Finding the Pocket: A Love Letter to Funk

Funk is the music where everybody plays less so the whole thing hits harder. The drummer locks in, the bass sits right on top, the guitar chicken-scratches on the off-beat, and suddenly a whole room is moving in the same direction. That's the pocket.

Where it comes from

James Brown put the emphasis on "the one" — the first beat of the bar — and turned the whole band into a rhythm section. In New Orleans, the Meters made sparse, swampy grooves that still get sampled today. Parliament-Funkadelic took it to outer space, literally, with a spaceship on stage and bass lines you could feel in your ribs.

Why jam fans love it

Funk is built for stretching out. A good groove can ride for fifteen minutes while each player takes a turn, and that's exactly what jam crowds want. The Grateful Dead's late-'70s disco-flavored grooves, Phish's "cow funk" era in the late '90s — the jam world has always had funk in its blood.

Who's carrying it now

Today bands like Lettuce, Vulfpeck, the Motet and Pigeons Playing Ping Pong keep the pocket alive with horn sections, clavinet and serious low end. Many of them came up playing the same clubs and festivals as the jamgrass bands, and they often share bills.

How to listen

Stop following the melody for a minute. Listen to the bass and the kick drum together. Notice how much space there is between the notes. Then let your hips do the rest.

Funk asks one thing of you: get out of your head and onto the dance floor. We'll see you there.