10 Musical Artists Who Are Keeping Funk Alive
7. Lettuce
The name Lettuce might not immediately conjure up thoughts of funky backbeats and tight basslines, but one listen to any album from this Berklee educated 8-piece is enough to realize they've earned their stripes in the genre. Their sources of inspiration - Curtis Mayfield, Herbie Hancock, and the like - are evident, but the band's idiomatic approach allows them to be considered an evolution of the style rather than mere imitators.
Take their 2012 release, Fly, for instance. Where the solid rhythms are interspersed by a combination of blues and jazz-rock licks. The drums - always in the pocket - keep the action driving forward without feeling rushed, and the horns are representative of the 70s tradition from which the group is born.
This peerless instrumentation continues on 2015s Crush, which, in addition to including colorful exchanges on tracks like Get Greasy and Chief, managed to rise to the top of the US Jazz Charts.
The band continues to "crush" with their most recent album, Mt. Crushmore (2016). Entries like Elephant Walk show they can pull off a slow, plodding funk groove with the best of them. The album's 8th track, The Love You Left Behind, showcases their ability to alternate between holding back for a strong vocalist and playing out when its time for the instrumentals to come to the fore.
The sound is equal parts old and new, reminiscent of its source material - but adorned with a transformative modern flavor that forces the listener out of their chair and onto the dance floor.