“Roots & Grooves” is one monster of a live album! I love all of Maceo Parker’s solo albums, but this is the best (followed by “Life On Planet Groove” and the soundtrack of “My First Name Is Maceo”).Dennis Chambers kicks the hell out of his drum set, and Rodney “Skeet” Curtis does some se’ious slammin’ on his bass. Dennis and Skeet (who used to play with George Clinton's Parliament/Funkadelic) get to show both their funk and jazz chops. And then there’s the wonderful 18-piece WDR Big Band conducted by pianist and arranger Michael Abene (who started out with Maynard Ferguson in the early ‘60s).“R&G” was recorded live on tour in Europe in February and March 2007. On the first CD, they pay tribute to Ray Charles, with classics like “What’d I Say” and “Busted”. The second disc is a funk fest featuring songs by ex-James Brown saxophonist Maceo from various decades.The double-CD doesn’t seem to be easily available everywhere. E.g., I found it at Amazon.de and Amazon.co.uk, but not at Amazon.com. You’ll probably get the best (legal) deal at emusic.com (where I bought it) – they charge 43¢ a song (or less). You can listen to audio samples "here":http://www.emusic.com/album/Maceo-Parker-Roots-Grooves-MP3-Download/11114593.html.