#studio jam

Studio Jams – Jon McLaughlin

The 77th episode of Studio Jams was recently taped at Forge Recording studios. This time, the session included pianist/vocalist Jon McLaughlin, guitarist Randy Bowland, bassist and Pottstown native Bennie Sims and drummer and Philly native James Rouse. McLaughlin has collaborated with artists as diverse as Demi Lovato, Sara Bareilles, and Jason Mraz, and he performed at the 2008 Academy Awards.…

There was once a day when I claimed that I didn't like funk. It was ashamedly not that long ago, two years at most. I mean, come on, it's basically always one chord and nothing ever happens, right? 

Today, I have a short and sweet pair of tracks for you. I will present them chronologically, as they appeared in the universe. However, I experienced them in the opposite order, because that's the wonder of being right now where everything that was ever recorded exists simultaneously for the consuming. We do not get to go on the journey of discovering old music in the order it was released and there's a trick to that too. Sometimes things that sound cliche to me are actually the source of the cliche and sent cultural shockwaves through the system when they first hit.

The first morsel is this, Earth Wind and Fire's very popular "Fair but So Uncool." The refrain has been stuck in my head for days. It is such a groovy piece. This song is a little unusual to me because the descending motif in the keys that repeats unrelentingly throughout the thing, with the exception of just before and during the chorus, is the instrument that seems to be holding it down in partnership with the percussion. Usually that's the bass' job, don't you think? Here, like in plenty of good funk, the bass has the freedom to play, and play it does. The line is all over the place in the second verse. Supplying us with the syncopation and alternate approaches to the root note we have come to take for granted in groovy music. This changes towards the end of the song where the bass joins the keys in holding it steady. There is another unusual element in this song; there is a real piano in the mix as well as the keyboard. The real piano elaborates and adorns as well as supports the descending motif at times. It plays around too. The last thing I want to point out about this song is the vocal percussive element present in the end of the track. The chorus of "ooh"s and "uh"s contribute enormously to the punchiness of this track. I love them. They are part tonal, part percussive and all magic. 

Voodoo Chile