The Record That Preceded the Soul-Jazz Movement: Kool and the Gang’s Funky Live at P.J.’s Thrills with Boundless Diversity, Virtuosic Interplay, and Contagious Grooves

Experience the Exhilarating 1971 Album in Audiophile Sound for the First Time: Strictly Limited to 2,000 Numbered Copies, Mobile Fidelity’s 180g 33RPM LP Plays with Exceptional Definition and Clarity

1/4” / 15 IPS analog master to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe

Make it funky. Kool and the Gang do that and much more on Live at P.J.’s, a freewheeling concert album that both preceded the resurgent soul-jazz movement by decades and demonstrated the boundless diversity, virtuosic skill, arrangement chops, and contagious energy of a band that over the course of its career refused to be hemmed in to any particular style or characteristic. Filled with then-new compositions, this wordless 1971 set comes on like one long, magnetic, ever-shifting groove. And it’s never been better. 

Sourced from the original analog master tapes, strictly limited to 2,000 numbered copies, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, and housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket, Mobile Fidelity’s 180g 33RPM LP presents the incalculably influential record in audiophile sound for the very first time. Compared to prior editions, Live at P.J.’s plays with deeper, tauter bass, enhanced definition, and more realistic presence. Everything from the brassiness of the horns to the snap of the snare to the rattle of the congas comes across in full-range perspective. 

This collectible version of the monster LP also exhibits a combination of clarity, solidity, and imaging that helps bring to light every note Kool and the Gang committed to tape that late May 1971 Saturday night at a show that kicked off at 10:45 local time and came amidst another of the group’s busy tour schedules. Though augmented with strings later in the studio, the core of Live at P.J.’s remains what the septet of Robert “Kool” Bell, saxophonist Ronald Bell, drummer George Brown, guitarist Claydes Smith, trumpeter Robert Mickens, and multi-instrumentalists Dennis Thomas and Ricky West delivered onstage. 

That includes not only the standout musicianship but the inventive approaches, fearless attitudes, and immense creativity. Practically inconceivable today, Kool and the Gang entered the Hollywood, CA club with the intent of documenting seven new songs without concern of advance familiarity or the threat of getting ripped off by someone who happened to be in the audience. It’s just how the band operated since forming in New Jersey during the mid-60s. Namely, with a focus on crowd response, an emphasis on trial-by-fire song testing, and a worry-free outlook on being copied by others. 

Indeed, Bell once dismissed the latter issue as irrelevant, noting that “nobody could ever make it sound real but us anyway.” Cocky? Perhaps. Truthful? Absolutely. Bell and company walk the talk on Live at P.J.’s, further notable for being the band’s second consecutive live effort — and second concert release of 1971. And remember, this is a group that had just one studio LP to its credit. Ignoring any preexisting conventions, the strategy simultaneously captured the vision of an ensemble that made its own rules and built its reputation by way of its live performances. 

No less of an authority than the Godfather of Soul himself, James Brown, said of Live at P.J.’s: “Don’t play this in the car when you drive. The groove is so funky, you’ll wreck.” And consider that the album-opening “N.T.” (shorthand for “no title”) includes one of the most famous drum breaks in history, one since sampled by the likes of Public Enemy, N.W.A, Nas, Q-Tip, and other prominent hip-hop artists. Or, just listen to how magic transpires from one cut to the next, the collective reflecting its symbiotic chemistry and knack for on-point rhythmic expressiveness.  

The final LP of Kool and the Gang’s jazz-centric era, and the last set it released before the group gained a foothold on commercial radio, Live at P.J.’s cooks with excursions into tropical-flavored material (“Ricksonata”), romantic fare (an inspired take of the pop evergreen’( “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling”), Latin-leaning work (a cover of saxophone legend Charles Lloyd’s “Sombrero Sam”), and even pieces that could serve as film-score backdrops (“Lucky for Me”). 

Throughout the journey, Kool and the Gang retain a crisp attack and clear sense of direction, its overall methodology best summed up on the aptly titled “Ronnie’s Groove,” penned by Ronnie Bell, who also functioned as the band’s defacto musical director. Of course, no moment here outshines another, with all of the songs — including the Isaac Hayes tribute “Ike’s Mood” and upbeat, complex trip of “Dujii” — reaching for and attaining space on a higher plane. 

Kool Jazz, all ‘around.