Ron Levy’s Wild Kingdom – Voodoo Boogaloo (Levtronic Music)

All the songs on this disc are composed by Levy although you may hear
some riffs that sound vaguely like those from other artists.  The
material mixes jazz, blues, Latin and soul music with a 70s funk
flavor.  The band consists of Ron who plays organ, piano, electric
pianos, vibes, strings, basses, clavinet, and a Korg MS-20.  He
handles the production, composition, arranging, and programming while
there is additional guitar, sax and flute, percussion, drums,
tambourine, conga, timbales, and harmonica depending on the
track.  The music is live, wild, and it’s pumped up!  The
lounge sound isn’t out of the picture either, so it’s great music to
have in the background as well.  After all, Ron is on the front
cover wearing a leopard skin and the cover of the disc has leopard and
zebra skin all over it.  Each song is a blend of different styles
of jazz—a little 70s flute here and there and percussion with a mix of
straight ahead jazz.  Karl Denson plays on a few tracks and his
addition is duly noted.  “Spy on the Fly” starts with sirens and
launches into what might be a chase scene from Charlie’s Angels—Ron’s
take sixties Quincy Jones cop show soundtracks.  “Wes Side West”
may be a little tribute to the great Wes Montgomery, but there is no
mention of it.  If you can’t tell already, I really like this disc
and would recommend it to jazz listeners and those looking for a fun,
frivolous 70s-style funked up ride. 

-Brian Bloom