And the name fits
Breakestra's a combination of styles that works
By Chris Nixon
For The San Diego Union-Tribune
September 21, 2006
Egon – general manager of the Los Angeles taste-making hip-hop/turntablist label Stones Throw Records – explains the etymology behind Breakestra's name:
“Break: As in 'breakbeat,' that 10-second slice of percussive magic in the middle of a funk song that, when looped together by progressive South Bronx DJs in the 1970s, became the basis of the hip-hop movement.
“Arkestra: Out-there jazzer Sun Ra's funkafied concept of the stuffy classical orchestra.”
Jazz. Funk. Soul. Hip-hop. They all find a home in Breakestra's music.
In 1996, bandleader Miles Tackett – also known under his DJ moniker This Kid Named Miles – started a weekly dance party at a coffee shop in Los Angeles. Soon, the parties were drawing the best beatboxers, DJs, MCs and break dancers the city had to offer, including DJs such as Stones Throw founder Peanut Butter Wolf and Cut Chemist (Ozomatli, Jurassic 5).
Tackett, son of musician Fred Tackett (guitar, mandolin, trumpet) of Little Feat, added his own love of funk and 1960s soul jazz to the mix by providing a house band. Fronted by Tackett on bass and vocals and singer Mixmaster Wolf, the hip-hop/funk orchestra learned on the job.
Breakestra shares the bill with family (Little Feat), hip-hop friends (Dilated Peoples) and funk legends (Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings) at this weekend's Festival Del Mar.
“Breakestra came from a club I started with a couple of friends called The Breaks, and we were the house band,” said Tackett just before sound check for a gig in Flagstaff, Ariz. “There wasn't anybody playing those deeper breaks. The main impetus and the main motivation was my love of rare grooves, funk and soul jazz so much, and I enjoyed playing it.”
Now, the funk big band – featuring Pat “The Snake” Bailey (guitar), Shawn O'Shandy (drums), Dan Hastie (Fender Rhodes, organ) Chuck Prada (percussion), James “The Penguin” King (sax, flute) Devin Williams and Todd Simon (trumpet) – has released an album of funk and soul-jazz originals. Released on Ubiquity Records, 2005's “Hit the Floor” captured Breakestra's sound but didn't begin to cover the band's energy live. Breakestra is carrying the funk torch into the new millennium, but it is just getting started, and Tackett remains humble in his perspectives.
“I don't ever feel presumptuous enough to think we're as good as the real foundations of funk, but we're certainly happy about what we do,” Tackett said. “It's hard to top what's gone on in funk music, but I'm happy to be a part of it and contribute to it. I'm happy to try and keep that feel, that sound, alive. So, it's an honor to be able to do it.”
Now in its second year, the two-day Festival Del Mar at the Del Mar Racetrack features an array of funk, soul rock and hip-hop.
Festival director and founder Chris Wepsic described how Festival Del Mar began: “I love music and I love Del Mar. I teamed up with some old friends from college and high school, and we formed a team of people to create this festival. Our lineup is eclectic, from reggae to hip-hop, classical to rock.”
Still in its infancy, the festival will try to draw North County music fans and lure San Diegans away from the Adams Avenue Street Fair, also going on this weekend.
Wepsic is upbeat on the festival's future: “The festival should be around as long as music enthusiasts attend. We hope to grow gracefully.”
Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.
Here are four to catch at this year's Festival Del Mar:
Medeski Martin & Wood (Saturday at 4-5:15 p.m., Don Kirchner Memorial Stage): Drummer Billy Martin, keyboardist John Medeski and bassist Chris Wood make up one of our era's best bands. Medeski Martin & Wood is equally comfortable settling into an experimental soul-jazz groove with acoustic instruments as it is riding the waves of free jazz Sun Ra-style with full-on electric gear. Freely associating with DJs, jam bands and old-school fusion cats, MMW harbors no fear of genre-skipping, and its explorative live shows reflect their musical nerve.
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings (Saturday at 5:15-6:30 p.m., Belly Up Stage): The last time Sharon Jones came to town, she tore up the Casbah's tiny stage. As she exited, she stopped to give a fan a big, sweaty hug. That's Sharon Jones. She exudes love and soul seemingly with every step, and her crack band, the Dap-Kings, follows her every step with precision and emotion. Jones hails from Augusta, Ga., James Brown's hometown, and she has earned her birthright, serving up hard love and sweet funk a la the Godfather of Soul.
Dilated Peoples (Sunday at 4-5:15 p.m., Don Kirchner Memorial Stage): Put out one of my eyes and I still got two / Put out the second one and I can still see you, Triple Optics, rhymes MCs Evidence and Rakaa Iriscience on 2000's “The Platform,” the debut full-length from Los Angeles hip-hop trio Dilated Peoples. Emerging from the same underground L.A. hip-hop scene that spawned Jurassic 5, Evidence and Rakaa Iriscience along with DJ Babu (the man who coined the term “turntablist”) kick the positive rhymes without sounding preachy or PC.
Cake (Sunday at 6:45-8 p.m., Don Krichner Memorial Stage): Led by songwriter John McCrea, Cake continues to carve its own niche. After 14 years of existence and a major-label recording career over the past decade, the group lures new fans with each release. Often described as sarcastic, ironic, satirical, sardonic and even caustic, McCrea's lyrics cleverly use metaphors and a sly tongue-in-cheek attitude to create his image of the perfect woman, tell stories of lost love and comment on the benefits of bench seats versus bucket seats in automobiles.
– CHRIS NIXON
