Message from the Godfather

Amazon.com
The James Taylor Quartet's A Message from the Godfather, certainly isn't going to win any awards for originality. You'd be forgiven if, after popping the disc in your CD player, you begin to think you've mistakenly ended up with a Lonnie Smith or Grant Green Blue Note reissue from the late '60s or early '70s. But, as fans of that era's organ-heavy funkified "soul jazz" could tell you, originality isn't everything. Produced by Snowboy, the British DJ and percussionist whose own recent releases have evoked early '70s Latin jazz players such as Eddie Palmieri, A Message from the Godfather is a throwback in the best sense of that word, a rollicking party album that places the groove front and center and never lets up. Dominated by the fat sound of Taylor's Hammond B-3 organ and by the analog production that makes the album sound as if it really were recorded on a sweaty night in 1970, this is one of the best albums Taylor has come up with to date, and certainly his most organic. That last quality can be a double-edged sword, as saxophonist and flutist John Wilmott and guitarist David Taylor's solos sometimes meander a bit and could possibly have benefited from a little editing. Still, warts and all it'll be hard not the throw this on the stereo next time there's a party in your living room. --Ezra Gale

Tracks:

Side Stepping
Chalkpit
Message From The Godfather
Who Put A Hole In My Head
Splat
Willma Will
Tough Chicken
Isabella Boogaloo
Ma Che Cosa?
When In Rome

Amazon.com

The James Taylor Quartet's A Message from the Godfather, certainly isn't going to win any awards for originality. You'd be forgiven if, after popping the disc in your CD player, you begin to think you've mistakenly ended up with a Lonnie Smith or Grant Green Blue Note reissue from the late '60s or early '70s. But, as fans of that era's organ-heavy funkified "soul jazz" could tell you, originality isn't everything. Produced by Snowboy, the British DJ and percussionist whose own recent releases have evoked early '70s Latin jazz players such as Eddie Palmieri, A Message from the Godfather is a throwback in the best sense of that word, a rollicking party album that places the groove front and center and never lets up. Dominated by the fat sound of Taylor's Hammond B-3 organ and by the analog production that makes the album sound as if it really were recorded on a sweaty night in 1970, this is one of the best albums Taylor has come up with to date, and certainly his most organic. That last quality can be a double-edged sword, as saxophonist and flutist John Wilmott and guitarist David Taylor's solos sometimes meander a bit and could possibly have benefited from a little editing. Still, warts and all it'll be hard not the throw this on the stereo next time there's a party in your living room. --Ezra Gale

Customer Reviews:

Excellent funk.......2007-06-26

This is some of the best funk I have come across in a long time. The B-3 organ drives the tracks and makes you want to get down, but the other instrumentalists never fail to please, especially the sax player.
A great album if you want music for partying or simply appreciate a good groove.

Upbeat Acid Jazz at its best.......2005-12-17

Wow! I came across this by accident while looking at some other artists. Of course, you see the James Taylor name and you think of something quite different than Acid Jazz.

At any rate, if you like upbeat, driving, B-3 organ-driven instrumental acid jazz, you will absolutely love this album. I like every one of these cuts and that is a real rarity in my extended music collection. If you are like me, a high percentage of albums will have some selections that you just skip over or you edit your CDs (like I do) by burning just the cuts you like onto a compilation.

However, this album is excellent throughout and their best overall in my book. I tried to listen to some of the selections from their other projects and they did not spark my interest.

Also, if you want some other outstanding B-3 organ jazz music like this, please get yourself some Charles Earland music...like Intensity, Black Talk or Slammin and Jammin....great stuff.

Irresistable Grooves.......2002-04-12

Let's get one thing straight here: I'm not a jazz expert. I've never heard any of this bands other releases. But I am a devoted music fan and I know a groove when I hear one. and this here is a scorching hot collection of 10 B-3 driven grooves performed with such style, such energy and such soul that it's purely irrestable.
Say what you want about the apparent lack of originality here, but you can't deny the barrage of groovy goodness that this album attacks you with. The gurgling B-3, the thick and deep bass, gritty guitar, relentlessly funky drums and ripping sax/flute weave a sublime texture of fired up grooviness that you can't help but get down to. Highlights include the "Side Stepping" and the title track, but you really can't go wrong with any of these tunes.
So wether you want some tracks to cruise with, chill out too, party too or otherwise, this is disc for you. The grooves will move you.

Have Mercy!.......2001-10-25

This is quite possibly the best album that the JTQ has even made. They're loose but tight, free flowing and in the groove. It's the product of a group of musicians who have worked together so long that they all know instinctively where each of the others is going. This is the record they hoped 1989's 'Wait a Minute' would be, but in comparison that album sounds stiff and uncertain. 'Godfather' is the JTQ at their most relaxed and natural. To be sure there's no new territoty here - there are a lot of motifs you've heard before. What's new is their approach - never has the JTQ played with this much soul, swing and verve. Sonically, the album is warm and welcoming, the benefits of an all-analog recording (save the press to CD, of course). The best song on the album is "Chalkpit": a stanky New Orleans workout like The Meters used to kick, yet with just a touch of London allnighter amphetamine edginess. The perfect album for the die-hard fan who yearns for the JTQ of over a decade ago (when you used to play the "Blow Up" single until you thought the grooves would wear out), and for the newcomer who wants to discover the true soul of modern souljazz.

JTQ have brought the funk back.......2001-10-03

I have all of JTQs' British released albums, and was only ever marginely disapointed with the last, "A few Tips about Living Underground" which lacked the usual hard groove attached to any JTQ album. The best thing about "Godfather" is its live appeal, recorded in analogue, it gives the air of its contemporarys ie Jimmy Smith, Reuben Wilson et al. The opening track sets the mood with mind blowing organ and sax solos by James and the amazing John Wilmot. Another track "Tough Chicken" pays homage to Lonnie Liston Smith's "Expansions" crossed with the illicit "Burning Spear" by S.O.U.L. If you want an album with no real suprises but containing all that is good about Jazz/Funk/Soul I suggest you order this now and wait by the mailbox until it arives!
I can't wait to see these tracks played live when I next go to see JTQ, now they've got the funk back!

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