Daptone

It’s been more than a hot minute – ten years, in fact – since Pure Cane Sugar, The Sugarman 3’s rough-and-tumble basement funk masterpiece, sweetened the pot for retro soul heads everywhere (and with guest spots from Lee Fields, Charles Bradley and heavyweight drummer Bernard Purdie, it was pretty much a no-brainer). In the interim, saxophonist Neal Sugarman has been busy – primarily on the road with Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings, but also as the titular head of the Daptone label itself. What the World Needs Now, by contrast, is the sound of an organ trio (with a little help from bassist and producer Gabe Roth) re-settling after a long hiatus into a deep, luxurious and unhurried pocket, in the groove sense of the word. Some hints of S3’s boogaloo roots are still there (the sax solodriven “Your Friendly Neighborhood Sugarman” and the appropriately New Orleans-style “Witches Boogaloo” ), but overall, the vibe here is sophisticated and cerebral, with a characteristic nod to David Axelrod’s late ‘60s Capitol productions. In these revved-up times, it’s a throwback that suits.