The Big Ol' Nasty Getdown

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.