Review: JJ Grey & Mofro ‘Olustee’

Review: JJ Grey & Mofro ‘Olustee’

By Jim Hynes

JJ Grey & Mofro return to Alligator with Olustee, their seventh album for Alligator and the tenth in Grey’s two-decade career. The northern Florida purveyor of swamp funk extolls the benefits of living near the ocean and enjoying wildlife while emphasizing the need to preserve the beauty of nature’s gifts.

Many of the songs are autobiographical and depict a man at peace with himself and cognizant of living life to the fullest. His imagery-filled songwriting has never been better while the driving funk and soul of his powerhouse band continues to deliver its legendary impact. Grey penned all but one song and plays guitar, harmonica, dobro, and keys, and is backed by a core nine-piece unit that includes background vocalists and guest musicians.

Grey introduces the album with a moving ballad “The Sea,” revealing the nuances and impressive range of his rich baritone vocals. The refrain “I belong to the Sea” sets the mood. The listener can feel Grey’s deep affection and connection especially in this verse “Rolling and tumbling and spiraling/through the night/Yet feeling connected to everything/all of life, painted by the light.”

Greasy funk propels “Top of the World,” the celebratory tune punctuated by saxophonist Kenny Hamilton that salutes the hordes of people, some who sing along, that come to the sandbars near his house. This oceanic theme continues in the soul ballad “On a Breeze,” as an awestruck Grey is mesmerized by watching a seagull dance on the wind. While these tunes may not satisfy the party-seeking blues-funk crowd, they are gorgeously woven tunes both lyrically and musically.

The title track cranks it up with the kind of funk that makes it impossible to be still. The frightened protagonist is running to escape a raging wildfire, the feeling captured well in the combustible guitar solo and escalating verses. Grey turns to one of his all-time favorites in John Anderson’s “Seminole Wind,” a tune that not only captures the imagery of Florida’s swamplands but states the need to preserve what nature has birthed. The tune that begins and ends as a power piano ballad features a tour-de-force horn chart highlighted by the three trumpeters Marcus Parsley, Dennis Marion, and John Reid. The highly energetic horn and organ propelled “Wonderland,” with background vocalists will undoubtedly be a radio and live performance favorite as Grey is expressing the joy of being alive. There’s no shortage of electricity in “Rooster” with its staccato chicken pickin’ vibe.

Grey combines the slow blues with gospel backgrounds in “Starry Night,” expressing appreciation for special moments with his partner. The rousing “Free High,” as the groove gets impossibly funky with Grey reminiscing about listening to new albums and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Gold & Platinum in particular. “Waiting” and “Deeper Than Belief” present the album’s most glorious vocal harmonies and Grey at his full-throated best, the latter closing the album on a serene, uplifting note.

Olustee brims with Grey’s image-filled songwriting and is steeped in stunning moments of scintillating soul.

Watch “Rooster”