FMF Guest Mix Series: Funky 16 Corners

I know it’s a holiday here in the States, but guess what? The FMF Guest Mix Series continues! Today we have a good friend, digging cohort, and mentor throwing down some great records: Larry Grogan from the mighty Funky 16 Corners. He’s got as deep as crates as anyone I know, and there is always some straight H-E-A-T from start to finish on these mixes. I know you’ll enjoy it. Here’s Larry’s take on the mix:

“Hey there.
Allow me to get things rolling by saying Happy Anniversary to my man DJ Prestige and the mighty Fleamarket Funk blog.
I’ve known Pres for a couple of years now and it’s been clear to me (and anyone else paying attention), that he is a man with deep crates and a contagious enthusiasm for the music he loves.
A little over a year ago, when he asked me to saddle up with the Asbury Park 45 Sessions crew (another enterprise that just celebrated it’s one-year-anniversary) I was both psyched and honored because I know that in addition to the fact that he’s what they used to call a righteous dude, he’s got his eyes on the prize.
If you’ve been fortunate enough to fall by one of the 45 Sessions you will have witnessed the gathering of a DJ crew with a wide range of sensibilities and approaches to the music we call soul. You can come down to the World Famous Asbury Lanes, grab yourself a cold beer and a basket of tater tots, take a load off your feet and open your ears as the resident selectors (and a growing list of stellar guests) lay down gritty R&B, Northern Soul, solid hardcore funk and all manner of breaks covering the entire soulful spectrum of the last 50 years. The thing that really hits home is the fact that no matter how diverse the sounds, no matter how many subgenres are represented, things always sound as if they belong together.
There’s a vibe there, and we’re all tuned into it, and we were all brought there by DJ Prestige.
The vibe here at Fleamarket Funk takes that journey into the macro and fine tunes it to the micro, reflecting his own diverse tastes with bits of funk, soul, jazz and reggae laid side by side, always worth a listen (and a read) and always groovy.
When Pres asked me to whip up a guest mix to help celebrate the anniversary of FMF, I hit the crates right away. Though initially unsure of what path I might take (in the process I eventually pulled a couple of stacks of 45s out that I’ll mix for Funky16Corners) I locked on to a record I pulled during a recent dig (side by side with AP45 cohorts Prestige, DJ Prime and DJ Jack the Ripper) – that being Moe Koffman’s ‘James Brown’s Bag’ – and worked from there, building on a soul jazz/jazz funk thing until I had just over an hours worth of superior grooves to bring to the table.
I won’t go into great detail, but I will let you know that herein you will find some tasty Hammond, groovy guitar, cool flute and vibes and the funkiest version of ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ you’ve ever heard.
I hope you dig it, and that we’re all here next year to do it again.
I’ll see you around the interwebs.”
Peace
Larry

Six Million Dollar Groove Track List:

Buddy Rich – It’s Crazy (World Pacific)
Wynder K Frog – Jumping Jack Flash (UA)
Bobby Christian – Boogaloo (Ovation)
Roy Meriwether Trio – Jesus Christ Superstar (Notes of Gold)
Moe Koffman – James Brown’s Bag (Jubilee)
Odell Brown & the Organizers – No More Water In the Well (Cadet)
Johnny Lytle – The Snapper (Tuba)
Freddy Robinson – The Coming Atlantis (World Pacific Jazz)
Wilbert Longmire – Scarborough Fair/Canticle (World Pacific Jazz)
Ernie Wilkins Big Band – Funky Broadway (Mainstream)
Little Richie Varola – Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Verve)
Freddie McCoy – Beans and Rice (Prestige)
Brother Jack McDuff – I Can’t Be Satisfied (Atlantic)
Jimmy Smith – Sugar Sugar (MGM)
Herbie Mann – Bitch (Atlantic)

Download or Listen to Six Million Dollar Groove by Funky 16 Corners

Keep Diggin’!