Jazz-funk stalwarts The Boom Yeh drop album ‘Near-Earth Objects’
Thunderous jazz-funk powerhouse from London The Boom Yeh releases third album Near Earth Objects, with 8 tracks of instrumental grooves ranging from jazz-fusion, soul-jazz, funk-rock and jazz-funk, and featuring musicians who have worked with Jamiroquai, The Brand New Heavies, Incognito, Alice Russell and Leroy Hutson.
Propelled by the powerhouse rhythm section of band leader Jon Speedy on guitar, Matteo Grassi on bass and Alessio Barelli on drums, the grooves are interspersed with the complex horn arrangements of sax player Ian Bailey, spotlighting renowned trombone player Tom White and baritone sax player Paul Silver.
The concept behind the album was to create a group of concise instrumentals, as opposed to long form compositions that the band has explored before. It’s a small window into their live sets, trimming away all the excess and getting to the fundamentals of the tunes. This gives them the freedom to improvise when performing them, expanding on the listener’s expectations, giving them something fresh and new every time.
Opening track “Keep Right On” is a blistering syncopated jazz-funk assault reminiscent of The Brecker Brothers and Tower Of Power. It was the first single and features horn solos from trombone player Tom White and sax player/horn arranger Ian Bailey, followed by a virtuosic drum solo courtesy of Alessio Barelli.
“Chronic Tonic” was the second single lifted from the album and it’s a smooth jazz-funker with hip-hop undertones, echoing early Prince with a boogie/disco outro in the vein of George Duke. While “Hot Tamale” is an abrasive funk-rock stomper and imaginary score for a forgotten exploitation movie, featuring a heavy duty guitar solo from guitarist and band leader Jon Speedy.
“Pocket Rocket” is a deep pocket funk tribute to George Clinton’s Parliament-Funkadelic with bebop-infused horn riffs. Featured solos include Paul Silver on baritone sax and guest keyboard player Carl Hudson on Oberheim synth.
Titletrack “Near-Earth Objects” is high energy jazz-fusion exploring the universe of Herbie Hancock and The Headhunters with an afro-beat inspired horn outro and featuring guest keyboard player Carl Hudson on Fender Rhodes and synth. “Othership” is another cosmic number, with big band jazz-funk and a rare groove midsection, entirely composed by Jon Speedy as a nod to his father Dave Speedy – a jazz trumpet player and big band leader.
The closing tracks of the full-length are “Mind’s Eye” and “Possibilities”, the former blending laidback Ibiza chill-out vibes with Donald Byrd and the Mizell Brothers, featuring blissful Fender Rhodes and synth overdubs from guest keyboard player Carl Hudson. While the latter finishes the album off with slow-burning good vibes in the spirit of Roy Hargrove’s RH Factor and early neo-soul with a gospel flavoured outro.
‘Near-Earth Objects’ out on LP / Digitally on Oct. 4th 2024 via Cosmosium
