Walking into the Lagoon tonight was just what I needed, a brass heavy funk band Monkey Chuckle was all set up, and ready to funk on. The band which I saw earlier this year at the Tantric Jazz club seemed already different when opening up their first tracks. They defiantly seemed more confident, enthusiastic and musically tighter than before.
The first part of the set gave tonight’s audience a good feel for what Monkey Chuckle’s style of music is. The first set included tracks “Ain’t It Funky” and “The Grunt”. The band itself, communicated extremely well, and at certain times individuals could shine through the band with solo’s and jams. Bernd Hohner the keyboardist came into his element with awesome solo’s and improvisations.
Bernd and the Guitarist Mark Lawrence fed off each other’s playing throughout the evening, this became a great duo of keys and perfectly timed jazz licks. It was just superb to see the crowd engrossed in both of their playing. The Band ended the first set with “So what” and “Take the weight” which were played tight and the entire band was pushing their own limits with some serious torque.
Coming back after the first set looking ready as ever was the bassist Phil Olds, who was playing technically difficult riffs on his bass guitar. He most certainly brings a bundle of musical talent to Monkey Chuckle, which I am sure brings out the best in all the other musicians. The song named “Eskimo” really got the crowd bobbing their heads, and the band performed out of its skin to this track. It really got the crowd off their bums, and into a much more dance mood. Tribe Vibes was the performance of the night. The saxophonists leading this track started to have a real connection with each other and came into their own whilst jamming alongside the African style jazz riff coming from Mark’s guitar.
Tonight’s performance has put good mileage on Monkey Chuckle, and it really felt that all of the band members are very well connected, which was great to watch on stage.
To really see some serious musicians, in a Funk infested atmosphere do not hesitate to check out the Monkey Chuckle Band.
Reviewed by Nathan Haynes
Photography by Ricardo Ferreira
