Released during the height of his laid-back space funk era, Johnny drops a batch of mostly instrumental numbers with himself providing guitar, fender rhodes, synths, clavinet & organ in that style we all know and love. This is the 1st of two albums that Johnny Guitar cut under the “Watsonian Institute” moniker for DJM Records in 78′ & 79′. Sadly, As times rapidly changed, So did his style on later albums after leaving the label on his solo projects.
In 1978, Johnny “Guitar” Watson‘s backup band decided to record a project as the Watsonian Institute. Master Funk is the only LP that was released under that name, and for all intents and purposes, this is very much a Johnny “Guitar” Watson album. In addition to doing all of the producing and arranging, the late singer/guitarist wrote most of the material and contributed his share of lead vocals. So not surprisingly, his stamp is all over Master Funk. The main difference between this record and the hit albums that Watson had been recording under his own name in the 1970s is the fact that this release has a stronger jazz influence. While 1976’s Ain’t That a Bitch, 1977’s A Real Mother for Ya, and 1977’s Funk Beyond the Call of Duty are funk/soul albums first and foremost, Master Funk is an album in which funk, soul, and soul-jazz live under the same roof. Instrumentals like “Dr. John’s Delight” and “Coming Around” are in the soul-jazz vein, and the jazz influence is also present on some of the tunes that Watson sings on.
