Vulfpeck’s new album brings the funk and pays homage to the ’70s and ’80s
by Jim Fusilli | The Wall Street Journal
(Editor’s note: Jack Stratton is Rose Law Group Partners, Jordan Rose and Court Rich’s cousin)
Like Daft Punk’s “Random Access Memories” and Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Special,” Vulfpeck’s “Thrill of the Arts” (Vulf Records) is a homage to a bygone era in funk and soul. Unlike those two monster, major-label hits, “Thrill” was made on a shoestring budget: about $10,000, according to Jack Stratton, who founded the group in 2011.
The lack of financial resources shows in the best possible way. Its basic tracks recorded live in the studio, “Thrill of the Arts” is gritty, in-your-face, not-prettified funk played with fire by Joe Dart on bass, Woody Goss on keyboards and vibraphone, and Theo Katzman and Mr. Stratton on guitars or drums. When the group formed in Ann Arbor, Mich., Mr. Stratton had as his model the musicians known as the Funk Brothers who played superbly behind the vocalists on countless Motown hits. Also, he wanted to compose and perform tight, knotty instrumentals that could stand on their own.
