George Brown – Jazz in Paris (BFD, 2025)
Long before Kool & The Gang became synonymous with funk anthems like “Celebration,” “Jungle Boogie,” and “Hollywood Swinging,” the group began in 1964 as The Jazziacs, a Jersey City ensemble rooted in jazz standards and Motown covers.
Before his passing in 2023, George “Funky” Brown, co-founder and longtime drummer of Kool & The Gang, was quietly crafting the most intimate work of his career. Jazz in Paris, released posthumously, is a masterful homage to the cool jazz era of the late 1950s and 1960s, channeling the spirits of smoky Parisian clubs and New York haunts where legends once stood. It is a personal, deeply felt album that bridges memory, tradition, and reinvention.
Long celebrated for his rhythmic precision and funk pedigree, Brown reveals himself here as a multidimensional artist. A multi-instrumentalist with a producer’s ear and a poet’s sensibility, he spent countless late-night sessions recording this album alongside a close circle of collaborators. The influence of Miles Davis looms large, most notably on “MDD” (short for Miles Dewey Davis), which evokes the modal elegance of Davis’s Great Quintets with its elegant trumpet lines and agile harmonic interplay.
From the very first track, Jazz in Paris draws listeners into its world. “Lisa” opens with muted brass and a supple drum swing, immediately conjuring a dusky lounge scene. Exquisite guitar lines and soulful trumpet phrases unfold with a slow burn, while tender vocals hover like smoke in the air. That same sultry elegance surfaces again on “What I Love About You,” where the trumpet takes on a lyrical, near vocal quality. Paired with graceful female vocals and a classic swing feel, the track has a timeless allure.
The album also leans into romanticism, as heard on “Juliette,” a lush ballad marked by strings and a blues-tinged piano. Brown’s touch is light yet deliberate, allowing sentiment to bloom without sentimentality. Conversely, “Francess” leans on refined horn voicings and an exquisite piano line, highlighting his understated sophistication. Meanwhile, “Dady Jazzbow” offers a blues-inflected turn, where expressive female vocals ride over barrelhouse piano and a layered horn section that shifts from swagger to sweetness with ease.
Of course, Brown never fully abandons his funk roots. “Addicted to the Hustle,” arguably the album’s most rhythmically infectious track, unfolds with a powerful horn blend and an irresistible groove that nods to his Kool & The Gang legacy. Similarly, “Westend Avenue” finds its charm in rich interplay: sharp guitar lines, swirling flute motifs, and a groove that’s as urbane as it is grounded.
Elsewhere, Brown leans into vintage jazz textures. “The Kat” captures a 1960s retro feel with smoky saxophone, bubbling organ, and piano riffs that wouldn’t feel out of place in a Blue Note session. “Jardin de Lapin,” by contrast, ventures into more contemporary territory, with saxophone and acoustic bass improvisations creating a mood that’s both exploratory and restrained.
The emotional climax arrives in the final track, “In the Land of Allah – In the Land of God.” Clocking in at over nine minutes, it is an expansive and spiritual piece dedicated to Brown’s lifelong friend and Kool & The Gang co-founder, Khalis Bayyan (Ronald Bell). Here, Brown plays nearly every instrument, drums, bass, keyboards, piano, percussion, and vocals, immersing himself deeply in world music and global jazz. Turkish master Omar Faruk Tekbilek adds dazzling oud and ney performances, while vocal chants and transfixing rhythms evoke a sacred sense of place and ancestry. It is a breathtaking conclusion, part eulogy, part prayer, entirely unforgettable.
In the end, Jazz in Paris is a final offering from an artist who never stopped listening, learning, and honoring the past even as he forged his own voice. George Brown may have started in funk, but he finished in jazz, where the personal becomes universal, and every note tells a story.
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