Papa Grows Funk - Doin' It (2001)

Papa Grows Funk is a Meters-style funk band led by John "Papa" Gros (pronounced, "grow"), a keyboard player and vocalist in the mold of Ivan Neville. Joining him are June Yamagishi on guitar, Jason Mingledorff on sax, Marc Pero on bass and Jeffrey Alexander on drums. This is their first album, and it is the one that most closely resembles the Meters. What distinguishes them instrumentally is the saxophone, and the presence of the saxophone helps them take their instrumentals a bit closer to the acid jazz/funk stylings of the Greyboy Allstars or Galactic. That mix gives them enough distinctiveness that they don't just sound like Meters rip-offs, but this album is less distinctive than their live album, and Mr. Patterson's Hat. Still, they play with enough energy and skill that if you like The Meters and The Greyboy Allstars, you will most certainly like Papa Grows Funk.