Doug Johns… Stank

Review by Editor Jake Kot –

Stank is Doug’s third solo effort, and his voice and compositional skills continue to be on the rise. His ability to re-construct the ancient “groove” concept remains at the forefront of this musical endeavor, a marriage of melodic content fused into a head-nodding rhythmic pulse…an acquired skill in my opinion.

The groove-laden horn section tracks are as strong and as tight as ever with the Johns/Ceja rhythm section weaving the funk in a sometimes typical and sometimes a-typical fashion keeping the listeners ear entertained and intrigued with what might be coming. You’ll also hear compositionally that this is not your typical funk CD, as Johns learns to bend the genres beyond a category. Then you can take in tracks like Namaste and With You in Mind, and hear this players voice beginning to emerge beyond the groove, which makes this CD an overall impressive effort by a man that clearly loves his art, loves the groove, and loves being part of the music continuum… highly recommended. Visit online at www.dougjohns.com

Jake Kot