JOE MARCINEK BAND, The Groove Session (with Jesus Molina)

Since the Joe Marcinek Band’s alternately spectacularly sensitive and furiously funky The Groove Session, their sixth album of the decade, has almost a completely different lineup than the last album I wrote about (5 in 2022), it needs the same disclaimer regarding how we define the term “band.” In that review, I wrote that “band” can mean anything from a longstanding group of cats to a core whose surrounding players often change to the kind of spontaneous gatherings and jams we get with “the amazing freewheeling contemporary blues-jazz-funk-psychedelia crew led by guitarist Joe Marcinek.”

The only consistent threads from 5 is that both that stellar project and the adventurous, continuously engaging and sonic surprise filled The Groove Session were recorded at Tiny Room Studios in L.A. and have keyboardist Greg Spero. Spero adds a wacky, spaced out 70s funk/fusion styled synth solo on the opening showcase cut “Funky G Sus – Fast,” but the heart and soul of the tune belongs to new band member Jesus Molina, who follows Marcinek’s cracking electric melody with a surreal, elegantly swinging piano solo over the powerfully percussive pace set by the one-two punch of brothers Manny (drums) and Ronnie (bass) Sanchez.

The complementary “Funky G Sus – Slow,” featuring a more laid back pace, features Spero’s spirited old school electric piano solo followed by more wild ivory imaginings by Molina that drive up the funk quotient considerably. The fun part of whatever lineup Marcinek surrounds himself with is that his always melodically on point and crisp guitarisma creates a great springboard for his cohorts to weave their individual spells, as Molina and harmonica master Howard Levy do on “Liminoid” and Molina and violin great Tracy Silverman create on the whimsical exotic jazz dance “Gimmie One Second.” The closing track presents a dual mindset from the ensemble, starting as a graceful guitar/piano ballad before Molina picks up the pace for yet another spectacularly jaunty solo.