photos by Dana (Distortion) Yavin

NY. yall treated a brother right last night at BB.Kings. We off to Canada now, but thanks for the love yall show us, the funk never forgets a good funkin'! Now that the Funkship is up & runnin', we plan to make many more Big Apple stops. We love, we funk! -[Bootsy Collins]

Member of James Brown's band, Parliament-Funkadelic, a solo artist, and hands down one of the most fashion-conscious men in music, Bootsy Collins played BB King's on June 26th as part of the Blue Note Jazz Festival which comes to a close tonight (6/30). The starry-eyed one's 13-piece band Funk U-Nity, which featured former P-Funk members Bernie Worrell, Blackbyrd McKnight, and Frankie Kash, shook the booties of attendees at BB King's with the help of a special, and rather surprising guest:

Bootsy Collins brought the funk and Dr. Cornel West to B.B. King on Sunday night. The former Parliament-Funkadelic bassist and his all-star Funk U-nity band... tore the roof off the packed house with the help of the Princeton professor. West declared Collins an "unadulterated genius" before performing "Don't Take My Funk," a track off Bootsy's new CD, "Tha Funk Capital of the World." West guest-stars on the album, too, as does his Obama debating partner, the Rev. Al Sharpton. -[NY Daily News]

The funkin' legend (and Dr. West) played a set of dancefloor burning grooves that included Bootsy's amp literally bursting into a cloud of smoke. Too much funky, I guess.

More pictures and a video from BB King's and all upcoming Bootsy dates are below...

Continue reading "Bootsy Collins funked up BB King's w/ his funky band & special guest Dr. Cornel West (pics & video)"