Say the name
Maceo Parker, and immediately the legendary R&B saxman's longterm association with the late, great
James Brown comes to mind. Depending on how steeped one is in R&B,
Parker's later work with
George Clinton and
Bootsy Collins might pop up. But long before the Godfather of Soul entered the saxman's life,
Parker was grooving heavily on
Ray Charles, who became one of the influential musical heroes of his life. The first disc of
Roots and Grooves gloriously celebrates
Parker's connection to these roots, his early years in North Carolina listening to early
Charles tracks on the radio. The second is something of a wildly jazzy, impossibly funky jam retrospective on his best solo tracks. The hook that makes this more than simply a high energy covers date is that it teams the brilliant altoist with Germany's renowned
WDR Big Band -- and from the first swinging blasts behind
Parker's horn on "Hallelujah I Love Her So," "big" is the operative word. Given
Parker's sense of groove invention and the evergreen emotional power of
Charles' chestnuts like "Busted" and "Hit the Road Jack," anyone might have expected this to be a dream match. But it's more than that because
Parker also sings with a gravelly,
Charles-like perfection on these two songs, and even more poignantly on "You Don't Know Me," "Margie," and a magically moody "Georgia on My Mind."
Charles may have been declared deceased in body in 2004, but he lives again through
Parker in haunting yet wonderful ways. On "Getting Back to Funk" (the title of the second disc),
Parker revisits his own rich catalog of classics, starting with "Uptown Up" and vibing right on through to a nearly 18-minute scorching take on "Pass the Peas." Released in early 2008, this double set was an instant classic.
Charles was not the only genius who loved company --
Parker, too, has a blast working with one of the hippest big bands in the world. ~ Jonathan Widran