It’s been quite some time and rather long overdue that we get blessed with a new project that we’ve been patiently waiting for from J. Dynamite, a fixture in the industry who has help to shape the modern soul, funk and rare groove landscape even if you aren’t familiar with his contributions. But with every great artist or musician who lays in the shadows of secrecy, there always comes a time where they step to the forefront and deliver their monumental magnum opus. And that greatness is “The Powers That Be”.
With The Powers That Be, Dynamite reunites with many of the musicians who helped define the funk & soul resurgence. Featuring Grammy-winning bassist Nick Movshon, whose credits include countless Truth & Soul productions; Stuart Bogie (Antibalas, TV On The Radio, Arcade Fire) on flute and saxophone; guitarist Luke O’Malley (Antibalas, Phenomenal Handclap Band, The Roots); keyboardist Jake Pinto (Magic City Hippies); Miles Francis (Antibalas, EMEFE) on drums; Philadelphia vibraphonist Angelo Outlaw; Grammy-winning Latin percussionist Reinaldo DeJesus; Vincent John of Eraserhood Sound; and a cast of longtime collaborators whose collective résumé spans decades of adventurous music-making. Horn arrangements by Michael Leonhart and Michael ‘Treetop’ Voss of Germany’s deep funk kings, The Poets Of Rhythm.
Despite the history of the musicians involved, The Powers That Be is deliberately not a nostalgia trip. Jeff Dynamite turns the accumulated experience of a long career into something immediate, personal and forward-looking. The album is not a retrospective, but a chance to hear what happens when a producer with decades of musical history finally puts his own name at the center of the record.
Available here: https://mightyeyerecords.com/products/j-dynamite-the-powers-that-be-1