving his percussion and vibes to the project.
What comes out of this is one extremely wound-up powerfunk
machine. Seriously, get ready to shake yo booty!
The Bridge builds on where their self-titled album a
few years back left off. ‘How Fine is That’ starts it off with
a nice mellow groove that gets ya a-shakin’. All of a sudden
your shoulders will start boppin’ and you are sucked in.
Denson has really made strides from playing mostly
instrumental tracks to taking the mic lately. ‘Because of Her
Beauty’ shows why Karl should not be so shy about singing as
he has a great R&B voice. One word for this song is ‘silk.’
Such a smooth and soulful sound, this is finest track on the
disc.
‘Bunny Playa’ shows off a playful, inventive, chilled groove
that features some real nice playing in its three and a half
minute time frame. You can just envision this track in the
live setting getting jammed out much more. ‘Freedom’ takes a
political turn with upbeat rhythms and guest Michael Franti of
Spearhead totally in your face on lead vocals.
A cover of Curtis Mayfield is also thrown into the mix with
‘Check Out Your Mind.’ This is such a cool song as its sound
starts you on a dusty, deserted street in a western ghost town
and just plays real strong.
The album titled track ‘The Bridge’ shows off their
jazzier side and really gets cookin’ with Karl stirring his
pot of home brewed music stew. ‘Groove On’ is so true to its
title as it really does get its groove on. Here, Denson spins
his magic on the ladies with some deep soul proclaiming how
much game he’s got.
‘Rise and Shine’ brings the fun, upbeat funk back that gets ya
boppin’ again and really sets you up to be knocked down by the
closing number. ‘Elephants’ is that closing track which is the
Real Deal! Get ready to really groove because every bone in
your body will be shakin-n-movin to its addicting funky
uproar. This is as strong as a closing song can hope to be for
an album and even non-fans of the genre will no doubt come
away impressed.
As a whole, excellent album that will be sure to turn a few
heads that have never heard of the band, or Denson himself.
KDTU have really stumbled onto something with sounds that hark
back to a past era. And if that’s not enough, there are quite
a few guest stars on here besides Franti who was previously
mentioned. Notably, former James Brown sideman and trombone
legend Fred Wesley appears on nearly every track. Chris Wood
of Medeski, Martin & Wood fame, up and coming keyboard legend
Robert Walter, along with Skerik bringing his sax from
Claypools Frog Brigade, among others also make appearances.
The Bridge comes highly recommended to anyone who loves
the groove, the soul and most of all, the funk. The set has a
nice varied mix to it that plays well from beginning to end.
If nothing else, introduce yourself to Karl’s saxofunk and be
amazed. 4.5 funky azz Planets in this Universe.
Track Listing:
1. How Fine is That
2. Because of Her Beauty
3. The Answer
4. Bunny Playa
5. Freedom
6. Check Out Your Mind
7. Satisfied
8. The Bridge
9. Groove On
10. Rise and Shine
11. Elephants
Shamples Rating: 4.5 out of 5
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