Noah Young – Splinter | Flea Market Funk

Here’s a track and full length that we’ve been digging as of late from New Orleans bassist Noah Young. His latest release, his sophomore effort Splinter, is out on Bubble Bath Records. Known as one of the founding members of the jazz funk band Naughty Professor, Young is quite active in and a sought after musician in New Orleans. This record is a nice slice of jazz fusion for you to chew on for a while. Introducing the video (see below) for “Splinter” in January, Young has gone on to have two other singles featured on the Spotify curated play list State of Jazz. This record for sure is gaining some legs. The record starts out with “Theme”, that builds up to some really funky synth work, which is a great beginning to your listening session. The title track “Splinter” is up next, and your introduction of just how skilled Young is on the bass is introduced. The horn section of Brad Walker (saxophone) and Steve Lands (trumpet) do work and do it well. Something to nod the head to for sure. “Exploding Heads” is another funky ride, this time out of New Orleans and into space. We are in love with this bass work on this track. “All For You” slows the pace down a bit, but does it? The beat reminds us a bit of a Critters Buggin’ track “Shag”. The band keep it a bit more on the mellow tip on this particular track. It’s atmospheric with a groove, so just stay with it. The last two tracks, “Sherwin Williams” and “Testify” featuring bass legend Chris Severin, both smoke. For us, “Sherwin Williams” is the heaviest track on the record. Controlled chaos and it’s terrific. “Testify” is a perfect way to end the track. More groove to make you move, this is what I imagine if you’d get what when seeing Young and crew live. Top notch music from start to finish. Perhaps they’ll be a vinyl release at some point, def deserves one.