I am J. Plunky Branch, saxophonist, producer, songwriter and leader of the funk & Afro-jazz group, Plunky & Oneness. We are based in Richmond, VA in the USA and perform mainly in the near Washington, DC but we also travel to New York, Atlanta and during the past year I have made music the UK, Cuba and Brazil. I have released 16 albums in my 30 year career. My current group is actually the latest in a continuing line of bands I have led for the past 30 years beginning with a group called Juju, then Oneness of Juju, then Plunky & Oneness of Juju and most recently, Plunky & Oneness.
As a child, you learned music by listening to a lot of Jazz, Rhythm and Blues and Gospel. Which artists influenced you the most at that time?
When I was young I was influenced by James Brown and Maceo Parker, Jr. Walker and the All Stars, King Curtis, Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis, Jimmy Smith, Mahalia Jackson, The Temptations and Ray Charles.
It's been a long time you're on the musical scene… Tell us about the different styles you have mixed together in each group you have formed since the 70's…
In 1966 when I was in college at Columbia University in New York City I had a group called The Soul Syndicate and we played funky soul music like I had listened to in Richmond when I was growing up. We played a lot of James Brown and the Temptations stuff. Then I moved to San Francisco where I played jazz and then African music with Ndikho Xaba, a Zulu musician from South Africa. Later in 1972 I played avante garde jazz sax over African and Afro-Cuban rhythms with my group Juju. In 1975, with Oneness of Juju we started adding funky R&B, reggae and dance beats to the Afro-jazz we had been creating. For the rest of the 70's we continued to fuse together many different Black music styles together. In the 80's we did have some success doing funky dance music and we had a hit called "Every Way But Loose" that made it onto the Billboard magazine dance charts. In the 90's I continued to mix and match music styles, including smooth jazz, funk, African, gospel and even some new age music.
After your advice, I bought your compilation " African Rhythms 1970- 1982 " for preparing this interview and know you better even if I don't usually listen to this kind of music as a Funk Fan… (I first listened to your music by "Got to be Plunky…"
But I must admit now that I find it very interesting… soothing by its spiritual side. It takes you to another space… Every tune seems to have been made as a trip ! Is it the philosophy which finally explains that you're influenced by so many styles ?
Yes, exactly! My philosophy is that almost all music is spiritual. And that we should use music to lift our spirits and to positively influence people and culture and politics. That is our challenge as artists and as progressive thinkers. I take my inspiration from all kinds of Black music and any music that is intended to uplift.
One question to help people discover your musical wealth… 'cause you're very eclectic ;o)) " Got to be Phunky" is in an Old School Soul & Funk vibe, " Saxy Mellow Moment " seems to be, as the name tells, more Smooth Jazz, " Groove Tones " is composed of covers (and I adore the way the woman sings "Outstanding" on it).
So tell us now… In your own discography, which are the albums you prefer ? Can you give us their name and choose one by style ?
Someone once asked Duke Ellington what was his favourite of all his compositions and he answered "The next one!"
I think that my favourite album will be my next one too. Because we are constantly evolving and hopefully bettering ourselves all the time. But having said that, I also would have to say that I do like several of my 16albums for different times and for different reasons. I like"African Rhythms" (1975) because it was so diverse and seems to have some historical significance. I like the music on "Space Jungle Love" (1976) because it still sounds fresh after all these years. I like "Every Way But Loose" (1982)
Your musical base is Jazz ! Do you consider Funk as a minor art compared to the first style of music you learned ? What do you like in Funk music and what makes you incorporate it more in your compositions today… ?
Funk & r&b came first with me. Before I knew about jazz, I was partying and being funky. My first bands were soul groups. Funk is a major part of my musical life. I like it because it moves people en masse. People grooving together is a wonderful thing. Jazz moves people but it can be much more of an individual, introspective thing. Gospel moves people in a spiritual way. But funk makes people move their butts and have a good time. And because it is so recognizable as a Black American thing I like to use funk as a cultural identifier and message conveyer while trying to get people to share good times together.
How do you explain that Funk is now less popular than in the 70's or the 80's?
Times change and people's tastes change. The technology and the ways that we produce music changes. So having live bands playing funk is different than having rappers doing their thing to drum machines and loops. Today's r&b recordings have a perfect kind of studio sound. But funk is raw and improvised and human and live and quirky and at different tempos and spontaneous. But I think funk may be making a comeback in the near future.
So let's put the music on the side for a few moments : When I take a look at your biography, I was very impressed by the variety of the concerns you're devoted to : Local social life, Art, Culture, African History… Could you explain having so many interests?
Well, I am a student for life; I am devoted to learning and development and culture and leaving the place better than what I inherited. I believe that it is our duty to do all that we can do evolve positively. So I do all that I can. I am the ultimate multi-tasker, doing many different things at once. I read, play my sax and watch television all at the same time. I work on three different computers alternately, one for business and communication, one for music and one for video. I do yoga and play tennis as often as possible. I write and compose songs and keep journals of my travels. So I am quite active and I am as diverse as the music I have produced.
But it's not all… You're also a teacher and that makes me feel more respect. What are the values you try to teach to your students? What kind of professor are you?
Well I don't teach full time anymore. I do some guest lecturing and perform in schools with my group. I love doing that. From the kindergarten up through university level, I love working with young people. And they seem to enjoy my presentations, so I think that I am quite an interesting professor; mainly because I can bring so many of my own real life experiences into my lectures.
Let's talk about our favorite music… For you, which are the undeniable artists in Funk, the ones that have marked the musical history? And why ?
James Brown (with Bobby Byrd and Maceo Parker) because he brought the funk to so many people and he had some of the tighest bands ever and he improvised some of the funkiest music ever ! George Clinton and Parlaiment Funkadelic because they took James Brown, Sly Stone and Jimi Hendrix stuff and made smelly funky stuff out of it. Motown and everything they did in Detroit. Earth Wind and Fire for polishing the funk and taking it to the slickest stage shows ever. Prince for being so prolific. Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones for making funk that would be pop music. Booker T and the MG's, Jimmy Smith, and Ray Charles for laying the first floor of funk after Little Richard, Fats Domino, Louis Jordan, Chuck Berry and all the early Blues men and women laid the foundations
You were proclaimed " One of the greatest living Saxophonists" by critics of your last West African Tour in 1987. Could you explain your connection with this instrument (one of those who speak to me the most too…;o)?
Well, the saxophone was designed to be an instrument for the classical orchestra but the sound of the saxes is so malleable and so individualistic that it sounds different in different peoples hands. So that makes it largely unsuitable for classical music but perfect for jazz and soul. I love the instrument because of its voice-like characteristics. It is very dextrous and quick which allows it to navigate fast musical passages like Charlie Parker be-bop jazz. And it can soulful and bluesy like with Coleman Hawkins or it can be spiritual like Pharaoh Sanders plays it.
I tend to play the horn using lots of blues scales and lots of energy and lots of percussion and drum rhythms. I can be mellow too, but most of the time I play the sax like I am an African drummer. Of course, the instrument can be quite sexy.. And I like that part too!
" African Rhythms " still stayed a big reference in the French Funkateers Spirits… I've just discovered "Every Way but Loose" a really great Funk song too. Do you have any idea of the good image you have here in France ;o)?
Actually no I did not know of my image in France. I do know that these songs have been played in lots of clubs in Europe and Japan, but I did not know about the interest in France specifically. But I do know about the French appreciation for jazz and African and soul music. The French have a reputation for liking things because they are good and because they have historical significance, and not just because the American media likes it or because someone else says they should like it. So I am pleasantly surprised and happy to there are people in France that enjoy our music.
You seem to be a very cultured person. How do you see our country? Do you know some "Made in France" artists?
Some of how I see your country is in my answer to the last question. I also think of France as place that is rich in history and culture. I think of it as the place where Black Americans have been able to come and find support for their art. I think of the many jazz musicians and Black writers who have come to Paris and be supported and inspired. I think of Josephine Baker, and James Baldwin and Miles Davis and Archie Shepp and David Murray for example. I do not know many French musicians but I am aware of the great recordings in jazz particularly on the Actuel record label in the 70's and the wealth of African music that has been recorded and released by record companies in France.
I heard you have a superb visual and musical show with outstanding clothes and some rituals… A UK Tour is already announced and you told me that you'd love to play in France in July. So do you have a great news to tell us today?
No not yet, but we are working to come and perform in Paris and other places in France. I would like that very, very much! I am also producing three new albums to be release in France over the next several months. So we are excited to be producing some new recordings and hopefully we will get to do some touring in France as soon as possible.
If we pay attention and make the link between your music, different interests, the visual attention given to your CD covers… It seems that your music is only one part of a whole and that this is the best way you have found to spread a certain life philosophy, a positive spirit… Am I wrong ?
No, you are correct. My brother, Muzi Branch who has been performing with me since 1974 is also a painter and an arts professor. He and I have worked to promote music and art as cultural, educational and economic resources for the development of our community and to promote positive lifestyles and spiritual development as well. The members of our group, including Ghanaian master drummer Asante, are dedicated to these principle as well.
All those particulars (spirit, musical diversity, visuasl, stage presence…) make me think of a man that we all admire here… Aren't you the George Clinton of Soul and Jazz music ? ;o)) Besides you have a song call "Plunkadelic"…
I would love to be considered one of the George Clintons of Soul and Jazz. He is one of my idols because of his keeping on keeping on and never giving up and tirelessly giving up the funk and keeping his band working and he is just one of the funkiest people to ever walk the planet. So if I could be just a little like him that would be fine with me. I'd like to bring some of those qualities to jazz and soul.
I bought your last album ("Got to be Plunky…") on CDBaby.com and now you have your own record label (N.A.M.E. Brand Records) and your internet site ( www.plunkyone.com ) … More and more artists have decided to work without major labels and the Internet has become an unlimited playground for music fans like us … What's your opinion about this new way of distributing music?
I love this new technology! It allows us to communicate instantaneously on a worldwide basis. I have come to see that world can be thought of as a lot of niches and pockets of people with different tastes and if we can reach out to those pockets of people with similar taste and views and connect with them, we can market to them and interact with them and influence each other. The Internet is a wonderful tool reach old and new fans. I think the Internet is the wave of the future in terms of music distribution, but the traditional distribution channels will be with us for quite a long time more. The major record companies are still the best way to reach the greatest number of music consumers because of the promotion resources that those labels have and the tie-ins that they have with the other mass communications media like radio, television, and publications.
Who do you think are the most promising artists today? Who are the ones best defending the Funk spirit?
I like Jill Scott (funny that she'll play the same day in Paris... for their next concert) because her use of language and live musicians and I like the hip-hop band the Roots. I like Outkasts in the hip-hop genre. Then I also like some other rappers. I like some of the African and Afro-beat bands again because they are still using real musicians. But there are not many hard-core funk groups making a lot of noise in the US press. I saw Cameo the other night and they were awesome, still performing after 25 years. Most of the best funk is still being played by the older musicians with the most experience.
Are you interested in the Rap style as a way of expressing your beliefs and concerns?
I love rap as an art form. I am crazy about the fact that young Black men created a whole new way to reach the community and speak about their concerns and their funk. Just about everywhere on the planet you can find people emulating the look, the attitudes, the moves, the fashion, the dances, the artwork of the hip-hop culture started in the US by Black youth. But then rap, poetry and spoken word art is not new. It's has a long history in its association with the music. I love poetry and rap. I have written and recited on some of my own recordings and still do a lot of rap in my live shows. The word is important to me. The lyrics of my songs are how I can communicate more fully with my audiences and my fans. The word is essential to the act of creation in African culture. So rap is an excellent way for me to express my beliefs, my concerns, my hopes and dreams and hopefully influence people, especially the youth.
The Last one : which are the 3 Funk LPs you couldn't stand to live without? The ones you can't take out of your Sound system?
"The Mothership Connection" by George Clinton and the P-Funk All-stars; James Brown's Greatest Hits; Kool and the Gang's Greatest Hits; Earth Wind and Fire's Greatest Hits; plus lately "Who is Jill Scott" and Michael Jackson's "Invincible" (But "Off The Wall" was better); and I have to give a shout out to "Earth Crisis" by Steel Pulse (reggae, but funky any how)! Yeah I know that's more than three but I could leave out any of these plus a few others, including LP's by any of the artists I have mentioned in this interview. I love them all!
Funkygirl (June 2002)
After this interview, we've had "Got to Move Something" a double Cd with a Live and "Forever In a Moment" more mellow...
For more informations on Plunky & Oneness, their website : www.plunkyone.com
To order his Cd Go to Cd Baby :
- Got To Be Phunky
- Got To Move Something
- Saxy Mellow Moments
- Forever In A Moment
or on Amazon for the Excellent "African Rhythms 1970-1982"
Jam & Lewis
LOL 
