Search - Papa Grows Funk :: Live at the Leaf

Great New Orleans funk with a jazz tinge

Nobody important | 06/23/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Papa Grows Funk is one of the premiere New Orleans funk bands right now. The band is led by keyboard player John "Papa" Gros. His last name is pronounced like, "grow," so the name of the band is a bad pun. However, the band is serious. Gros is a New Orleans funk keyboard player/singer in the tradition of Art Neville, Dr. John, et al. The other standouts in the band are guitarist June Yamagishi, who appears on many New Orleans recordings, and sax player Jason Mingledorff. The over-all sound of the band is reminiscent of The Meters, but Yamagishi's guitar work is a bit more rock-influenced than Leo Nocentelli's, and Mingledorff brings a bit of jazz to the table, so the band is not just another copy of The Meters. Like any good funk band, they are at their best live, so if you are going to get a Papa Grows Funk album, this is the one to get. The live setting gives them a chance to properly stretch out like the hard-rocking, jazz-inflected Meters-style funk band that they are. Further listening (aside from The Meters): Porter Batiste Stoltz (as well as solo albums by Brian Stoltz), Galactic (and solo albums by Stanton Moore), Shane Theriot, Greyboy Allstars (and solo albums by Robert Walter), "We Came to Play," by Johnny Vidacovich, George Porter and June Yamagishi. John Gros also has a solo album which is less funk-oriented, but quite good."