Listening to Tel Aviv musician Ophir Kutiel (AKA Kutiman) and his self titled album is bound to take you on a trip of time transport right back to the 70's. It's got all the right pieces when you get there, too: the funk right out of a blaxplotation flick, the horn section right from a Fela Kuti album, Jazz fusion a la Herbie Hancock's Headhunters band, and a few modern elements of hip hop and electronic music added in in tiny dashes to keep it original.

Somehow Kutiman brings all of these related elements together creating an authentic sound which holds tight together. Most of the instrumention on the album he plays himself, with the exception of some guest vocalists and that tight horn section I mentioned above. Try out No Reason For You to get a handle on the funk that Kutiman lays down here (along with the more modern electro-touches percalating underneath). Then listen to Trumpet Woman, a track that blurs the line between vocals and instruments. Along the lines of Ella Fitzgerald's skat singing, guest vocalist Karolina uses her voice not only to sing, but also imitates a trumpet at points, drawing one into the other and then back again.

Interspersed amongst the album's thirteen are several instrumentals that add as much flavor to the album as the rest. I can definitely imagine much of the material here spinning in a club and helping people get their groove on. See if they work for you.