Hillard “Sweetpea” Atkinson RIP
Sept 20, 1945 – May 05, 2020 

Rhythm and the Beat

The funkiest guitarist from Detroit returns with his newest instrumental offering “Rhythm and the Beat”. If you aren’t a fan of instrumental music then this should change your perceptions. The CD opens with the sexy soul rock of “Funkolina Brown” where stanky rhythm melody guitar is king. The dubstop inflected “Secret Plot Deep” gets down and nasty on a hard rock funk feel. “Groovellephacus” is a four on the floor monster with its funky Wes Montgomery style guitar and Was Not Was keyboardist Jamie Muhoberac working his sonic magic throughout. This outing also sees Randy J letting loose on lead vocals with the blues laden “Lets Get Funky Tonight” and the down home track “Omazing with Keb Mo bassist Reggie McBride on the upright bass. Boneshakers singer Sweet Pea Atkinson and Was Not Was alumni Sir Harry Bowens appear on backing vocals. Jacobs goes even deeper into funkiness on “No Brag, Just Fact” which features alto saxophonist Mindi Abair and long time Richard Elliot keyboardist Ron Reinhart laying some serious chops. Randy plays acoustic guitar on the soulful “Love Lessons” and the beautiful guitar duet with guitarist Peter White “Wake Up Baby”. RJ also takes us back old school vibe with “Free The Man” with Taj Mahal sax man Joe Sublett giving his best Jr. Walker/Maceo feels on the track. “McStinkum” lives up to its title with a three-piece horn section comprising, Rick Braun, Brian Culbertson, Richard Elliot with the four of them trading licks while keeping it in the pocket. Boneshakers drummer Dave Hooper with Randy handling bass duties for most of this CD lay down a humping groove throughout and while the guitarist has built his reputation as a funk rhythm specialist he is no slouch in the solo chops department as he rips through various tones and styles here. The CD closes with a blues guitar lead gospel cover of the Doris Day via Sly Stone classic “Que Sera Sera”. If you haven’t heard of Randy Jacobs this would be a great place to start. Available on iTunes, CD Baby, Amazon and more.

With the release of the self-produced “The Return of Randy Dynamite”, Randy looks to move forward in the instrumental music arena.”I have always done instrumental songs as part of the Boneshakers tapestry and this move seemed a natural progression.” says Jacobs. On his last CD “From Me To You” (2005) co-produced with Jon Gilutin, the two were about making a contemporary jazz/funk CD but, with this release Randy wanted to go back to “a time when he was more about inspiration and less about genre’s. I have never been more happy with a project. Playing the music straight up with no loops and minimal overdubs makes it so much more real for me, looking into the eyes of my band mates and communicating as opposed to adding one part at a time is so much more inspiring. The band comprises Gregg Bisonnette (drums), JV Collier (bass), Jon Gilutin (keys), Lenny Castro (percussion) plus, Teddy Zig Zag on harmonica, Rick Braun on trumpet, saxmen Shilts, Bill Bergman and Jimmy Roberts.

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