Big Sam’s Funky Nation Celebrates the Funk on “What’s My Name (Big Sam)” (premiere)

New Orleans’ Big Sam’s Funky Nation have a well-earned reputation as a fearless live band, smoking up the stages with their incendiary brand of funk blended with hip-hop, jazz, and rock. After five albums, including 2014’s more rock-oriented release Evolution, the band wanted to recommit themselves to the funk, and on 4 May, their new album, Songs in the Key of Funk, Volume 1, will be unleashed. The album was recorded in just five days in NOLA’s Parlor Recording Studio, and it manages to capture the ensemble’s kinetic energy. Lead vocalist and trombonist “Big Sam” Williams says, “We’re going to keep the funk alive… Funk is life for me. Funk is everything. We all need some of it in our lives, so guess who’s here to give it to you?”

“What’s My Name (Big Sam)” states the funksters intent of bringing funk to the masses with its mid-tempo grooves, female choruses, hot playing, and Sam up front driving it along. Williams says, “Bootsy, Prince, and Mike Jones are just a few artists that came to mind when writing this song. I was thinking to myself that I needed an anthem! We perform all over the world, and I would say the name of the band about nine times every show. After every show, some people would still ask… ‘what’s the name of the band???’ It was either that or getting me confused with other trombonists, so I figured I’d write a song to clear up any confusion.”

Catch the band’s set on Thursday at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. They are playing right before Lionel Richie.