The Menahan Street Band: Make The Road By Walking

Golden tones shine on Brooklyn preservationists' debut

The Menahan Street Band, named for the Bushwick address where producer Thomas Brenneck lives and recorded this album, provides a priceless entry into Daptone Records' gospel of modern jams with a collection by members of the Budos Band, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, El Michels Affair and Antibalas. This debut LP of steam-of-conscious instrumentals presents an inviting take on the genres of funk and soul with the most unobtrusive delivery imaginable: The gentlemen sand their sound into smooth, minimal waves of swelling horns, tumbling bass lines and ricocheting wah-pedal beats that fade in so gently, it's hard to tell when one escapes out the back window or one creeps in the front door. The title track recalls Miles Davis after he weaned off big band but before he propelled into the narcotic-fueled experimentation of Bitches Brew, and you can hear the tear drops drip into a sea of well whiskey as the tragic horn swells of "Karina" vibrate with desperation. It's seamless and beautifully effective. Though a rotating cast of singers would render these silk jams far more memorable, this is the perfect reincarnation of scratched vinyl anthems and masterful jazz improvisation for today's generation. If the band ever moves out of that apartment on Menahan Street, it deserves to be recognized the world over.