Few have had the opportunity to hear the brilliant music of virtuoso pianist, arranger, and songwriter, Herman Eberitzsch Jr. III. Known to his peers as “funky knuckles,” Eberitzsch crafted an inimitable brand of psychedelic soul and funky jazz during San Francisco’s much-fabled artistic and political awakening in the 60s and 70s. Yet, his boldly experimental music missed the ears of the right A&R man and never saw commercial release. The studio tapes found their way to Eberitzsch’s basement where they remained for 35 years until a chance encounter with Family Groove Records. Over one decade’s worth of Eberitzsch’s original recordings will be mastered and released, resulting in a four-part compilation entitled the HE3 Project.
The first chapter of the HE3 Project features Eberitzsch’s trailblazing efforts from three distinct recording sessions spanning 1971 to ’74. He brought a loose-knit quartet together in ’71 to record a decidedly expressionistic approach to jazz and funk that they had cultivated in the city’s avant-garde clubs and cafes. In ’73, Eberitzsch joined members of Coke Escovedo’s Latin group, Azteca, at Wally Heider and CBS studios to arrange and write demos for Coke’s seminal, self-titled debut. And in ’74, he brought in a full band, Motion, to record at Wally Heider — with songstress Linda Tillery (The Loading Zone) an unknown soul singer named Johnny Lovett on lead vocals and a Tower-Of-Power strength horn section.
Eberitzsch brought this experimental ethos to the studio where he played around with recording techniques. With a child’s amusement, he used an old fashioned Fender Echoplex in “Rapture” and applied a screwdriver to his Hammond keyboard in “Massage” to create wobbling effects. He then manipulated the tape loop, searching loosely for weird sounds that would produce warped textures. The strange, idiosyncratic sounds created in the process helped to shape the psychedelic quality of the music. Yet it never smothers itself in abstraction. “It’s still earthy because it was manipulated not by machines,” he explains while laughing, “but by the hands of the monkey man!”
Chapter Two continues the music of Herman Eberitzsch’s unreleased recordings during the 1974-1979 period. The Bay Area vibe is pronounced here with a sensual and aggressive Funk, Latin Groove & Modern Soul sound. Errol Knowles’ Courtial, Sly Stone, Cold Blood and Tower Of Power influences can be heard throughout these recordings. In moments it is Soul and Funk in its purest form, all formulas are thrown away replaced with a unique adventure in sound and lyrics. Songs feature Sly Stone’s Bassist Bobby Vega (High On You) and Linda Tillery (Loading Zone) on vocals.
