Fattburger - T.G.I.F.attburger! (2001)

In March 2001 at the 2nd Annual Smooth Jazz Awards in Chicago, Fattburger joined a select group in receiving a nomination for Band of the Year, an honor which reflected the San Diego unit's unique legacy as one of contemporary jazz's most enduring and popular ensembles. Fattburger's fifth Shanachie release T.G.I.F. (as in, Thank God It's Fattburger) blends their trademark cool "Sound of San Diego" with more aggressive, in your face type funk elements, a touch of blues and Latin and Brazilian influences. Fattburger has always been best known on disc for its easygoing and likeable melodies, but over the years, guitarist Evan Marks has added an explosive rock/fusion edge, most notably on the intense retro-blues funk flavored closing track "2 Fatt," which also features a swinging Tower of Power styled horn section. Marks also fires up an explosive, heavily percussive twist on the old Santana Tune "Evil Ways" (trying to "out Santana Santana," no doubt!). Fattburger had tremendous success a few albums back with a cover of "Oye Como Va," and would gravitate towards "Evil Ways" while doing the other tune in live performances. Other tracks on the new recording include Koch's "Mum's the Word," an easygoing, kick back reflection dedicated to the drummer's mother; Evans' Southwestern-flavored "Santa Fe," another guitar led Latin rock/funk tune, which blends Spanish and Native American influences, and whose vibe suggests the landscape of the New Mexico region; the energetic bossa nova of "Heaven," written by Marks with San Diego keyboardist Rob Whitlock (and featuring Marks playing a subtle acoustic melody, offering further tastes of his exciting mood swinging diversity); and the Southern-styled, bluesy (bassist) Mark Hunter/Marks tune "Down Home." Fattburger's got a built in audience that would no doubt check out anything the band comes up with; it's good to see that they're not standing pat, but growing more aggressive and interesting over time. © Jonathan Widran