The Sugarman 3, sometimes titled The Sugarman Three, is a retro-
funk band from
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
formed in 1996 by
saxophonist Neal Sugarman,
Hammond organ player Adam Scone, and
drummer Rudy Albin. The band has released four studio albums—''
Sugar's Boogaloo'' (1999), ''
Soul Donkey'' (2000), ''Pure Cane Sugar'' (2002) and ''What the World Needs Now'' (2012)—and one compilation album, ''Sweet Spot'' (2001).
History
Neal Sugarman grew up in
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately west of downtown Boston. Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages, without a city center. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Ne ...
and played saxophone for
punk rock bands Boys Life and Black Cat Bone during the 1980s.
He moved to New York in the early 1990s to pursue
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...
.
After a stint in New Orleans playing with musicians including
Eddie Henderson and
Mike Longo
Michael Josef Longo (March 19, 1937 – March 22, 2020) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and author.
Early life
Longo was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to parents who had a musical background. His father played bass, his mother played organ at c ...
,
[
]
Sugarman returned to New York and formed a funk band with organist Adam Scone and drummer Rudy Albin.
The trio, named The Sugarman 3, were influenced by artists such as
"Brother" Jack McDuff and
The Meters.
The band was among the musicians who established Desco Records, a label that released
reissues of 1960s and 1970s funk and jazz records in addition to material by current acts.
The Sugarman 3's debut album, ''
Sugar's Boogaloo'', was released in 1998.
''
Soul Donkey'' followed in 2000, and included
cover versions of songs by
James Brown and
Lou Donaldson along with original songs by the band.
A
compilation album, 2001's ''Sweet Spot'', contained selections from the trio's first two albums. In 2002, the band released their third album, ''Pure Cane Sugar''.
It featured guest appearances by funk
percussionist Bernard Purdie and
vocalists Lee Fields and Charles Bradley.
[
]
Tom Moon of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...
'' described the album as "organic, locked-tight music."
Maurice Bottomley of
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, f ...
said, "Play this at your next party and watch your coolest friends unwind and start to
Boogaloo. This is the real thing, undiluted and impossible to dislike."
''Dusted Magazines Andy Urban said the album "sounds good, but it operates in a vacuum of sorts, music that is pretty, but fundamentally anachronistic and relevant in aesthetic terms only."
Sugarman, who also formed
The Dap-Kings with Gabriel Roth,
was a session musician during much of the late 2000s, playing on albums by
Lily Allen,
Amy Winehouse,
Robbie Williams,
Al Green,
Nas,
Mark Ronson, as well as the Dap-Kings' own recordings led by vocalist
Sharon Jones
Sharon Lafaye Jones (May 4, 1956 – November 18, 2016) was an American soul and funk singer. She was the lead singer of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, a soul and funk band based in Brooklyn, New York. Jones experienced breakthrough succ ...
.
"You Don't Know What You Mean (To A Lover Like Me)", a 2004 single by Lee Fields and the Sugarman 3, appeared on the
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
to the 2008
comedy-drama film ''
Soul Men''.
Discography
Studio albums
* 1998 - ''
Sugar's Boogaloo'' (Desco)
* 2000 - ''
Soul Donkey'' (Desco)
* 2002 - ''Pure Cane Sugar'' (
Daptone Records)
* 2012 - ''What the World Needs Now'' (Daptone Records)
Compilation album
* 2001 - ''Sweet Spot'' (Unique Records)
References
External links
The Sugarman 3at
Daptone Records
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sugarman 3
American funk musical groups
Daptone Records artists
Musical groups from New York City