Author's Note: this paper received an A. As you and your friend saunter down the block, you are unexpectedly controlled by an unseen force. A faint intent to defy this compulsion crosses your mind, but you deem any attempt to resist futile. Your hips start to shake, your feet strut, and your plans for the night go out the window. The thick clouds of jazz and funk seeping out of the nearby club fill your ears and heart with desire, and as suddenly as you stopped, you and your friend decide to enter and open your eyes to the band playing tonight, Galactic. Galactic, a modern jazz/funk group based in New Orleans, takes driving beats, fat-back bass, soulful organs, wah-wah guitars, gritty vocals, and cocky, assured horns into proven funky territory that is sure to please, lightening both the mood and the feet, in person and on disc.Galactic demonstrates a special chemistry in live performance and improvisation that makes them irresistible to their audience. After Galactic recorded their first album, Coolin’ Off, they hit the road with an important mission—to spread the music, which they have accomplished by touring almost non-stop since 1997. The band members’ personalities truly shine through as they play, and it appears as if they genuinely have fun performing, as evidenced by the many smiles and laughs they exchanged among themselves onstage. Galactic has proven to be similar to other groups famous for live improvisation, such as Phish, The Grateful Dead, and Widespread Panic in that they encourage recording of their shows. These recordings are freely traded and often highly sought after because of the rich quality of their performances and the infinite variety of their improvisations. For example, a saxophone solo on a particular song can be heard over and over again on their albums, but when saxophonist Ben Ellman plays live, he Doe 2never does a song the same way twice, thereby causing interest in differen...
