Shades of Soul
In the '70s, the Portland, Oregon, groupPleasuremay have been ahead of its time with its jazzy funk. During the same time, in the same town, theJeff LorberFusion was breaking ground with its own funky brand of jazz. In the '90s, the old friends hooked up for this recording, which sounds as fresh as if they'd recorded it yesterday. Lorber fans will love tracks featuring then-rising stars like trumpeterChris Bottiand the late saxophonist Art Porter, but it's the timeless funk of the boys from Pleasure that dominate here with red-hot grooves on "Enjoy Yourself," "We Got To Live Together," the title track, andRoy Ayers's "Hey Uh." Lorber contributes mightily with "Get Wid It," a dynamic example of his early keyboard style, but guitarist Marlon McLain and bassist Nathaniel Phillips, with the help of vocalist Terry Stanton of Hidden Beach Unwrapped, truly funk things up.--Mark Ruffin