F'Uncstown by Unc D
F'Uncstown is my jazz funk tribute to my home city, Youngstown. EVERY SINGLE IS TITLED 'YOUNGSTOWN' IN ORDER TO MAKE IT INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT TO FIND BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN'S SONG 'YOUNGSTOWN' ON STREAMING SERVICES.
While so much of my discography is an attempt to create a new sound, F'Uncstown is my default: instrumental jazz funk lead by bass riffs and group improvisation. This 7 track album features powerful instrumental jazz funk, using an organic arrangement (no synths or modern sounding settings) and unquantified approach. While the first three tracks feature prominent solos from Pittsburgh saxophonist Winston 'Yuji' Bell, the second side of the album features my signature MUMBLE JAZZ bass and autotune improvisations.
Learning how to play music in Youngstown, OH, instrumental jazz funk and RnB were the strongest and most appealing forces in the scene. While it took me a couple years to get a solid pocket and comfortability being soulful and groovy, by 2018/2019 instrumental jazz funk and RnB was my 'default setting,' meaning I could do it in my sleep! The main reason for this was hosting a jam session at a club in Downtown Youngstown from 2017 to 2019. This jam session was unique for getting a large regular walk in audience while still tapping into the Youngstown music scene. This necessitated the musicians to not only satisfy the highly talented music scene audience, but also the everyday audience who went to the club for hot dogs rather than guitar solos. This gig really provided me with the ability to improvise, lead a group improvisation as well as learn from the greats who to pull a solo out of your ass and captivate an entire room. F'Uncstown is my tribute to 'jam night' as well as the wider Youngstown funk scene, as the format of riff based group improv over a highly danceable jazz funk beat is a direct product of my time learning from the greats in Youngstown.
This album is the first to feature the use of my MIDI converter on my bass. For this session, my bass sent MIDI to a Microkorg to trigger a Wurlitzer patch alongside my bass. This makes it seem as if a keyboardist is constantly matching my bass line with his left hand!
This album had 4 singles added to Spotify editorial playlists (Youngstown 1-3 and F'Uncstown).
Check out my YouTube to see these sessions in their raw form! We recorded in 5 different rooms of Thin Thicket's Bearcave Recording in Youngstown, OH.
https://www.youtube.com/@uncd2025
Tracklist
| 1. | Youngstown 1 | 2:33 |
| 2. | Youngstown 2 | 2:57 |
| 3. | Youngstown 3 | 3:17 |
| 4. | Youngstown 4 | 2:22 |
| 5. | Youngstown 5 | 2:11 |
| 6. | Youngstown 6 | 2:18 |
| 7. | F'Uncstown | 3:42 |
Credits
Unc D - bass, Microkorg Wurlitzer (triggered by bass), autotune; composition, mixing, mastering, splice editing, artwork
Thin Thicket - keys; engineering, mixing
Damon the Soulful Samurai - drumset
Winston 'Yuji' Bell - saxophones (1,2,3,7)
Nicholas Frank - miniature six string bass (guitar) (4,5,6,7)
Thomas Russell - miniature six string bass (guitar)
Antonio Labra - percussion
Nate Yingling - rhodes (1,2,3,7)
Dre Hova - organ
Recorded at Thin Thicet's Bearcave Recording in Youngstown, OH in January and February 2023
License
All rights reserved.
I INVENTED MUMBLE JAZZ and RELEASE NEW MUSIC EVERY WEEK!
I recently regained access to my band camp, so will be uploading all my music from 2022 and 2023 over the next few months.
You could expect to see 5 albums, two EPs and 4 non album singles soon!