Tighten Up – (Live At Dallas Memorial Auditorium, August 26th, 1968) – The James Brown Orchestra

In yesterday’s post, I mentioned how James Brown really helped me understand and appreciate a killer band. I decided to feature one of my favorite instrumentals today, “Tighten Up,” performed by James’ band, not yet officially known as the JB’s, but featuring many future members, including legends like Maceo Parker, Clyde Stubblefield, and Pee Wee Ellis (who would also work a ton with blog favorite Van Morrison). I believe at the time, this particular iteration of the band was the “James Brown Orchestra.”

The middle of the album contains one of the breaks James was known for, taking a few songs off and letting the band really show their chops front and center. I debated between choosing “Tighten Up” and “The Popcorn” for today’s post, but I love hearing Maceo direct in “Tighten Up.” There is an outrageous breakdown of the rhythm that layers everything back up from the drums, then bass, guitar, organ, and horns follow suit. The drumming at the beginning of the breakdown is one of my favorite sections of percussion ever recorded. There are some outstanding horn solos featured, of course, as well.

Below I included a personnel list of the band.

The James Brown Orchestra with discog links –

• Bass – ‘Sweet’ Charles Sherrell, Alfonzo “Country” Kellum*
• Drums – Clyde Stubblefield, Nate Jones (3)
• Guitar – Alfonzo “Country” Kellum*, Jimmy Nolen
• Organ – Alfred “Pee Wee” Ellis*
• Saxophone – Maceo Parker, Alfred “Pee Wee” Ellis*, St-Clair Pinckney
• Trombone – Fred Wesley, Levi Rasbury
• Trumpet – Richard “Kush” Griffith*, Waymon Reed
• Violin – Marilyn Jones, Richard Jones (2), Sylvia Medford

Link to audio – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exmD2-i4xLs&list=PLWHCm4MVOU5qfDuapJbV3U8obSz34WD26&index=11