By Tony Daquipa
Martha High’s Funky Divas With Fred Wesley and the New JBs
510 Embarcadero West, Oakland
February 27, 2025
Midway through her set at Yoshi’s in late February, Martha High asked the men in the audience to get up off of their things and dance.
High had just finished singing Lyn “Mama Feelgood” Collins’ “Think (About It),” a feminist anthem from 1972. With Fred Wesley’s New JBs band laying down the stanky groove of yet another female empowerment anthem, Soul Sister #1 Marva Whitney’s “It’s My Thing,” High was turning traditional gender roles upside down.
“Show me what you got,” she encouraged from the stage.
Divas Martha High and Kelly Jarrell sang for Brown in his heyday. Diva Darlene Parker was a backup singer for the Godfather of Soul’s longtime saxophonist Maceo Parker during his post-JBs solo career.
Backing the three Divas on this night was a funky crew led by legendary JBs and PFunk trombonist Fred Wesley. His New JBs band included keyboardist Coleman Woodson III, trumpeter Gary Winters, saxophonist Charles McNeal, guitarist Bruno Speight, bassist Dwayne Dolphin, and drummer Bryan Morris.
Though there were a lot of interesting moves going on, no one appeared to be doing the monkey or the mashed potato.
The show was a power packed tribute to the legacy of James Brown. Featuring several people who sang or played with the hardest working man in show business, this set was dynamite. It had soul, and it was super bad.
Local saxophonist Al Lazard attended, and was all smiles afterwards. “I loved it,” said the Louisiana native. “Brought me back home.”
The band started off the set playing tunes from the JBs and PFunk universe, and then it was star time.
The Funky Divas joined them on stage and performed several songs by Whitney and Collins. Each diva was featured on at least one song, but High was unquestionably the headliner. She had the longest run with Brown.
There was no “Rock Me Again and Again,” but there was plenty of female soul power. When the Funky Divas were on stage, this was not a man’s world. As High said on the mic, their set featured “The songs that empowered women in the sixties and seventies.”
After several songs, the singers got on up off the stage, while the New JBs stayed on the scene like a sex machine. They played a medley of the original band’s classics, and it felt good.
The Funky Divas came back to close out the show strong. They brought on the juice and made everyone sweat. Though there was little room in between the dining tables and chairs, many people stood up and danced anyway.
While Brown’s shows were highlighted by his acrobatic dance moves and shrill non-verbal vocalizations, the Funky Divas relied more on traditional singing chops without sacrificing any of the raw and uncut soul that defines the JB legacy. The groove was still on the one, and the horns were still horny.
The Thursday night show wasn’t exactly sold out, but the crowd that was there was composed of a high concentration of local musicians and music industry people, and everyone had a funky good time.
Out in the lobby after the show, I caught up with High, who said that this was the Funky Divas’ first US tour. Formed in 2005, the group has primarily toured Europe. High was one of James Brown’s Original Funky Divas and toured with Brown for 32 years. The Virginia native told me that she had many fond memories of performing in Oakland in the past. “I always enjoy being here,” she said.
“We’ll be coming back.”
