Funk
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Template:Genrebox Funk is a distinct style of music originated by African-Americans, e.g., James Brown and his band members (especially Maceo and Melvin Parker), and groups like The Meters. Funk best can be recognized by its syncopated rhythms; thick bass line (often based on an "on the one" beat); razor-sharp rhythm guitars; chanted or hollered vocals (as that of Marva Whitney or the Bar-Kays); strong, rhythm-oriented horn sections; prominent percussion; an upbeat attitude; African tones; danceability; and strong jazz influences (e.g., as in the music of Herbie Hancock, George Duke, Eddie Harris, and others).
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Characteristics
Compared to funk's predecessor, the soul music of 1960s, funk typically uses more complex rhythms, while song structures are usually simpler. Often, the structure of a funk song consists of just one or two riffs. Sometimes the point at which one riff changes to another becomes the highlight of a song. The soul dance music of its day, the basic idea of funk was to create as intense a groove as possible.
One of the most distinctive features of funk music is the role played by bass guitar. Before soul music, bass was rarely prominent in popular music. Players like the legendary Motown bassist James Jamerson brought bass to the forefront, and funk built on that foundation, with melodic basslines often being the centerpiece of songs. Notable funk bassists include Bootsy Collins and Larry Graham of Sly & the Family Stone. Graham is often credited with inventing the percussive "slap bass technique," which was further developed by later bassists and became a distictive element of funk.
Since funk is strongly rhythm-oriented, many funk songs contain no solos. Those that do often feature skillfully improvised horn solos. Some of the best known and most skillful soloists have jazz backgrounds. Trombonist Fred Wesley and saxophonist Maceo Parker are among the most notable musicians in the funk music genre, both having worked with James Brown and George Clinton.
In funk bands, guitarists typically play in a percussive style. "Dead" notes often are used in riffs to strengthen percussive elements. When playing with a horn section, guitarists usually play no solos; but if a band's style is closer to a "funk rock" approach, then a guitarist may play solos with a distorted sound. Jimi Hendrix was a blues player whose pioneering improvised other-worldly solos influenced Eddie Hazel of Funkadelic. Eddie Hazel, later worked with George Clinton and is one of the most notable guitar soloists in funk. Jimmy Nolen and Phelps Collins are famous funk rhythm guitarists who both worked with James Brown.
History
Origin of funk
The word "funk", once defined in dictionaries as body odor or the smell of sexual intercourse, commonly has been regarded as coarse or indecent. African-American musicians originally applied "funk" to music with a slow, mellow groove, then later with a hard-driving, insistent rhythm because of the word's association with sexual intercourse. This early form of the music set the pattern for later musicians. The music was slow, sexy, loose, riff-oriented and danceable. Funky typically described these qualities. In jam sessions, musicians would encourage one another to "get down" by telling one another, "Now, put some stank ('stink'/funk) on it!" At least as early as the 1930s, jazz songs carried titles such as Mezz Mezzrow's Funky Butt.
The word "funk" commonly was regarded as coarse or indecent. As late as the 1950s and early 1960s, when "funk" and "funky" were used increasingly in the context of soul music, the terms still were considered indelicate and inappropriate for use in polite company.
The distinctive characteristics of African-American musical expression are rooted in West African musical traditions, and find their earliest expression in spirituals, work chants/songs, praise shouts, gospel and blues. In more contemporary music, gospel, blues and blues extensions often flow together seamlessly. Funky music is an amalgam of soul music soul jazz and R&B.
James Brown and funk as a genre
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1970s and P-Funk
In the 1970s, a new group of musicians further developed the "funk rock" approach innovated by Jimi Hendrix. George Clinton, with his bands Parliament and, later, Funkadelic, produced a new kind of funk sound heavily influenced by jazz and psychedelic music. The two groups had members in common and often are referred to singly as "Parliament-Funkadelic." The breakout popularity of Parliament-Funkadelic gave rise to the term "P-Funk," which both referred to the music by George Clinton's bands and defined a new subgenre.
"P-funk" also came to mean something in its quintessence, of superior quality, or sui generis, as in the lyrics from "P-Funk," a hit single from Parliament's album "Mothership Connection":- "I want the bomb. I want the P-Funk. I want my funk uncut."
The 1970s was probably the era of highest mainstream visibility for funk music. Other prominent funk bands of the period included Bootsy's Rubber Band, The Meters, Ohio Players, The Commodores, War, Kool & the Gang, Confunkshun, Slave, Cameo, Midnight Star, the Bar-Kays, Zapp, and many more.
Already, in late 1960s, many jazz musicians — among them Herbie Hancock (with his Headhunters band), Grover Washington, Jr., and Cannonball Adderly, Les McCann and Eddie Harris — had begun to combine jazz and funk. Sometimes this approach is called "jazz-funk".
Funk music was exported to Africa in the late 1960s, and melded with African singing and rhythms to form Afrobeat.
Disco music owed a great deal to funk. Many early disco songs and performers came directly from funk-oriented backgrounds.
Recent developments
In the 1980s, funk lost some of its audience as bands became more commercial and music more electronic, effectively phasing out horn sections which were the core of many funk bands.
Today, hip hop artists regularly sample old funk tunes. James Brown is said to be the most sampled artist in the history of hip hop. P-Funk also is sampled frequently—samples of old Parliament and Funkadelic songs formed the basis of West Coast G Funk. The 1980s also saw a wave of funk metal fusion bands, led by Faith No More and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
In Brazil, the word "funk" is used to denote a distinct genre of music, related to electro.
Note: Despite its name, Grand Funk Railroad is not a funk band; it is a straight rock band. Also the word "funk" is often used too widely to refer to African-American pop music of the 1970s in general. Artists such as Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye actually recorded few straight funk pieces.
See also
External links
- What The Funk? (http://www.whatthefunk.org/): Example of West Coast funk
- Funk Music Organisation (http://www.funk-music.org/): Site Dedicated to Funk Music
- Funk Music Resources (http://www.surefunk.com/): Funk Resource
- Craig Charles Funk Show (http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/craig_charles/): BBC 6 Music funk showals:Funk (Musik)
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