Album Review: Corey Henry and the Treme Funktet - Live at Vaughn's

Corey Henry and the Treme Funktet 

Live at Vaughn's

***and1/2 out of *****

The newest release from Corey Henry and the Treme Funktet is a live album captured at their Thursday night homebase, Vaughn's in the Bywater. The directly titled, Live at Vaughn's from Louisiana Red Hot Records, drops the listener in the small bar with the band as the party music rolls out for over an hour. 

The live album opens with "Keep That Dream Alive" and Henry wastes no time as he delivers a stirring trombone solo that works up and down the scales as the whole band cooks up gumbo laced funk from the get go. Having played in a bunch of groups (Rebirth Brass Band, Lil Rascals Brass Band, Galactic) Henry steps into the leader role with ease on this release, getting the crowd to sing along with him on "Treme Life" before freestyle rapping on the mic. 

A tribute to Henry's departed friend Travis "Trumpet Black" Hill is a plea for non-violence, aptly titled "Trumpets Not Guns" while the collective offer up their versions of "Slipping Into Darkness/Hey Pockey Way" which starts off subdued before the Indian chanting begins. Overall the songs run long and some of the recording of the instruments can get muddied or lost at times, but that can be chalked up the party atmosphere and live album in effect.

Things relax on the keyboard driven "Candlelight Suite" before the dance ready funk kicks back up for "Red Baron/Only In New Orleans". The band showcases their rock chops as the great June Yamagishi lays down fuzzy riffs during a ripping cover of "Purple Haze" that also finds Henry delivering more rhymes to close. Things come back to the funk side of the tracks for the powerful "Bucking Like a Horse", delivering more brass and drum solos before "Got Fire" urges the crowd to start dancing one more time, wrapping up the strong set of live music. 

Having been lucky enough to have caught Henry and company in New Orleans this year, RtBE can attest that Live at Vaughn's does a dynamite job of transporting the listener, wherever they may be, to the packed sweaty club. Get your dancing shoes on and get ready to move with Corey Henry and the Treme Funktet, Live at Vaughn's. 

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