Boogaloo Joe Jones -

What It Is?

Posted: December 28th, 2008

Date: Aug 16, 1971
Release: Prestige 10035
Cover Art: view / download
Buy the Album

As a teenage Jimi Hendrix fanatic, I discovered What It Is by sheer luck. Although typical of the early ‘70s Prestige look, the album cover caught my pre-jaundiced eye with its angular shot of Jones wailing on his huge guitar, a look of pure pleasure on his face. I figured, hey, this guy rocks(!)…and Hendrix liked jazz…and its from that same time period…and…uh…the guy’s got a cool name…. So I bought the damn thing. Lucky me. Little did I know that this small purchase would help spark an expensive life-long obsession to seek out all equally great but obscure musical gems (and later, to turn that obsession into a profit-free website). A milestone in my musical self-education, I had really no idea that jazz could sound quite like this.

Here was a record I could (and did) play for my high-school friends, who in spite of their rigid rock tastes, couldn’t help but be moved by the Boogaloo. From the deep-soul groove of “Ain’t No Sunshine” to the funk-quake of the title track, this album was sinking its hooks into impressionable ears. Just like the S.O.U.L. album What Is It, “Boogaloo” Joe Jones’ What It Is IS a funky miracle anchored by the hard-hitting drumming Bernard “Pretty” Purdie and the spirited-sax of the once tasteful Grover Washington Jr., and of course, the aggressively soulful guitar leads of Jones.

A hearty Grant Green-ish mix of early-‘70s pop covers, low-down & dirty blues, and raw-funk jams, this classic album goes a long way towards explaining the cult following Boogaloo enjoys among DJs and collectors. What ever happened to this guy? He recorded his final album in 1975, and a couple years later dropped off the radar. Prestige has reissued this What It Is along with an earlier date, No Way, on Legends of Acid Jazz: “Boogaloo” Joe Jones, Vol. 2. Buy his music while you can and help bring the Boogaloo back. And, if you’re still out there Mr. Jones, please know we love you!