Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, 'Live in Tokyo'

By Thomas Conner
© Tulsa World

Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey
"Live in Tokyo"
(Jacob Fred)

Norman Vincent Peale would be proud of these guys. They think so
positively. They envision their future. At least, we can only hope
this is their future. "Live in Tokyo'' — a title slightly more
ambitious as this funk-jazz band's debut, "Live at the Lincoln
Continental'' — starts with the roar of a Tokyo stadium crowd and
an announcer that introduces the band in Japanese. They may not
have come close to playing Tokyo yet, but if their ambitions play
out and this great groove holds up, these guys will be on a world
tour any day.

The world wishes, anyway. At heart, the MC5 was nothin' but a
party, and Jacob Fred lives that ideal better than any fusion
knock-off that's come along since today's thrift store clothes were
new on the racks. These guys meld jazz, funk and rap with the
fluidity of shamans so that you're making weird snake movements
with your limbs long before your ego chimes in with how silly you
look.

"Live in Tokyo'' is a quantum leap forward form the debut disc.
The sound is better, the songs are better and the whole band is
more assured. The atmospherics on such dreamy swirls as "Hymn
1008'' are the epitome of control, and the rap — a highlighted
element — is heavy. "Captain Funk'' is literally a scream; never
has praise of local eateries sounded so unbelievably righteous. Say
amen, buy the thing.