This is FRESH AIR. In the 1970s, influential musicians such as Ornette Coleman began combining free jazz and electric funk. Three notable vets of free funk bands periodically team up to get ...

Dee Dee Bridgewater turns 76 as the Grammy-winning jazz and funk icon continues touring, mentoring artists and releasing ...

Herbie Hancock and the Headhunter's virtuoso bass player Paul Jackson's song “Funky Fingers" makes the top 10 of “New Jazz Funk Songs of the Last Decade." Tokyo, Japan - “Funky Fingers" featuring ...

The 40 Fingers Guitar Quartet was founded in 2017 by four very successful performers from completely different musical backgrounds, inextricably woven into the fabric of their common exploration of ...

Albums like To Pimp a Butterfly and 1999 blend jazz harmonies with sharp lyricism, proving the genre’s deep connection. Hip-hop may keep evolving, but funk and jazz remain its heartbeat, fueling its ...

The foundations of funk were laid down in the mid-1960s, when James Brown began to emphasize the first beat of each measure in his stage-tested and frenzy-inducing R&B songs. Before the decade’s end, ...

Courtesy of the Kennedy/Marshall Company and Sony Pictures Classics Anybody who’s been to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival could tell you that the hardest part of making a movie about the ...

“Superstition” by Wonder is one of the greatest funk songs ever. Released in 1972, it has an unforgettable groove, catchy rhythm, and energetic vibe. The funky clavinet riff is instantly recognizable.

There have been a lot of words to describe good funk music. Dirty. Gritty. Grimy. When done right, funk should make your face scrunch up, your head nod and your body move in ways even you might not ...