J. Dynamite - The Powers That Be

For over two decades, Jeff Dynamite has shaped the modern soul, funk and rare groove landscape from behind the scenes. Now, J. Dynamite is stepping forward with a vision entirely his own: The Powers That Be.

With The Powers That Be, Dynamite reunites with many of the musicians who helped define the funk & soul resurgence. Featuring Grammy-winning bassist Nick Movshon, whose credits include countless Truth & Soul productions; Stuart Bogie (Antibalas, TV On The Radio, Arcade Fire) on flute and saxophone; guitarist Luke O’Malley (Antibalas, Phenomenal Handclap Band, The Roots); keyboardist Jake Pinto (Magic City Hippies); Miles Francis (Antibalas, EMEFE) on drums; Philadelphia vibraphonist Angelo Outlaw; Grammy-winning Latin percussionist Reinaldo DeJesus; Vincent John of Eraserhood Sound; and a cast of longtime collaborators whose collective résumé spans decades of adventurous music-making. Horn arrangements by Michael Leonhart and Michael ‘Treetop’ Voss of Germany’s deep funk kings, The Poets Of Rhythm.

Despite the history of the musicians involved, The Powers That Be is deliberately not a nostalgia trip. Jeff Dynamite turns the accumulated experience of a long career into something immediate, personal and forward-looking. The album is not a retrospective, but a chance to hear what happens when a producer with decades of musical history finally puts his own name at the center of the record.

For longtime followers, this record marks the return of a producer whose influence can be traced through much of the soul and funk renaissance of the last twenty-five years. For everyone else, The Powers That Be serves as an introduction to an artist who has spent decades shaping the conversation and is finally telling his own story.

With this newest album, J. Dynamite isn’t revisiting the past. He’s re-entering the conversation.