Lou Varuzzo - Funk Street (2021)

Jazz drummer Art Blakey once said “jazz washes away the dust of everyday life,” and with Funk Street, Lou Varuzzo shakes the cobwebs from the recesses of our minds and transports us to a place where we can forget about our troubles and get lost in the grooves.

Lou teamed up with Grammy-award winning songwriter and producer Barry Eastmond to write and arrange all the music on the album, which is set to be released later this month.

He brought together musicians including Will Lee, Chris Eminizer, Dean DiMarzo, Don Harris, Mark Williams and Bashiri Johnson in a series of studio sessions that allowed the musicians to feed off of one another, adding a feel to the album Lou thinks can be lost when musicians lay down their tracks separately.

“We played live in the studio, we played all together,” he explained. “You get to see the expression on people’s faces when you’re playing together, you can feel what’s working and what’s not and when you do multiple takes you can change things on the spot.”

The album was recorded at Carriage House Recording Studios, Stamford, Conn. over the course of nine months in 2019.

Lou says he hopes that when playing the album, listeners get the sense of being in a New York City jazz club with a funky band on stage.

“I’m hoping they feel the groove, because everything on this grooves pretty hard,” he said.

You’re On My Mind,” which will be released on May 14, is a song Lou wrote as a vocal piece in the 1980s. He and Barry rearranged that version into an instrumental piece that is best enjoyed alone, in the dark with a glass of wine in hand.

“I am incredibly proud of the record,” said Lou. “It encompasses all of the styles I grew up with and which helped me create my own style.

“It was truly a dream come true to work side by side with Barry Eastmond as well as playing with all of the high level musicians on the record and I am forever grateful.”