Los Angeles-based producer John Heintz thought that the magic of jam sessions and sit-ins shouldn’t be confined to one-off opportunities. When the right combination of seasoned musicians gets together, music can be pulled out of the ether, fusing together the unique voices of the players and taking the music into uncharted sonic territory.
“I thought if unscripted jamming could sound so good and natural on stage,” Heintz says, “then bringing that energy and camaraderie to the studio could produce some incredible music.”
And that it did. Out of this idea, Heintz created The Big Ol’ Nasty Getdown. Working alongside Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band’s JP Miller and Derrick Johnson, as well as producer and musician Frank Mapstone, Heintz built a collective of hundreds of musicians and artists that defy the boundaries of genre, age and geography.
The project, captured on 2012’s Volume 1 and 2018’s Volume 2, has seen members of legendary funk bands such as The Meters, Earth, Wind and Fire and Parliament-Funkadelic exploring funk, rock, R&B and soul with their musical apprentices, including Fishbone, Mudvayne, Arrested Development, The Lee Boys and Living Colour. Both albums were recorded by gathering dozens of musicians for weeklong retreats that were part-jam session, part-writing session and part funky house party.
A decade-and-a-half into the project, Heintz is now preparing The Big Ol’ Nasty Getdown Volume 3 with some special releases and singles featuring an increasingly star-studded lineup. New recordings feature Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers; Philip Lassiter, a renowned jazz trumpeter and former member of Prince and the New Power Generation; Ler LaLonde of Primus; Jack Irons, a multi-instrumentalist, founding member of the Chili Peppers and former member of Pearl Jam; and many more, including lesser-known musicians from all over the world.
Like each track having a unique lineup of players, Heintz also sees that each album and single release is paired with art that matches the quality and aesthetic of the music. Nationally and internationally renowned artists EMEK, Marq Spusta, Munk One, Jim Mazza and James Flames are among those who have worked with the collective.
“The music and the art are intertwined,” Heintz says. “We’re creating an experience, visually and sonically, with the art often telling the story of the music, or even inspiring the lyrics.”
While the COVID-19 pandemic has severely disrupted the music industry, remote recording has allowed The Big Ol’ Nasty Getdown to churn out a ton of new material – more than 100 tracks are currently in production.
“Recording remotely has greatly expanded our roster to include even more incredible players,” Heintz says. “This new mix of musicians is also turning what was essentially a funk project into a world-class collaborative that isn’t bound by the limitations of genre.”
Other Volume 3 contributors include former and current members of 311, Jane’s Addiction, Suicidal Tendencies, Umphrey’s McGee, The String Cheese Incident, and Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre’s bands.
“The music coming out of these sessions is really top-notch,” Heintz says. “The quality is just unbelievable. That’s not all my doing, the project is really the sum of its parts.”