Funk piano music recommendations?

[kirsten]

I think these funk videos are great. I would wish some recomendations of funk piano music with artists that have some of the same style to what is presented here. I know about Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder, but who else?

[alombard]

george duke

[ricoche]

I haven't checked out the videos yet, but one of my favorite Jazz Funk players is Jeff Lorber. Jeff actually is a mix of Regular Jazz, Smooth Jazz, Ballad, and Funk. Great stuff.

[tnewt]

I agree about Jeff Lorber and George Duke.
Willie, any chance of showing some material from their songs on here ?

[ricoche]

Another "FANTASTIC" group of Funk Piano/Keyboard players are the greats who play the Hammond B3. There are some great progressions and licks here. My most favorite and a guy who gets my butt moving everytime I listen to him is "Jimmy Smith". A few others are Dr. Lonnie Smith, Stevie Wonder ( Old Stuff ), and Bernie Worrell of Parliament-Funkadelic. This type of funk is also more "Blues" oriented then the Jeff Lorber stuff which to me is more Jazz.

Jimmy Smith is incredible though and a guy who really made me crave a Hammond B3 for a while. His greatest hits CD is probably the best for anyone interested in hearing a really funky piano player.

I find that there are a lot of great keyboard players out there can play funk very well, but they don't play on all of their songs or albums. For example, I like Russell Ferrante who plays keyboard for the Yellow Jackets. "Matinee Idol" is a classic. However, he doesn't play funk on all of his songs but rather much more jazz oriented stuff.

Probably another good question would be to talk about what "funk" keyboard songs you like or have heard recently that you like. That would be a cool perspective to think about.

Jim

[williemyette]

Would you all like to see some more organ stuff?

[ricoche]

Would you all like to see some more organ stuff?

Hi Willie,

This might be pretty cool. I don't have a Hammond B3 or any sort of Organ, rather I use the Sounds of the 60s & 70s expansion card for the Roland JV-2080 series. This gets me a wide variety of Organ sounds which is nice. In the case of Jimmy Smith above on one of his Greatest Hits CDs he has a couple of songs that are out of this world.

1. The Cat - This has a great blues funk rhythm that is cool to groove on and then solo. The rhythm lends a great foundation to weave funky blues licks in and out.

2. Got My Mojo Workin' - This has to be one of the best blues organ solos I have ever heard. It get me pumped every time I listen to it. Jimmy's Q&A style blues phrasing is incredible. I also use this song as a basis to discover new licks because he allows a lot of breathing in between the riffs, thus the Q&A effect.

I think Organ music is an excellent resource for discovering funky blues licks, rhythms, progressions and ideas on how to dynamically move your fingers.

I really recommend anyone who is into Funk and Blues ( perhaps Jazz too ) to pick up a Hits album of Jimmy Smith. Make sure "The Cat" and "Got My Mojo Workin'" are on the CD. I guarantee if you can learn to play like "Got My Mojo Workin" you will definitely please the crowd.

A side note about some of these "Hammond B3" Organ Style Funk Blues recordings. Many of the songs have a Bass Player and Horn Section that plays the background rhythm part. The Organ than often solos over the top with the melody. I find you can usually work the Bass into the left hand and the Horns into the right. Then weave the Solo parts in with the Horns. I'm not sure why, but I think "Phat" chords are not that popular to play on the Organ, probably because all the modulation might dirty of the chords. I find there's a lot of single bass notes and triad type chords with licks mixed in.

Enjoy!

Jim

[wmyette]

Cool, thanks Jim.

I can see doing an organ video that has "backing tracks" so you can see how I approach the organ in a group.

There is some of that on the FUNKMASTER series with Thomas.

[jazzyj]

Well, now that you've brought it up, I'd love to see some funky organ licks. Organ players in my town (Detroit) are really guarded with their creations. A friend who repairs Hammond Organs put an A-100 together for me (the B-3 with internal speakers that doesn't require a leslie speaker) so that I could practice.
Willie, if you put some organ stuff on this site, I'd get work like crazy! I could finally lose the chains from my stale, dry 9-5 ritual (my dream).

Thank you in advance for helping to make dreams come true.

JazzyJ

[jazzyj]

By the way, along with Jimmy Smith, one of my other favorites was Charles Earland. I would play his music all day long. Anyone loving B-3 sounds should check him out.

Thanks Willie,
Jazzj

[wurlygreg]

I'm trying to figure out exactly what kind of music I want to learn. Most of the songs listed here don't do all that much for me, however, I *am* enjoying the lessons, for the most part.

I *really* like George Michael's "Too Funky", and that *has* to be funk, right? :)
I think I want to learn a more upbeat kind of funk, like in this song. Is there a "pop funk"?

Yes, I love Stevie Wonder too, with my favourite song being "Living For The City". (what genre would that be? It's not really funk, is it?)

Greg.

[wurlygreg]

Btw, I love what Brian Culbertson is doing in that Roland clip. (I skimmed through a lot of his stuff in iTunes but couldn't find anything quite like the YouTube clip, though)

Greg.
re: my nickname - yes, I have a real Wurlitzer electric piano, and yes, I love Supertramp.;^)

[williemyette]

Hey Greg, thanks for your post.

There are sooo many hip tunes out there! I also like that BC clip.

My suggestion is to take a look at the fundamentals that I am laying down here. The site is more about learning those fundamentals than learning a particular piece.

I like this approach because it means that you will learn more rapidly how to apply these techniques to all songs rather than a select few.

I have a new approach to doing the videos now. I will soon add a form for people to submit their requests to be added to the queue. The more requests I get for a song/concept, then that soon shows up on the site as a lesson.

September's lesson is Funk Improv 3. I think you'll find a lot of ides in that lesson to keep you going for a month or more!

Keep the posts coming. I know that I do not always respond quickly, but I do see your posts and I appreciate that you're my student!

-w

[ricoche]

Hi Willie,

I really like the new video format of having something new each month to learn and jam with. I think this is great not so much to have new material, but rather it allows me to set monthly goals better. It kind of encourages me to work really hard on the current month's material in anticipation for expansion the following month or two.

By the way, you have really done a great job with the Funk Piano Lessons with the Grooves, Bass Lines, and Improv Series. I'm having a ball with that. Thanks so much.

Jim

[jazzyj]

Hi Willie;
I love the funk improv lessons. I keep playing each video over and over again. I need to get the DVDs but I can't tell if those lessons are on DVD for sale yet. Are they, and if so on what DVD(s) or if not, when do you think they will be available? I think they would make a very nice Christmas present for myself.

Thanks.
jazzyj