There are people who think that the terms JAMES LAST and FUNKY MUSIC cannot be used in the same sentence. These people may know James Last, but certainly not the whole James Last.

But because the bandleader was (and still is) appreciated above all for atmospheric dance music, his image is often reduced to this kind of entertainment. It was only after his THE LONELY SHEPHERD was featured in the film KILL BILL, FANTASY was used by P. Diddy in the rap song WHERE’S SEAN and he recorded the track RUF MICH AN with Fettes Brot that it dawned on the general public that James Last’s party sound can also be very fat and very funky.

As an award-winning jazz bassist, rhythm was particularly important to Last from the very beginning. As a brilliant arranger, it was not difficult for him to embed it in rousing orchestrations. Funk and disco sounds, with their strongly accentuated rhythm, dominant bass lines, syncopated riffs and rich brass sound, were therefore very much his thing. As proof, listen to his arrangement of the famous STAR WARS theme that opens this album. AI NO CORRIDA and STUFF LIKE THAT are associated with the great Quincy Jones, whom James Last greatly admired. There are countless cover versions of THE HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN, Last opted for a Latin disco version, similar to the one that made Santa Esmeralda a hit in 1978.

DON’T LEAVE ME THIS WAY brought Thelma Houston into the disco charts, James Last took up this arrangement and made the song a highlight in his own repertoire with clever touch-ups, just like classics by Earth, Wind & Fire, Hot Chocolate, KC & The Sunshine Band and the Bee Gees. In between, with NEW YORK DISCO, he also hid a little gem from his own pen together with his son Ron, who was jointly responsible for the fact that modern influences repeatedly refreshed Last’s sound. PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC … and try to keep your feet still! Jan Demin

James Last – Funky Music (Edition DUR 020)

As always, limited to 500 Vinyl copies, exclusively available at Dussmann das Kulturkaufhaus.