Zach Top Gemini [VINYL]

RIYL: Orgone, True Loves, The New Mastersounds, Ikebe Shakedown, Menahan Street Band, The Budos Band, Antibalas, El Michels Affair. In Latin, the word Gemini denotes “two together” or “twins.” In astrological terms, Geminis are noted for, amongst other things, being curious and versatile. For San Diego’s 9-piece (mostly) instrumental combo The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble, Jazz and Funk have always been the two genres that they’ve consistently and effectively melded together, forming the bedrock of their sound. Exercising their stylistic curiosity and versatility, they’ve expanded upon this foundation on their new 11-song long player for Colemine Records. Recorded between late 2021 and early 2024 at The Kitchen II in their home base of Lemon Grove, California, SFSE steer their “introspective party music” into fresh sonic realms. While their breakbeat-heavy brand of funk-soul-jazz is still the cornerstone of their sound, as displayed in tunes such as “Makin’ Moves,” “The Grifter,” and “Don’t Trip,” they’ve begun to take more and more cues from library music labels such as KPM Music, spiritually-leaning jazz labels such as Tribe & Black Jazz Records, and exotica-adjacent jazz artists such as Cal Tjader and Dorothy Ashby. Now leaning more into the “introspective” part of their sound, particularly on “Mother Earth,” “Freddie,” and the title track, they evoke the spirits of Freddie Hubbard, Phil Ranelin, Wendell Harrison, Bubbha Thomas, Chester Thompson, and even Cannonball Adderley at his headiest & most cosmic (listen to Adderley’s Soul Zodiac & Soul of The Bible albums for reference). “Corporatocracy” takes it a step further with an extended tabla solo, which floats in and rides the percussive wave before kicking into its funk-driven, modal vibe. With their current lineup of: Tim Felten on keys, Jake Najor on drums, Omar Lopez on bass, Kiko Cornejo Jr. on conga / percussion, Aquiles “Lito” Magana on guitar, Wili Fleming on trombone, Sheryll Felten on percussion, Jesse Audelo & Travis Klein on saxophone & flute, SFSE maintains their commitment to keeping it funky but dares to go where they haven’t gone before and, as a result, breaks intriguing new ground in their overall sound.