GNAPPY

Four gentlemen from Austin Texas, the hot bed of american music, have unloaded their third album for our enjoyment.. this new work marks a bold statement in their musical development and solidly locks their place in the funky jazz corner of the radioioJAZZ playlist. the tracks are fusion, funk, and bopulated with an attitude.... now, isn't that gnappy? (austin slang for funky) ... and we are featuring gnappy and 'unloaded' all this week on radioioJAZZ...

... the tracks of 'unloaded' reveal intelligent energy a 'live' unrestricted presence... each tune identified by melody and pulse... the tracks 'breathe' a variety of moods and styles ...

gnappy is buck mckinney (guitars and vocal on 'unloaded'), brad bradburn (bass), marcus caldwell (sax), and kevin pearson (drums). additional musicians for this album are ephraim owens (trumpet), steve johnson (alto sax), and dj stillness...

... hat's off to buck and the band... clearly developing their identity and stepping out with their best yet ...

...click here to visit the gnappy web site to learn more about 'unloaded' and the 'beanpie record label'... ... you can send them a message from their web site... encourage them to let drmike audition as keyboard player for the band! i am up for it!...
- RADIOioJAZZ www.radioio.com

This just in: Gnappy's 1960s and 70s inspired acid jazz is also Texas music. They might not twang, but guitarist/producer Buck McKinney does wield the Austin scene's de rigueur Fender Telecaster as he and his band mates remind us that Texas is home to a wealth of sounds.

Unloaded is Gnappy's third full-length release and a master class in post-hip-hop jazz taught from a book penned by legends like Grant Green and Jimmy Smith and updated by jazz-funksters like Tower of Power and the Average White Band. Filled out expertly by bassist Brad Bradburn, drummer Kevin Pearson, and saxophonist Marcus Cardwell, the combo delivers a heady mix of spot-on tightness and ambitious exploration, proving them the equal of more famous contemporaries such as Medeski, Martin & Wood, Galactic, and Soulive.

Unloaded is a largely instrumental set — the exceptions being the title track, surely the first rap to shout out basketball player Robert Horry, and the premix of "Bahl Hornin'," which features added color from fellow Austinites DJ Stillness and trumpeter Ephraim Owens (Karl Denson's Tiny Universe). Standout tracks include "Gatorade Brain," a balls-to-the-wall demonstration of all four musicians' skills sets, "You Got Me There," a down-tempo improvisational showcase, and "Oleo," a joyful playing out of the Sonny Rollins standard.

For now, Gnappy remains a relative secret, held among some in-the-know Austinites, several savvy jazz journalists, and a growing cadre of jamband fans. As word of Unloaded spreads, trying to keep that secret will become a Sisyphean folly.

Reviewed by Adam Black
August 7, 2006


- www.THISISTEXASMUSIC.com

It has many meanings: To release power. Being clear-headed. Sexual innuendo. Unloaded is a fitting tag for Gnappy's third, following their acclaimed 2001 debut and 2003's sophomore-slump slayer, Is This a Machine? The Austin act's tight-fisted instrumental grooves – self-described as "funk with jazz and hip-hop" – pop like fireworks. Unloaded's sober inference comes from its clean delivery and sparkling sound, even though the drums-bass-sax-guitar quartet covers Black Sabbath and Quincy Jones' "The Streetbeater" (the Sanford and Son theme) live. Yet, Unloaded is all original, save for a fluid, drop-funk take on Sonny Rollins standard "Oleo." The staccato guitar-horn melodies in "Grease Don't Freeze" are as tight as a drill sergeant's bed, and the bass-drum funk engine in "Sushi Pimp" is hot enough to smell. Lessening the gestalt are "Bahl Hornin'" and the title track, each of which show up twice. The second take of "Bahl Hornin'" scratches and raps but fizzles at the end, longing for its own song structure. A talk-rap populates the first version of the title track, then appears later as an instrumental. Both worthy, but one's enough. Then again, most bands should be so lucky to have such an embarrassment of riches to unload.

BY DAVID LYNCH
- AUSTIN CHRONICLE

Part of a genre and sound just itching to add some vigor to jazz radio, GNAPPY slaps you upside the head with nods to 70's funk and a healthy dose of jam band danceability. UNLOADED, the group's third CD, is tight, horn-infused disc that will please soul-jazz fans and groove kids alike. The title track is a toe-tapping funky shuffle . Other recommended tracks include the boogaloo "Gatorade Brain," the blistering "Grease Don't Freeze," and a slightly hip-hopped and burning "Oleo." GNAPPY could be the ticket to draw in the younger demographic - or spark up the CTI-era crowd, without being to much of a jolt. Try it in a set with Jimmy Smith, Lou Donaldson or Lee Morgan and watch what happens. - JAZZWEEK- Ed Trefzger

August 29, 2003:

Gnappy
... Is This a Machine? (Bean Pie) Alphabetically speaking, Gnappy falls within two degrees of separation from the asphyxiating "j" word. Both of them. One, pedigreed and proud -- the veteran, wizened beyond classicism. The other, young, groovy -- man. Both genrify this Austin foursome (guitar, bass, drums, and sax), constraining it also if the group's second album, ... Is This a Machine?, is an accurate indication. Eleven originals and a cover of Black Sabbath's "N.I.B" equal 63 minutes of classic groove. Guitarist Buck McKinney and sax/gritos/propagandist Marcus Cardwell are never at a loss for ideas or riffs, while the rhythm section -- bassist Brad Bradburn and drummer Kevin Pearson -- is having their own tennis match and suddenly it's doubles and the tune is flying. Opener "Best Not Funk Around" could be any Medeski Martin and Wood, Charlie Hunter, or Blaze loosen-up, and it's followed by "News Flash," which is. "Rice Funk" follows that with some Les McCann type horn raunch as impressive as McKinney's songwriting credit on it. "Alien Proganda," "Ice You in the Alley," and especially "Paul's New Suit" all have standout, open-air riffs; you can imagine a festival field full of flip-flop mop tops and dapper erudites moving to the Gnapster. Dig it. Don't call it jazz, don't call it jam. Gnappy it is. - BY RAOUL HERNANDEZ

GNAPPY by Michael Toland

Austin quartet Gnappy do the jazz/funk bump 'n' grind with grace and fire on their self-titled debut. Bassist Brad Bradburn and drummer Kevin Pearson spank the bottom hard, keeping the cheeks swinging ("Uptown Swing"), grooving ("Track 13") or paddled by the good foot ("Purple Cadillac"). Guitarist Buck McKinney provides the riffs and comping, stepping out only occasionally for concise, tasteful statements of purpose. Saxist Marcus Cardwell provides most the improvisational voodoo, keeping his solos in the pocket, though he also spews some of the tunes' most memorable licks. The band fluidly moves from funkybutt feet-movers like "Black Cabbage" to more composerly fare like "Late For the Short Bus," but their grease truly shines when they combine approaches for a tune like the insidious "Kal-Kan." Equally adept at composing, arranging and performing, Gnappy gets the toes twitching and the brain stem vibrating with stanky aplomb.

For fans of: Medeski Martin & Wood, Liquid Soul, Hairy Apes, BMX
- High Bias