Nick Pride & The Pimptones - Midnight Feast Of Jazz (Record Kicks)

It doesn’t matter who you are, or what you do – we all need the funk in our lives from time to time. Nothing beats a thumping bassline, killer horn section and mean drumming to get the party started and banish those never-ending recession blues.

Fortunately help is at hand thanks to Newcastle-based jazz guitarist Nick Pride and his army of funk soldiers, who have come up with 10 prime slices of the stuff to keep every man, woman and child dancing from now until Christmas.

The Pimptones are a powerhouse unit that combines the best that modern jazz, funk and samba has to offer, without ever becoming boring. If this debut is anything to go by, they could well be the best UK funk/soul outfit since the glory days of the Brand New Heavies and Galliano.

Although the majority of the album’s running time is taken up with instrumentals, there are some welcome appearances by singers Zoe Gilby, Jess Roberts and Susan Hamilton, who all ramp up the party vibe. Roberts really cranks it up on ‘Waitin’ So Long’ and the remix by Smoove, which is now doing the rounds is truly a wonder to behold.

It’s easy to get this sort of music wrong and, heaven knows, many bands have, but Nick Pride & The Pimptones have nailed it and can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with such deep funk greats as the Bamboos, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings and Kokolo.