Following last year’s Live At The Iridium, it’s back to the studio for Rock Candy Funk Party, the band formed by drummer Tal Bergman and guitarist Ron DeJesus that includes Bergman’s regular boss Joe Bonamassa in the line-up.
Here they dish out another fat slab of instrumental funk, seasoned with a heady shot of disco à la Chic. Bergman’s driving four-on-the-floor beats lend a Studio 54 feel to tracks like Uber Station, and while DeJesus has Nile Rodgers’ smooth syncopated style of playing, Bonamassa’s scalding lead lines bring the muscle to the music. Cube’s Brick recalls Herbie Hancock’s Head Hunters and the band proves their jazz-funk credentials with Rock Candy. If Six Was Eight delivers a rhythmic showdown between Bergman and percussionist Daniel Sadownick. The production boasts a huge, thick sound and the playing is first-class from beginning to end. Sure to set pulses racing and rumps shaking.
