Eddie Hazel – Jams From The Heart

In keeping with my relatively recent discovery of all things Funkadelic – here’s a solo record from Eddie Hazel, the blistering guitarist who made so many of those Funkadelic records what they are.

Now, I’m not a guitar player, and when it comes to those who are – simple virtuosity, or the triumph of extreme technical ability, mostly doesn’t resonate with me. Billions of fast notes? Eh. Give me someone who keeps it in service to the music, to the song he’s playing, and who knows what not to play. So I get a little frustrated when I see discussions of the “greatest” guitarists, and Eddie Hazel’s nowhere to be found, or far, far down the list behind a whole bunch of musicians you couldn’t pay me to listen to. Yes, it’s all a matter of taste, and comparisons are odious, but I think Hazel gets overlooked.

I ran across this at Forever Changes in 2023 and, already enamored of “Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs,” decided I had to have it, even if it’s a far less structured offering. Apparently cut at the same time as he was working on that album in 1975, these tracks are truly just jams – Eddie and Buddy Miles on drums. Yet: amazing. This wasn’t released in any form until 1994, and not on vinyl until this edition in 2022.