Doug Johns' Pocket Fulla Nasty is an apropos title for this music disc. You can practically feel the nasty coming off the strings of this virtuoso  bass player. It's nasty in a good way though, with lots of groove and funk, not nasty in a bad way like a lipstick-smeared  Courtney Love after a three-day chemical binge. 

The incredible opening cut, "Scrumpt", features great interplay between Doug's bass and the incredible horn/rhythm section backing him up.  The next song up is "Manic," which begins with a sparse arrangement, forsaking the horns, but is no less effective at delivering another example of the kind of bass ingenuity that few guitar players can deliver.  Doug Johns, while incredibly talented in his own right, also shows that he can play well with others, knowing how to share the stage and allowing the band to show off some serious skills of their own.  The arrangements on the fourth song, "Knutso", are an example of their abilities. The horns tease you with a cup of mellow before the bass pours on a whole ton of funk making this track especially deserving of repeated listenings. 

The longest songs on this album run in the five minute range, which keeps the pace of things aurally interesting.  The fifth song, "Funk Bomb", which begins with a playful time-count before bouncing off into more bass riffs, gives an artful nod to some of Stevie Wonder's work.  The song also benefits from a mid-song tempo change that shows a more subtle playing style.  This helps the more adventurous bass playing stand out all the more.  Song six, "Uum...Continue", umm....continues the incredible bass work but has more of a new age feel. This cut, unlike the prior songs, mixes things up while still retaining his signature groove style.  "Southwest Song" features an opening 45-second  acoustic guitar solo before the bass arrives. The acoustic and the  bass guitars are soon joined by horns and drums, producing a song that is much more light-hearted than previous tracks, but no less enjoyable.

Lest you think that Mr. Johns has gone all nancy-boy on us, he works double-time on the next track, the title cut "Pocket Fulla Nasty" to prove otherwise. The last song, "Truth In Nature" is a standout acoustic number with a melody that is memorable enough to get me to give the song a second listen, and was a great finish to a standout disc.

There is funkaliciously furious fret work from start to finish, and if you are a fan of contemporary fusion jazz instrumentals, played by top notch musicians, then this is a disc for you. Reminiscent of  Jaco Pastorius, Chick Corea,  Roy Hargrove Quintet,  Ozric Tentacles,  Mahavishnu Orchestra, and throw in the theme song to  Barney Miller for good measure, Doug Johns pays homage to many different artists and styles, but creates a sound that is very much his own.