At the beginning of the 1960s, at the Berklee College of Music, Byard Lancaster met some feisty friends: Sonny Sharrock, Dave Burrell and Ted Daniel. It is easy to see why he rapidly became involved in free jazz. Once he was settled in New York, he appeared on Sunny Murray Quintet, recorded under the leadership of the drum crazy colleague of Albert Ayler.
In 1968, the saxophonist and flutist recorded his first album under his own name: It’s Not Up To Us. The following year he came to Paris in the wake of… Sunny Murray. He would come back to France in 1971 (again with Murray) and in 1973 (without Murray for a change). This is when he met Jef Gilson, the pianist and producer who encouraged him to record under his own name again.
On Palm Records (Gilson’s label), he would release no less than four albums: Us, Mother Africa, Exactement and Funny Funky Rib Crib, this unforgettable recording (which is in fact the fruit of several sessions dating from the middle of 1974) of creative jazz overwhelmed by funk and soul.
If Lancaster had already made successful albums in the same genre – notably New Horizons, under the name Sounds Of Liberation which he co-led with Khan Jamal –, this one is an homage to James Brown and Sammy Davis enjoying the company of a host of guests including François Tusques (electric piano), Clint Jackson III (trumpet), François Nyombo (guitar), Joseph Traindl (trombone)…
The cover of Funny Funky Rib Crib is a three-quarter profile portrait of the saxophonist (who can also be heard on flute, piano and even vocals). But on the record, the whole group, inspired and frenetic, tests the melodies of “Just Test”, “Dogtown” or “Rib Crib” – the two versions of which display leader Lancaster’s art of nuance. But, on both sides of the album the group also moves into a calmer groove, full of blues and soul, “Work And Pray” and “Loving Kindness” are meditative tracks where listeners can lay back and relax before asking for more: Funny Funky Rib Crib!!!
он должен быть опубликован на 17.07.2026

















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