Bernie Worrell with Socialybrium at the Berklee Beantown Jazz Festival

By Tom WeeksOctober 25th, 2011Beantown Jazz, SliderPhil Farnsworth

Funk and rock legend Bernie Worrell graced Boston with his presence at this year’s Beantown Jazz Festival. As Parliament-Funkadelic’s original keyboardist, Worrell co-wrote and performed on many of the band’s most well-known hits including “Flash Light,” “Give Up The Funk,” “Mothership Connection,” “Aqua Boogie” and many more. In addition to his groundbreaking work with P-Funk, Worrell was featured several times with The Talking Heads and collaborated with, among others, Bill Laswell and Les Claypool. Worrell is highly regarded as a tremendous influence on this generation’s synth players. Ice Cube once called him the best keyboardist he’s ever heard.

Worrell (himself a New England Conservatory alumni) is a personal hero of mine and it has been a long time since I’ve gotten to see him in concert. He did not disappoint. Worrell’s new group, Socialybrium, unleashed some ultra-heavy, mega-funk-rock-jazz fusion upon the unsuspecting Beantown Jazz Festival crowd.

The group began its set by launching into a heavy, funk-rock groove built on Bernie’s real deal Herbie Hancock-type jazz voicings. He directed the band through some exciting, well-constructed, and seamlessly segued jams. Worrell skillfully demonstrated his mastery of the different synths by switching between funky saws, grooving organs and smooth Rhodes as the music called for it. It was obvious his long career and vaunted history playing electric keyboards enabled him to develop and employ interesting techniques beyond traditional piano playing, making him, arguably, one of the most unique musicians in the world today.

Towards the end of the set, drummer J.T. Lewis yelled, “Funk it up! Funk! It! Up!” between songs and Worrell produced a melodica and stated a motif which he then proceeded to develop between his melodica and electric keyboard under Socialybrium’s somber, dub-reggae-tinged groove. Worrell again demonstrated his unique mastery of the jam, moving in and out of tonality while quoting circus music and somehow remaining funky and grooving the entire time. The band then moved into a tune called “Heathen” featuring the bass player, Melvin Gibbs. Bernie laid down a G-funk-type groove on a synth bass (an instrument he introduced into pop and funk music almost singlehandedly) while Gibbs shredded his bass like a cross between Bootsy Collins and Eddie Van Halen.

The highlights of the set were the performances of two Funkadelic classics: “Red Hot Mama” and “Hit It And Quit It,” which featured Worrell on vocals and special guest Van Martin, a Berklee alumni, on guitar. Martin and the group’s regular guitarist, Andre Lasalle, shredded these tunes fully in the spirit of the late Eddie Hazel and Michael Hampton, P-Funk’s legendary guitarists.

All in all, Worrell simply delivered maximum funk to the table on that cloudy afternoon. He still has the chops and creativity to continue making original music today and unquestionably proved why he deserves his legendary status in music history.

Check out Bernie’s website at: http://www.bernieworrell.com/