Rhythm Real is the brainchild of Los Angeles drummer, bandleader, and educator Dean Mucetti. In order to find a way for a couple of his former music students from an underserved area to gain playing experience past high school, Dean formed the band in August of 2015 as a type of workshop ensemble. Since then, the band has been bringing together the talents of these younger players with a few more experienced musicians in order to facilitate a collaborative meeting of diverse musical, cultural, and generational backgrounds. This has resulted in the band playing some of L.A.’s most coveted jazz clubs such as The Baked Potato in Studio City and the Blue Whale in Little Tokyo.
The music itself is a tapestry type of sound where the James Brown funk of Clyde Stubblefield, Bootsy Collins, and Jimmy Nolen combines with jazz standards by the likes of Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, and John Coltrane. This setting facilitates a uniquely improvised performance that is never quite the same twice, and these perhaps thought to be disparate sounds collide to reveal a common sonic thread. In addition, Dean Mucetti and Rhythm Real also happens to feature a rotating frontline of some of Los Angeles’ finest improvisers. Recently, the band has featured saxophonists Gavin Templeton and Tom Wilson along with vocalist/emcees Osmith and Ventage in addition to whoever else may show up to throw down, such as Stevie Wonder/Janet Jackson guitarist Errol Cooney. The short of it: Dean Mucetti and Rhythm Real play funky-off the cuff improv with a tinge of melodic madness, a bevy of harmonic bliss, and an onslaught of danceable rhythm.