Bassist Melvin Jackson has exactly one album in his catalog as a leader (he spent most of his time playing with Eddie Harris). But man, that's all he needed. Pumping his upright through a Maestro G-2 filter box, a Boomerang, an Echoplex, and an Am peg amp, he made that thing sound like something from outer space while keeping it firmly in the groove of the corner bar on Front Street. Gimmicky? That's what they once said about Roland Kirk playing multiple horns at once, too. As for the naysayers who think of this as a novelty, consider the heavies in his band: Roscoe Mitchell, Leo Smith, Lester Bowie, Phil Upchurch, Pete Cosey, Morris Jennings, Jodie Christian, Billy Hart, Byron Bowie, Steve Galloway, and a whole lot of others. All of these cats were heavyweights in their own right. What does Funky Skull sound like? Psychedelic, funky soul-jazz and a whole lot more. Jackson bowed his bass a well as plucked it depending on what the tune needed. Produced in Chicago by Robin McBride and originally released on the Limelight label, it marked an era of exploration and Jackson was on the ground floor of the space station. There was only one requirement: the groove had to be in the pocket and the beat had to be on the one. There are nine tunes here; Jackson wrote or co-wrote four, including the two-part title cut. He took pages from both Harris' serious soul-jazz book and James Brown's funky one. There are vocals on these tracks, but they amount to little more than accents on the repetitive rhythmic lines being laid down. It's all backbone-slipping, hard, electric jazz funk from the pre-fusion era. ..... (Review by Thom Jurek)

Personnel
Melvin Jackson - Bass [Acoustic String], Effects
Billy Hart - Drums (tracks: A2 to A5, B2 to B4)
Jodie Christian - Piano, Organ, Effects - (tracks: A2 to A5, B2 to B4)
Robin McBride - Producer
Roscoe Mitchell - Saxophone [Alto], Flute (tracks: A2 to A5, B2 to B4)
Byron Bowie - Saxophone [Tenor], Flute (tracks: A2 to A5, B2 to B4)
Steve Galloway - Trombone (tracks: A2 to A5, B2 to B4)
Leo Smith - Trumpet, Flugelhorn (tracks: A2 to A5, B2 to B4) , Lester Bowie (tracks: A2 to A5, B2 to B4)
Sound Of Feeling, The - Vocals - (tracks: A2 to A5, B2 to B4)
Morris Jennings - Drums
Pete Cosey - Guitar
Phil Upchurch - Guitar [Lead], Guitar [Rhythm], Bass
Tobie Wynn - Saxophone [Baritone]
Bobby Pittman , James Tatum - Saxophone [Tenor]
Donald Towns , Tom Hall - Trumpet

Tracklist
01 Funky Skull (Parts 1 & 2) 4:53
02 Ma She's Makin Eyes At Me 0:51
03 Bold & Black 7:21
04 Dance Of The Dervish 6:39
05 Everybody Loves My Baby 2:20
06 Cold Duck Time (Parts 1 & 2) 5:03
07 Say What 4:49
08 Funky Doo 4:53
09 Silver Cycles 9:26