Program

Legends & Lore®

Subject

Folklore

Location

304 N Queen St, Kinston, NC 28501, USA

Lat/Long

35.2627, -77.5816

Grant Recipient

1901 Building Group

The rhythm-derived musical genre of funk was popularized in the 1970s and 1980s, however its roots extend back earlier still. Famed musician Nathaniel “Nat” Jones of Kinston, and other African American musical pioneers from eastern North Carolina played a vital role in shaping its development and bringing it to the masses.

In 1964, funk legend James Brown hired Nat to serve as songwriter and musical director for the James Brown Orchestra. As a result, Nat brought on fellow local Kinston musicians to the band. Collaborating together, they developed the rhythmic new form of music that combined elements of bebop jazz, soul music, and rhythm and blues.

In the 2013 publication, African American Music Trails of Eastern North Carolina, by Michelle Lanier, Beverly Patterson & Sarah Bryan, musician Dick Knight recounts the influence fellow Kinston musicians had on the evolution of funk:

There was Maceo Parker, Nathaniel Jones, Melvin Parker, Levi Rasbury, and myself. There were five—-five from Kinston. Nat Jones was the music arranger. He was very talented. And he was also playing the alto saxophone. Maceo was doing most of the solo work with the saxophone, and I was doing most of the trumpet work. Well, it was like, when James first was playing, he was playing more simple chords. But when we got into the band, the level of music changed. It got a little harder, and it sounded much better because we were using more chord progressions, better chord progressions, and it was carried to another level. It’s definitely a Kinston sound.

Needless to say, funk music’s popularity took off. In 1966, Nat Jones found himself playing the saxophone solo to James Brown’s “I Feel Good” live on The Ed Sullivan Show. By 1967, he had written 37 songs during his time with Brown. Brothers Maceo and Melvin Parker and Dick Knight became fixtures in James Brown’s ensembles before continuing on with their own successful music and teaching careers.