Kris Funn CornerStore

Kris Funn
CornerStore
Self-produced

The CornerStore - "On the corner of bebop and hiphop, hard rock and hard knocks … Here in West Baltimore. This ain't just a store. It's a metaphor for our lives. … So take a look around. We ain't got what you need, but I know we got what you want. … Thank You For Shopping With Us… Welcome to the corner store." This bits and pieces excerpt comes from Paige Hernadez's narration of the opening track of bassist Kris Funn's long-awaited recording "CornerStore," which is also the group under which this music is presented in public.

Funn is a second generation jazz artist whose father Charles is also a noted educator who was honored a couple years ago by the Jazz Journalists Association as a jazz hero. Kris Funn may be familiar to those who are fans of trumpeter Christian Scott's music as he has been part of Scott's band for a number of years as well as is heard on Scott's recordings. Funn has also played and recorded with vibraphonist Warren Wolf and too many others to note, and when the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival needed a rhythm section for the great Benny Golson, Funn was on bass.

The rest of the CornerStore includes drummer John Lampkin (or Quincy Phillips), guitarist John Lee and saxophonist Tim Green. Allyn Johnson and Janelle Gill add piano to a few tracks. When this writer first saw Kris Funn and CornerStore at a Capital Bop (Local DC jazzgroup) produced show several years ago, it was Lee and Lampkin. Seeing the group on this and other occasions I told Kris he needed to record this group. I was not alone in this, and finally we have this recording.

The music here brings together the mix of lyricism, blues feeling, funk and more, that characterize the CornerStore performances. Blues is a root of Funn's compositions, often repeating a melodic phrase before the compositions open in unexpected and delightful fashions. The opening "Visceral," a trio performance with Funn, Lampkin and Lee imaginatively and energetically taking us through this blues. It was on the following "Gemini," with Green's alto added, that one starts to appreciate the melodic elements of Funn's music with his singing tone in harmony with Lee's guitar on stating the theme. The performances are full of fun (no pun intended) as well as imaginative playing with unexpected twists.

The only number on this that was a bit disappointing was "Thursday Night Prayer Meeting," and that is because pianist Allyn Johnson is spectacular as usual, but he dominates the performance that it minimizes the stop-time, bass break that is part of why this such a favorite of the CornerStore's live performances. At the CD release party at the Kennedy Center (viewable at the Kennedy Center's website), they closed with this. While Johnson was perhaps even more astonishing, the bass break was also more prominent. But it still is a very good performance. In any event, this terrific album has been well worth the wait for us.

I purchased this. It is available from various internet stores including at bandcamp, https://cornerstoremusic.bandcamp.com/album/cornerstore. At another CD release party at the Washington DC Leica Store, Kris Funn and the CornerStore are seen performing "Thursday Night Prayer Meeting," with Herb Scott on alto sax, John Lee on guitar and John Lampkin on drums.

David Weiss' Endangered Species: The Music of Wayne Shorter

Wayne Shorter's 80th Birthday (which was two days prior to this review being posted) has led to  world-wide celebrations of Shorter's music. For example, in Washington DC, there have been several groups leading retrospectives of Shorter's compositions from different stages of his career. In a similar vein, trumpeter David Weiss arranged and orchestrated several Shorter compositions and then assembled an All-Star, twelve member big band. This band performed at Jazz at Lincoln Center where they were recorded. Endangered Species: The Music of Wayne Shorter (Motéma Music) is collected from those performances.

Its quite a band that Weiss assembled. The saxophone section included Tim Green on alto sax; Marcus Strickland on tenor and soprano sax; Ravi Coltrane on tenor saxophone and Norbert Stachel on baritone sax and bass clarinet. Diego Urcola and Jeremy Pelt along with Weiss are the trumpet section while Joe Fiedler and Steve Davis are on trombone. The rhythm section has Geri Allen on piano, Dwayne Burno on bass and E.J. Strickland on drums. This large group provides for a different take on these compositions than generally were initially heard when first recorded with smaller groups. Also, it does result with a certain similarity between the performances whereas Shorter's performance of a composition such as Nellie Bly with Art Blakey would have a different flavor than Fall with Miles Davis.

With that in mind, there are plenty of pleasures. Weiss' arrangements provided a rich backdrop along with the marvelous full ensemble playing to set the mood and frame the solos. The rhythm section sparkles with Geri Allen stunning both as part of the rhythm and as soloist . Throughout there are plenty of brilliant playing including trombonist Davis at the beginning of Nellie Bly; trumpeter Pelt and saxophonist Coltrane on Fall; Tim Green on "Mr. Jin"; Marcus Strickland on soprano sax on Weiss' The Turning Gate (the one non-Shorter composition but based on one of Shorter's works); Pelt and Allen on the lovely ballad Eva; and Pelt and Strickland on the closing Prometheus Unbound.

Whether one agrees with annotator Bill Milkowski that Wayne Shorter is jazz's greatest living composer, there is little question that he is amongst the greatest and has produced one of the most significant body of compositions over six decades. By investing the compositions with his own musical vision and assembling a terrific band, David Weiss has produced this substantial salute to Wayne Shorter that shows how fresh and contemporary the music of Wayne Shorter remains as it continues to inspire so many musicians and listeners.

I received my review copy from a publicist for this release.  

Mem Shannon's Lively Night at Tipitina's

Mem Shannon is the former New Orleans taxi driver who started a career as a blues artist two decades or so ago. He brought a very recognizable approach to his music, with soul accents and lyrics that told stories, not simply some catchy lines with hooks. It has been some four years since Northern Blues issued his last album, although he is now associated with the Threadheads and his next project will be for Threadhead Records. The following review was written in 2007 for Jazz & Blues Report, but was not published.

The former New Orleans taxi driver, Mem Shannon, has just issued a new CD, Live: A Night At Tipitina’s (Northern Blues), which presents his immediately recognizable blend of soul, funk & blues. He is backed by his band, The Membership, that includes Joshua Milligan on the drums, Robert ‘Rhock’ Dabon on keyboards, and Angelo Nocentelli on bass which is augmented by saxophonists Jason Mingledorff, Joe Cabral and Tim Green and revisits staples of his repertoire as Payin’ My Dues, Who Are They? and Phunkville along with unusual covers of The Neville Brothers’ Voodoo and Tom Petty’s I Won’t Back Down.


There will be no surprises to Shannon’s fans, as his studio albums have captured his sound pretty well with his soul-laced singing, his witty, ironic lyrics and tight funk grooves that are laid down. The performances are a bit lengthier giving him and the band a chance to stretch out (although one might suggest a couple songs are a tad long, but otherwise this can safely be recommended to his fans and for those unfamiliar with the body of his recordings, this set certainly is a good place to become acquainted with his distinctive music.


I received my review copy from either the label or a publicist.