Jazz-Funk & Disco: Part 2

Part 2: How JazzFunk found the dancefloor - The birth of Disco

04 — PHILLY SOUL CHANGES THE SOUND

If Jazz supplied the musical compositions and Funk supplied the rhythm, Philadelphia supplied much of the orchestral language that would define Disco.

The Philadelphia International sound of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff was revolutionary.

The musicians who became known as MFSB (Mother, Father, Sister, Brother) created records built around bass, drums, percussion, strings, horns and keyboards.

The result was sophisticated Soul infused with smooth jazzy tones and a powerful dancefloor pulse.

MFSB — Love Is the Message became one of the defining records of the emerging Disco era. But there is another detail that makes the record particularly important in the story of the dancefloor.

The full LP version of Love Is the Message runs for around 6 minutes and 35 seconds, while the 7-inch single was edited down to approximately 2 minutes and 40 seconds.

This difference tells us something important about how dance music was being consumed before the 12-inch single became established.

The extended groove was already in demand and there, however the technology and format simply hadn't caught up with it yet.

For DJs and dancers, the longer album versions could provide the space to let the rhythm breathe, allowing the bass, percussion, strings and keyboards to develop rather than being compressed into a short radio-friendly single.

The 12-inch single would soon change the relationship between the record, the DJ and the dancefloor. But the idea of giving the groove more room was already developing on the LP.

Love Is the Message is therefore more than a great Philadelphia Soul record.

It is a glimpse of where the dance record was heading.

The music wanted to last longer, the DJs wanted more room to play, and the dancefloor was ready for something bigger. The 12-inch single was about to arrive.

05 — DISCO ARRIVES

By the mid 1970s, Disco had become a cultural phenomenon.

But listen closely and both the Jazz and Funk DNA are everywhere.

The Trammps — Disco Inferno.
Donna Summer — I Feel Love.
Chic — Good Times.
Sister Sledge — We Are Family.
Cheryl Lynn — Got to Be Real.
First Choice — Let No Man Put Asunder.
Loleatta Holloway — Hit and Run.
Taana Gardner — Heartbeat.
Anita Ward — Ring My Bell.

These records sound different from the Jazz-Funk records that came before them, but the blueprint and musical skillsets are still there.

The rhythm sections are tight, the basslines are sophisticated, the arrangements are carefully constructed and the groove remains central.

Chic were particularly important as Nile Rodgers' guitar turned rhythm into melody and Bernard Edwards' bass became a lead instrument.

Good Times would later become one of the most important records in the history of Hip-Hop.

The Disco dancefloor was already creating the raw materials for the next generation.

06 — WHEN JAZZ MUSICIANS FOUND DISCO

Perhaps the most interesting part of this story is the number of Jazz musicians who crossed directly into Disco and dance music.

For them, there wasn't necessarily a contradiction. Jazz had always been about improvisation while Disco was about repetition. But this repetition created space and space created opportunities.

Listen to Harvey Mason — Groovin' You.

The drummer who played on countless Jazz, Soul and Fusion sessions was now making a record designed squarely for the dancefloor.

Or listen to George Benson — Give Me the Night.

Here was a well established and recognised Jazz guitarist with extraordinary improvisational credentials making one of the greatest crossover dance records of the era.

Idris Muhammad — Could Heaven Ever Be Like This, is another perfect example.

The drumming is unmistakably rooted in Jazz but the production, strings, percussion and groove point directly toward Disco.

Roy Ayers travelled the same path, as did Grover Washington Jr, Ronnie Laws, Eumir Deodato, and Herbie Hancock.

The Jazz musician had not abandoned Jazz, they simply discovered the dancefloor.
07 — THE ROOTS OF FUNK ARE STRONG

While Disco dominated the clubs, Funk continued developing alongside it.

In fact, some of the best Disco records were essentially Funk records dressed for the dancefloor.

Rick James' Super Freak is a perfect example.

The bass is filthy, the groove is heavy and the arrangement is pure Funk. Yet the record sits comfortably within the broader Disco-era dance culture.

Slave's Just a Touch of Love has the same quality, as does Lakeside's Fantastic Voyage.

T-Connection's ‘Do What You Wanna Do’ brings Caribbean rhythm into the mix.
The Whispers ‘And The Beat Goes On’ brings Soul & Funk to Disco.
Dynasty's ‘Adventures in the Land of Music’ demonstrates how polished Funk was becoming, and Teena Marie's ‘Behind the Groove’ sits directly between Soul, Funk and Disco.

And records such as Vernon Burch’s — Get Up, Carl Carlton’s — She's a Bad Mama Jama, Jimmy Bo Horne’s — Spank, or Al Hudson & The Partners — You Can Do It show just how difficult it was to draw a hard line between Funk and Disco, and the dancefloor didn't care.