What happens when some of the industry’s most beloved musicians team up with a hefty ingredient list of funk, soul, gospel, blues and rock? The answer is the aptly named project The Big Ol’ Nasty Getdown, a funk supergroup that has been collaborating for 10 years. Now this cast of talented musical characters is gearing up to release their new album, Volume 2, on January 12, 2018. Collaborators on this release include Vernon Reid (Living Colour,) Speech (Arrested Development,) Larry Dunn (Earth, Wind and Fire,) Fred Wesley (The James Brown Band) and countless other musicians.
More than 50 musicians participated in the making of Volume 2, including: Vernon Reid (Living Colour,) Larry Dunn (Earth, Wind and Fire,) Fred Wesley (James Brown, Horny Horns), Karl Denson (The Rolling Stones, Tiny Universe,) Michael Ray and Clifford Adams (Kool and the Gang,) RonKat Spearman (Katdelic, Parliament-Funkadelic), Alvin Ford Jr. (Dumpstaphunk), Norwood Fisher, Angelo Moore, Dirty Walt (Fishbone), and Ivan Neville (Dumpstaphunk, The Funky Meters), just to name a few. At the root of the project is improvisation, originating in the mind of bassist John Heintz during a 2007 jam session at a music festival. Heintz found himself in a jam session with members of Galactic, Papa Grows Funk, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band and more, and sought to re-create that serendipitous, unrehearsed vibe that’s unexpectedly created and can carry music to unexpected places. Heintz wrote Volume 2 in a massive cabin in the woods outside of Asheville, NC.
Today Glide is excited to premiere “Past, Present, Future”, one of the grooviest tracks on the album. The song is a straightforward instrumental jam that twists and turns from straight up funk to cosmic jazz and wild guitar soloing. As a whole, the track encapsulates exactly what makes The Big Ol’ Nasty Getdown such a unique project. Describing it, the band says, “Fueled by high grade rocket sauce and lined with shag carpeting for comfort, ‘Past, Present, Future’ is a funk odyssey built for the ages.”
LISTEN:
The Big Ol’ Nasty Getdown release Volume 2 on January 12, 2018. For more music and info visit thebigolnastygetdown.com.
Artwork: Evan York
