Maceo parted ways with Brown in late 1969, after leading a mutiny of disgruntled band members, many of whom went on to join Maceo in his new band, the wryly-titled All The King’s Men. Over the next two decades, Maceo played and recorded with the JB’s, the Macks, Parliament/Funkadelic, and Bootsy’s Rubber Band, and even returned to Brown’s band on several occasions. In 1990, Maceo re-launched his solo career with Roots Revisited, a critically acclaimed gumbo of funk, soul and jazz. Since then, he hasn’t looked back, releasing a steady stream of excellent albums, and turning on a whole new generation of fans with his sweat-drenched performances. His latest record, Dial Maceo, proves that the man is still at the very top of his game. The album features guest appearances by such famous friends as Ani DiFranco and The Artist, and runs the gamut from righteous funk to atmospheric trip-hop, with Maceo’s expressive sax leading the way. “Rabbits In A Pea Patch,” from Dial Maceo, is a throwback to such classic JB’s tracks as “Pass The Peas” and “Gimme Some Mo’,” with a chant of “Rabbits in the pea-patch, catch’em, catch ‘em” giving way to a deep groove and some terrifically tasty tenor soloing. No true fan of the funk should be without it.

-Dan Epstein

Dan Epstein is a Los Angeles-based journalist and pop-culture historian whose work has appeared in L.A. Weekly, BAM, Raygun, Guitar World and the Los Angeles Times, among other publications. His first book, Twentieth Century Pop Culture, was published in 1999 by Carlton Books.