Independent Lens: We Want the Funk

It is not a coincidence bass players are so well represented in this documentary. Funk would not be funk without those funky bass lines, so naturally bassists like Marcus Miller, Christian McBride, Michael Veal, and Carlos Alomar are happy to talk about the groovy music. McBride is best known for jazz and Miller has played just about everything, but they were all influenced by funk greats like Larry Graham and Bootsy Collins. Of course, everyone was also influenced by James Brown, who continues to shape music, particularly hip hop, as the most sampled recording artist of all-time (unless you count Clyde Stubblefield, the actual drummer on Brown’s “Funky Drummer” track). Regardless, filmmakers Stanley Nelson & Nicole London chronicle the incredibly danceable music in “We Want the Funk,” which airs tomorrow on PBS, as part of the current season of Independent Lens.

As the battery of bassists explain, funk was built on a deceptively simple sounding groove. However, really locking into the rhythmic patterns required a lot of rehearsal. Alomar would know, because he was hired (and fired) by James Brown. Funk decidedly contrasted with the more “genteel” and scrupulously non-political Motown, as the somewhat polemical opening explains. (However, nobody mentions James Brown’s later endorsement of Richard Nixon).

Nelson, London, and their cast of expert musicians do a nice job explaining how innovators like George Clinton of Parliament-Funkadelic and Sly Stone developed the sounds that became funk, while the messages of James Brown’s anthems such as “Say It Loud” captured the zeitgeist of their era. Brown also became an international sensation, who was beloved throughout the newly independent African nations.

Similarly, Nelson and London explain how African artists like Fela Kuti and Manu Dibango (who also sounded pretty “jazzy”) synthesized American funk, fused it with their Afrobeat and “Makossa” styles, and then successfully re-imported their funk back to American listeners. There is also some nice coverage of Afrofuturistic expressions in funk, which references the great avant-garde jazz bandleader (and self-proclaimed Saturn resident) Sun Ra.

James Brown: Say it Loud, on A&E

We constantly hear stories about some fading rocker demanding a Republican candidate stop using their music at rallies. We don’t they just play James Brown? He would certainly get everybody up on their feet and it would be hard for his heirs to object, considering how much heat he took for endorsing Richard Nixon. In fact, he still comes in for kneejerk criticism in the four-part James Brown: Say it Loud, which airs Monday and Tuesday on A&E.

Origins do not come much humbler than that of James Brown. Initially, it looked like he was stillborn, but there was still a little life left in him. He grew up amid grinding poverty in the segregated South Carolina, where he was sentenced to prison at the age of sixteen. After his release, he joined Bobby Byrd’s Famous Flames, where talent for vocals, dancing, and overall showmanship shined.

More than anyone else, James Brown developed funk out soul. He was arguably the most famous entertainer in the world, who became a mogul much in the same way Jay-Z is today. Indeed, Brown was explicitly a vocal advocate of “Black Capitalism,” which drew him to Richard Nixon. One talking head after another talks about Brown’s endorsement like it was an unforgivable sin (Nixon won with over 60% of the vote in 1972, so Brown was hardly the only one supporting him).

Yet, Brown’s message of economic self-reliance made the Godfather of Soul a natural conservative. Seriously, why aren’t GOP candidates grooving to Fred Wesley and the J.B.’s “I’m Payin’ Taxes, What Am I Buyin,’” which Brown produced on his own record label?” (It’s also a great name for a band, isn’t it?)

Regardless, director-co-writer Deborah Riley Draper and her interview subjects do a nice job thoroughly chronicling Brown’s music as well as the messy drama of his life (which nobody sugar-coats, including the domestic abuse and second prison stretch). Notable on-camera commentators include jazz musicians Christian McBride and Tia Fuller, as well as former J.B.’s Bootsy Collis and Hollie Farris. Plus, there is also Sir Mick Jagger, who also executive produced (after previously producing Get On Up and Mr. Dynamite).

Soul Power: The Music of Zaire ’74

Just about everything that could go wrong logistically for the Zaire ’74 concert event, did go wrong, but the musicians still brought their A-game. Originally conceived to coincide with the “Rumble in the Jungle” title fight between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali, the show had to go on, even when the bout was postponed due to injury. Drawing from the same extensive footage that ultimately produced Leon Gast’s Academy Award-winning When We Were Kings, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte’s concert documentary Soul Power (trailer here), finally reaches American theater screens this Friday, nearly thirty-five years after the historic musical extravaganza.

The Zaire ’74 concert was organized by record producer Stewart Levine and his friend and partner, South African pop-jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela (who strangely makes only furtive appearances in Soul). According to Masekela’s memoir Still Grazing, there were some decidedly diva-like moments with many of the artists, but Levy-Hinte clearly chose scenes which accentuate the positive. Many musicians, like Bill Withers, regarded the trip to Zaire as a spiritual and musical pilgrimage, or a homecoming to the native-land they had never known.

In general, Gast’s film concentrates on the boxers and Levy-Hinte’s film focuses on the musicians, but Ali still finds his way into Soul, since the musicians often sought him out. However, James Brown emerges as the film’s dominant figure, through the force of his personality in candid interview segments and his songs, like “Soul Power” and “Say it Loud,” which perfectly express the concert’s pan-Afro-Diasporic concept.

There is some stirring music recorded in Soul, with many of the highlights coming from unexpected sources. Celia Cruz and the Fania All-Stars brought their hot blend of salsa to the Kinshasa stadium for passionate performances of “Quimbara” and “Ponte Duro,” featuring smoking solos from Johnny Pacheco on flute and Ray Barretto on congas. The Crusaders (formerly known as the Jazz Crusaders) also turn in a surprisingly swinging rendition of “Put It Where You Want It,” showcasing Joe Sample’s pleasingly funky keyboard work. Yet perhaps the highlight comes from Zairian soukous innovator Tabu Ley Rochereau with the infectiously rhythmic “Seli-Ja.”

There were a few disappointments during Zaire ‘74, including the cancelation of Cameroonian jazz musician Manu Dibango’s set, but at least the Makossa Man is heard in Soul leading a group of children pied piper-like with his soprano sax. At times though, one feels there were missed opportunities for more cross-cultural exchanges during the concert. While B.B. King and James Brown were incapable of giving lackluster performances (and the Godfather of Soul seems truly inspired during his closing set), surely their fans have heard them play “The Thrill is Gone” and “Cold Sweat” on numerous occasions. Had they played with artists like Dibango or Rochereau on-stage, the results might have been magical.

Of course, Levy-Hinte had to work with the footage he had and the concert producers were probably just happy to hold the show together. From the three chaotic nights of music that rocked Kinshasa, the performances that made Soul’s cut are quite rousing, and were effectively captured by a team of cinematographers that included renowned documentarian Albert Maysles. Conceptually, the Zaire ’74 show was comparable to the 1971 Soul to Soul concert in Ghana (which is available on a deluxe DVD/CD set), but the Kinshasa concert arguably had a bigger line-up and more energized performances. Fans of soul music with an appreciation of Latin, jazz, blues, and African music will have plenty to snap their fingers to in Soul Power. It opens in New York this Friday (7/10) at the Lincoln Plaza and Sunshine Theaters.