Brooklyn Funk Essentials - In the Buzz Bag

Acid-jazz collective Brooklyn Funk Essentials was first conceived in 1993 by producer Arthur Baker and bassist/musical director Lati Kronlund; by the following year, the group was a staple of the New York City club scene, with early lineups also including singers Joi Cardwell, Sha-Key, and Papa Dee, poets Everton Sylvester and David Allen, DJ Jazzy Nice, keyboardist Yuka Honda, (soon to co-found Cibo Matto), trumpeter Bob Brachmann, trombonist Joshua Roseman, saxophonist Paul Shapiro, drummer Yancy Drew, and percussionist E.J. Rodriguez. Brooklyn Funk Essentials' debut album Cool and Steady and Easy followed in the summer of 1994, scoring an underground hit with its rendition of Pharoah Sanders' "The Creator Has a Master Plan"; when Caldwell exited to mount a solo career, she was replaced by vocalist Stephanie McKay. In the Buzz Bag followed in 1998, and two years later, the group returned with Make 'Em Like It.

This is an unusual offering for the New York funk/jazz/hip hop outfit, recorded in Istanbul in consortium with local combo Laco Tayfa. Already adept at fusing funk, reggae, Latin, and jazz in their mix, Funk Essentials here add Turkish rhythms and instruments like the kanun, oud, zuma, and clarinet, usually just for color in the dance groove. When things work, as on the title track, it's a highly successful marriage, but at times it is a little forced. The material strays to a couple of sappy "urban contemporary" ballads, but luckily Buzz Bag is generally upbeat, and the band's inherent musicality, humor, and intelligence keep things afloat. The most interesting tracks are the ones that carry the most Turkish influence, but generally this is less a World Summit than a Nu Kultural Flava.

01. By And Bye
02. Istanbul Twilight
03. Magick Karpet Ride
04. In The BuzzBag
05. Keep It Together
06. Selling Out
07. Ska Ka-Bop
08. You Don't Know Nothing
09. Freeway To Uskudar
10. Zuma Preserve

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