It's no coincidence that Second Movement's music was recently described as being “designed to illicit movement and not suited for the faint hearted.” After all, the band's mission is to create a danceable environment.

New York City's Second Movement (www.secondmovement.com) began its journey into groove-driven jazz-funk in 2003. Having headlined festivals, colleges and clubs along the East Coast, the band has emerged as an energetic and original voice within the jazz and jamband scenes.

Second Movement is serious about its music – and critics are noticing. Recent reviews of the band's 2005 eponymous debut album have yielded such comments as “a wide and varied statement that personifies the idea of jazz funk” and “succeeds in providing fresh new material for those who long for that hard-driving funky taste of jazz. Loud, boisterous and bursting with energy...”

The music also exists on film. In the summer of 2006, the band was asked to score an independent film for Nebali Productions. Over the course of two weeks, the band wrote, rehearsed and recorded eight tracks for the film “30.” While each track fits perfectly with the storyline, the feel is distinctly Second Movement.

Critical acclaim aside, these cats should be heard and experienced in a live setting. The compositional detail, the rhythmic focus, the burning solos – everything you hear on the recordings take on an even greater intensity during their live shows. The result is deeply gratifying, if not ecstatic – an exchange of positive, creative energies on a fundamental human level.