Brooklyn Funk Essentials is an acid-jazz, funk, and hip hop collective
featuring musicians and poets from different cultures. The band was
conceived in 1993 by producer Arthur Baker and bassist and musical
director Lati Kronlund. Lati Kronlund played the bass, and other
members included Hanifah Walidah (aka Sha-key), Joi Cardwell, Papa Dee
and Stephanie McKay (vocals), Everton Sylvester and David Allen (dub
poetry), Josh Roseman (trombone), Bob Brockmann (trumpet), Paul Shapiro
(sax & flute), Yancy Drew and Tony Allen (drums), E.
J. Rodriguez and Danny Sadownic (percussion), Desmond Foster and Masa
Shimizu (guitar), ATN Stadwijk and Yuka Honda (keys), Bill Ware (vibes)
and dj’s Jazzy Nice and Smash on turntables.
In the mid-1990s the group became a staple of the New York City club scene. Their debut album “Cool and Steady and Easy” (1994) scored an underground hit with the rendition of Pharoah Sanders’ “The Creator Has a Master Plan”. “Cool and Steady and Easy” (1994) also featured prominent guests like Maceo Parker, The Tower Of Power Horns, Michigan & Smiley and even Dizzy Gilespie.
The following album, “In The Buzz Bag”(1998), included Turkish folk music rythms and instruments, recorded in consortium with the Turkish band, Laço Tayfa. ‘In The BuzzBag’ became a milestone in collaborative projects and earned BFE a Grammy nomination. It also escalated the group to a stadium capacity act in Turkey.
In the mid-1990s the group became a staple of the New York City club scene. Their debut album “Cool and Steady and Easy” (1994) scored an underground hit with the rendition of Pharoah Sanders’ “The Creator Has a Master Plan”. “Cool and Steady and Easy” (1994) also featured prominent guests like Maceo Parker, The Tower Of Power Horns, Michigan & Smiley and even Dizzy Gilespie.
The following album, “In The Buzz Bag”(1998), included Turkish folk music rythms and instruments, recorded in consortium with the Turkish band, Laço Tayfa. ‘In The BuzzBag’ became a milestone in collaborative projects and earned BFE a Grammy nomination. It also escalated the group to a stadium capacity act in Turkey.