Jeff Silverman might not be a household name, but he has been a guiding hand in the soul and funk scene for over three decades. Among his many contributions, he co-founded Truth & Soul Records, produced the Aloe Blacc breakthrough album, Good Things and has composed music for Rockstar Games. Now, as J Dynamite, he puts himself to the fore and gives us The Powers That Be
It’s an album forged in that space between the classic funk and soul sound and something more cinematic, sometimes chilled and retro, sometimes incendiary and forward-thinking…always groovy, instrumental music made where many sounds and styles, eras and genres and even media disciplines find common ground.
The first two tracks, as signposts for what follows, work wonders. ‘Re-education’ reminds us that opening salvos don’t have to be big and obvious, and with that in mind, it slow-burns its way through chilled flutescapes and almost ambient understatements toward more groovesome pastures. By contrast, ‘Chase Theme’ delivers on its title: the perfect soundtrack to a filmic action scene, a blast of urges and energy, rising tension, and relentless funk. Taken together, this is a great sonic one-two and an indicator of the album’s scope and scale.
‘La Settima Sorella’ blends nostalgic euro-groove with a brass-infused, Latin vibe; it is both gentle mood music and adventurous cinematic funkscapes. ‘Journey of the Sun’ is warm and celebratory, and ‘Potbelly Hill’ comes from a place where lazy funky finesse and bluesy psych moves all gather around to celebrate a Hammond organ’s ebb and flow.
This exploration into rare groove territory is both timeless and timely. Timeless because of the sounds that are woven through, sonics echoing perhaps a hundred years of music-making from early blues to 50s jazz to 70s funk to modern soundscaping. Timely because, after so long as the largely unacknowledged and unseen power behind the throne of so much great music, J-Dynamite finally gets to wear the shimmering crown he so richly and readily deserves.
