Icons in the Orbit of Karl Denson's Tiny Universe

So who’s carrying the stank funk buckets of the 70s masters? Who’s casting a cosmic slop worthy of Sly Stone, Slave, The Gap Band, and Funkadelic?

Karl Denson may be a contender.  Maybe it’s his vintage (b. 1956), and journeyman trips around the sun with Lenny Kravitz, Blackalicious, Blind Boys of Alabama, and The Rolling Stones. His has been a career worthy of being called illustrious.

When it came to sculpting the sound for his own joint, you can assume his record crates are loaded with the above iconic classics. Like his 2019 album with the band Tiny Universe suggests, it’s an influence that digs into the dog of his jam I’m Your Biggest Fan like foxtails. While he’s no Sly or George Clinton at the mic, he floats well enough across the groove and offers enough jazzy space in his changes to sink a pocket respectably deep.

For those longing for the otherwise neglected harder edges of 70s funk, Denson is giving them props and abundance they rightfully deserve. Tour Spotify and you’ll find no shortage of classic funk pretenders and dilettantes – particularly those peddling Zapp’s brand of synth clappy disco. Even among the betters in the field – here’s a list of somebody’s idea of the worthier candidates – most are a long way from rising to Denson’s elevation.

When it comes to the hard funk bucket, Denson delivers.

Exalt him: A Mind Behind Maggot Brain

According to Wiki, Lucius “Tawl” Ross (b. 1948) was a rhythm guitarist for Funkadelic in its formative years of 1968 to 1971, culminating with the release of the band’s early magnum opus and legendary guitar flex, Maggot Brain. Most of my rock geek brethren agrees that peak Funkadelic lived in the albums behind the distinctive Pedro Bell covers. While critics tend to worship the (pre-Pedro Bell), Maggot Brain, to me it represents a band still in its infancy – it’d take until 1973 when the diaper came off with Cosmic Slop. The pinnacle of their coming-of-age would come with 1976’s Tales of Kidd Funkadelic.

(Listen here and tell me Lenny Kravitz didn’t completely imprint on this sound.)

I’m not sure what Tawl Ross’s significance to the band’s early formative sound was, much of the glory went to lead player Eddie Hazel, but Ross was at least in the room. If his solo record from 1995 – a.k.a. detrimental vasoline—Giant Shirley – was any indication, he may’ve been one of the sound’s oracles. (Compare to Eddie Hazel’s solo outing: Tawl wins by a mile.)

Whether Ross was in Funkadelic or not it was clearly in him on this notable record. Check it:





Here’s what peak Funkadelic (post-Tawl Ross) could do: