This merry li’l Jazz-Funk album laid siege to my car’s music machine most all the way back North from CT’s Jazz and Electronica fests. The outfit’s name references one of legendary Jazz pianist Herbie Hancock’s biggest hits, ‘Rockitt’, but its music digs even deeper into Hancock land. Most specifically, said pianist’s foray into Funk via the perpetually sampled, mid-70’s albums ‘Headhunters’ and ‘Thrust’ – remember Digable Planets’ ‘The Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like That)’? That was one of what became dozens of Jazz, Hip-Hop and Trip-Bop tracks to borrow, steal or tip the ol’ hat to The Headhunters’ POW. All this highly specific name dropping should just about drop Rocket into the abyss of Cheeez (especially as the brief brilliance of keyboard-led Jazz-Funk – as exemplified by Hancock’s Funk season – was Smothered in cheese, only surviving due to its foundation of genius). Rocket, somehow, not only survives the fall, it swoops back up, mid-way, all Iron Man-like.Founding keyboardist Emanuel Ruffler digs deep into his grooves, bringing in select contemporary heavyweights Duane Eubanks (for trumpet duties) and Patrice Blanchard (for chunky Bass) to simultaneously evoke that brief season of Jazz-Funk brilliance, and update it for today’s more demanding sound systems. The Goodness.
