Saxophonist Maceo Parker needs no introduction to fans of soul and funk. He served as James Brown’s right hand man through his most groove-a-liscious years and worked with George Clinton’s P-Funk collective, a logical extension of Brown’s groundbreaking groove-based music, as well. In 1991 Parker started to map out a solo career, and he’s remained synonomous with the groove ever since, mixing in some jazzier moods and even hip-hop. Parker’s work has been heavily sampled by hip-hop musicians, in part because of his disctinctive, hard-edged alto sound and in part because of his devotion to groove-based music.

Parker was influenced by a variety of saxophonists, including David “Fathead” Newman, who was as essential to Ray Charles’ sound as Parker became to Brown’s. He also shows the influence of Cannonball Adderley in his sound, his style, and his expansive approach towards music of all styles. It should come as no surprise, then, to find Parker in the company of the WDR Big Band Cologne, a group of musicians who have successfully worked with groove and funk-based musicians such as Joe Zawinul and Randy Brecker in recent years. The resulting double live CD, Roots and Grooves is really two separate recordings. The first disc is a tribute to the music and legend of Ray Charles, while the second is a revisiting of some of Maceo’s most funky tunes in a big band setting.

Parker’s Ray Charles tribute is one of the best to arrive since Charles’ death in 2004. Not only is the song selection strong, but the performance pays tribute to Charles without slavishly imitating his sound or the sound of his band. Parker realizes that Charles music, particularly early on when he was performing in clubs, is largely good-time music rooted in the blues with a feel that is completely compatible with the funk groove that James Brown would later define with Parker’s assistance. Parker himself handles the vocals, and though his delivery can be reminiscent of Ray’s at times, he is definitely his own vocalist. There’s no sense that Parker and the band need to overplay or pump up these tunes, because they are both fantastic in their own right and also because they are so associated with Ray Charles.

On CD 2, ‘Back to the Funk,” Parker brings in his own rhythm section, drummer Dennis Chambers and bassist Rodney “Skeet” Curtis. Both of these guys worked with P-Funk as well as a host of other great jazz and funk musicians, and they know how to set the groove. With the pocket they provide, the WDR horns provide a punchy setup for Parker’s soul jazz soloing. One cannot help but feel that if Cannonball Adderley were alive today, he’d be mining this kind of funk groove.

All the tunes on this second disc are Parker compositions with the exception the JB classic “Pass the Peas.” The results are exceptional, and the WDR soloists are, as always, standouts, including trumpeters Andy Haderer and John Marshall, guitarist Paul Shigihara, sax players Karolina Strassmayer and Paul Heller, and Olivier Peters, who plays the EWI (electronic wind instrument), a kind of synthesizer/saxophone (anyone remember the Lyricon?).

The two discs that comprise Roots and Grooves are exceptional performances that continue both Maceo Parker’s excellent solo discography and the winning streak of the WDR Big Band Cologne. There’s just no way you can go wrong with this one.