Funky Friday – Episode 71: Acid Funk

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Airdate: 6.12.26 - 9 AM Pacific Time on KDOG & 9 PM Pacific Time on KCSM HD2

Happy Funky Friday, Renegades of Funk!

Funky Friday – Episode 71: Acid Funk

I started Episode 71: Acid Funk thinking I was going to figure out what Acid Funk meant.

That seemed straightforward enough.

Then I started listening.

The term gets used a lot of different ways. Sometimes people mean acid jazz. Sometimes they mean jazz-funk. Sometimes they're talking about a scene, a sound, or a period of time. The deeper I dug, the less interested I became in finding a definition everybody agreed on.

What kept pulling me back was Liquid Soul.

Not because they had the answer.

Because they sounded like they weren't worried about the question.

One artist led to another. The Brand New Heavies. The James Taylor Quartet. Greyboy Allstars. Galactic. Soulive. The Motet. St. Germain. Artists from different places and different decades that somehow felt like they belonged in the same conversation.

The funny thing is that none of them sound exactly alike.

Some lean toward jazz. Some lean toward funk. Some drift into soul, hip-hop, house, or something else entirely. Yet when I started stacking the records next to each other, they felt like they belonged in the same room.

At some point the artwork started taking shape.

A laboratory showed up.

Then some beakers.

Then bubbling acid.

Then The Chronicler wandered into the picture and apparently decided he was running the experiment.

By the time everything was finished there was a chalkboard hanging on the wall with a formula written across it:

Bass.

Wah.

Groove.

Nobody was trying to make a serious statement about music theory. It just felt like the kind of thing you'd find scribbled on a wall after a long night of chasing songs.

The playlist came together the same way.

One track pointed toward another. Chicago led to London. London led to New York. New York led to New Orleans. Every time I thought I had reached the edge of the map, another artist showed up.

Eventually I stopped worrying about what Acid Funk was supposed to mean.

I just kept adding songs until it felt like they belonged in the laboratory.

A bubbling beaker.

A stack of vinyl.

A Hammond organ somewhere in the background.

And a room full of musicians who never seemed particularly interested in staying inside the lines.

Funky Friday – Episode 71: Acid Funk

🔥 SETLIST + RENEGADE NOTES

THE BRAND NEW HEAVIES — BONAFIED FUNK (1994)

PERSONNEL: N'Dea Davenport (vocals), Simon Bartholomew (guitar), Andrew Levy (bass), Jan Kincaid (drums), Bob Dowell (keyboards).

RENEGADE NOTE: One of the defining groups of the acid jazz movement, The Brand New Heavies helped reconnect 1990s audiences with live funk, soul, and groove-driven musicianship at a time when electronic production was becoming dominant.

THE JAMES TAYLOR QUARTET — IN THE HAND OF THE INEVITABLE (1993)

PERSONNEL: James Taylor (Hammond organ), Nigel Price (guitar), Andrew McKinney (bass), Nick Smart (drums).

RENEGADE NOTE: Built around the unmistakable sound of the Hammond organ, The James Taylor Quartet became one of the flagship groups of the British acid jazz movement. Their recordings remain a blueprint for the genre.

LIQUID SOUL — JAZZ MACHINE (1996)

PERSONNEL: Mars Williams (saxophone), Tom Klein (bass), Dan Leali (guitar), Sonny Burke (keyboards), Jimi De’Ramus (drums).

RENEGADE NOTE: Formed in Chicago, Liquid Soul helped bridge jazz improvisation and club culture. Jazz Machine captures the band's ability to make sophisticated musicianship feel effortless and danceable.

THE MOTET — NEMESIS (2022)

PERSONNEL: Dave Watts (drums), Garrett Sayers (bass), Joey Porter (keyboards), Drew Sayers (saxophone), Ryan Jalbert (guitar).

RENEGADE NOTE: The Motet represents a modern generation of groove-based bands carrying forward traditions established by funk, jazz-fusion, and acid jazz pioneers.

GREYBOY ALLSTARS — PANACEA (1994)

PERSONNEL: Karl Denson (saxophone), Robert Walter (keyboards), Elgin Park (guitar), Chris Stillwell (bass), Aaron Redfield (drums).

RENEGADE NOTE: The Greyboy Allstars helped spark the acid-jazz and jazz-funk revival in the United States during the 1990s, combining deep-pocket grooves with improvisational freedom.

THE HAGGIS HORNS — THE TRAVELLER PT. 2 (2024)

PERSONNEL: Malcolm Strachan (trumpet), Atholl Ransome (saxophone), Rob Mitchell (drums), Alex Hall (guitar), Erroll Rollins (bass).

RENEGADE NOTE: Emerging from Leeds, England, The Haggis Horns have become one of Europe's premier contemporary funk ensembles, known for powerful horn arrangements and relentless grooves.

SOULIVE — EL RON (2003)

PERSONNEL: Eric Krasno (guitar), Alan Evans (drums), Neal Evans (Hammond organ).

RENEGADE NOTE: Soulive stripped the format down to a trio and proved that guitar, organ, and drums could generate enough energy to fill an entire room. El Ron remains one of their signature recordings.

BROOKLYN FUNK ESSENTIALS — TAKE THE L TRAIN (1995)

PERSONNEL: Lati Kronlund (guitar), Desmond Foster (bass), Yusuf Abdul Lateef (saxophone, flute), DJ Jazzy Nice (turntables), various guest vocalists and musicians.

RENEGADE NOTE: Brooklyn Funk Essentials blended funk, jazz, spoken word, and hip-hop into a uniquely urban sound that reflected the diversity of New York City's music scene.

ST GERMAIN — SURE THING (2000)

PERSONNEL: Ludovic Navarre (production, keyboards), guest jazz musicians and vocalists.

RENEGADE NOTE: St Germain became one of the most influential figures in the fusion of jazz and electronic music. Sure Thing demonstrates how groove can survive even when the instruments change.

EXODUS QUARTET — PERFECT VIBE (2021)

PERSONNEL: Exodus Quartet ensemble.

RENEGADE NOTE: Perfect Vibe closes the laboratory doors with a relaxed modern groove that reflects the continuing evolution of jazz-funk and acid-jazz influences in contemporary instrumental music.

🔗 Quick Links:

🎧 Listen live on KDOG 9 AM Pacific Time→ Here

🎧 Listen live on KCSM HD2 9 PM Pacific Time→ Here (On mobile, scroll down to the KCSM HD2 player)

📆 Add to Calendar — Funky Friday (Weekly):

• 9 AM KDOG

Add to Google Calendar

• 9 PM KCSM HD2

Add to Google Calendar

🎶 Catch the Replay → Comming Soon

📖 Full Episode Recaps + Setlists → Here

📂 Renegade Radio Site → Here

Funk Facts

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THE BRAND NEW HEAVIES — BONAFIED FUNK

Built around syncopated rhythm guitar, deep electric bass grooves, Hammond-style keyboard textures, layered horn arrangements, and soul-influenced vocal phrasing. The arrangement reflects the acid-jazz movement's emphasis on live musicianship, groove continuity, and the revival of classic funk performance techniques.

THE JAMES TAYLOR QUARTET — IN THE HAND OF THE INEVITABLE

Driven by Hammond organ, tightly synchronized rhythm-section performance, blues-derived harmonic language, and repetitive groove development. The arrangement demonstrates many of the musical characteristics that became closely associated with British acid jazz during the 1990s.

LIQUID SOUL — JAZZ MACHINE

Built around horn-driven melodic development, jazz improvisation, dance-oriented rhythmic structure, and layered ensemble interaction. The arrangement balances sophisticated musicianship with club-oriented accessibility, helping bridge jazz and contemporary groove culture.

THE MOTET — NEMESIS

Constructed from interlocking bass and drum patterns, modern funk guitar textures, horn punctuations, and extended groove development. The arrangement emphasizes rhythmic momentum while drawing from both classic funk traditions and contemporary production aesthetics.

GREYBOY ALLSTARS — PANACEA

Driven by improvisational jazz vocabulary, organ-led harmonic movement, syncopated rhythm-section performance, and ensemble interaction. The arrangement reflects the jazz-funk revival's focus on spontaneity, groove, and collective musicianship.

THE HAGGIS HORNS — THE TRAVELLER PT. 2

Constructed from prominent horn arrangements, driving rhythm guitar, syncopated bass lines, and tightly coordinated ensemble performance. The arrangement reflects contemporary funk's continued reliance on horn-section dynamics and rhythmic precision.

SOULIVE — EL RON

Driven by Hammond organ, guitar, and drums operating as a compact improvisational unit. The arrangement generates harmonic richness and rhythmic complexity through continuous interaction between only three musicians.

BROOKLYN FUNK ESSENTIALS — TAKE THE L TRAIN

Built around urban funk rhythms, jazz instrumentation, hip-hop influences, layered percussion, and groove-oriented repetition. The arrangement reflects the musical diversity of New York's club and street culture during the acid-jazz era.

ST GERMAIN — SURE THING

Constructed from electronic production techniques, jazz harmonic vocabulary, repetitive groove structures, and gradual textural development. The arrangement demonstrates how jazz influences were incorporated into emerging electronic music forms without sacrificing rhythmic depth.

EXODUS QUARTET — PERFECT VIBE

Driven by relaxed rhythmic pacing, melodic ensemble interaction, contemporary jazz-funk harmonic language, and groove-centered development. The arrangement prioritizes atmosphere, feel, and musical conversation over technical display.