It never feels like anything good can come out of the closing of a music club. Patrons form attachments to these places and don't want to let them go. Heck, I never set foot in CBGB and was still saddened by its demise.

And so it was with Tonic, a jazz/experimental music venue that closed in the spring of 2007. Toward the end of its run, some shows were put together featuring musicians having their own attachments to the club. Enter Vernon Reid, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, and G. Calvin Weston. One quite amazing fact here is that these three long-time friends had never played together before. Word is that the performance was 'remarkable,' so much so that Weston set up another show in Philadelphia at Tritone. Again... magic.

Reid booked some time at a studio near his home in Staten Island and the results, being the Frēqs third performance ever, are astounding.

At this point, it's very tempting to employ words such as 'chemistry' and the dreaded 'supergroup.' The music goes far beyond those overused descriptions. This really shouldn't be surprising if you take a quick look into the history of these men. Tacuma was a force in Ornette Coleman's Prime Time. Weston played with James Blood Ulmer and John Lurie's Lounge Lizards and was also Prime Time colleague. Reid's past includes Living Colour, Bill Frisell, Masque, and Yohimbe Brothers.

I have mathematically intersected these various musics (hey, gotta use that math minor once in a while) and here is the result:

Funk.

That's right. Urban Mythology Vol. One deals not with 'out' jazz of any sort, but with undiluted, heavy-duty funk. Take those early Funkadelic records and let them marinate in some Prime Time/Jimi Hendrix/Are You Glad To Be In America? sauce. This is no cosmic slop, this is deep funk.

Reid clearly thrives playing with such a muscular rhythm section. Tacuma's powerful bass (check out "Over and Under") and Weston's polyrhythmic rumble push him in many inspired directions. "Ghost Sign Crossroad" is a fabulous and slinky blues. "Nappy Hour" swings from Hendrix-esque scorch to Sonny Sharrock scrabble and back again. On the at-first nervous but ultimately explosive "Don Cheadle," Ried shows off some of his tangled-shredding style. Eddie Hazel would be proud.

None of this is to say that this is merely a Vernon Reid record with Tacuma & Weston providing backup. No, the Frēqs appear to be far more diplomatic. Yes, Reid does have some spectacular moments here but there are just as many tossed out there by the rhythm section. Weston and Tacuma scare up some incredibly locked-in interplay ("Chump Champ Chunk," "Doing Within," "A Lost Way Found") that are every bit as engrossing as Reid's funk blasts. Definitely a team effort.

Hopefully, the brilliance of Urban Mythology Vol. One will mute those sad "Tonic is gone" thoughts. If not, it's at least good to know that something came from that particular scene.