The rhythmic prerogatives of jazz reached a new apotheosis in the early ‘70s, when the genre’s musicians increasingly internalised the funk of James Brown into a novel, groove-heavy hybrid. Dispatching swing rhythms for heavy backbeats, and an acoustic sound for a timbre dominated by electric bass and keyboards, the music balanced a fierce emphasis on the dance floor with imaginative arrangements and improvisational fire. Artists like Roy Ayers and Lonnie Liston Smith imbued the music with soulful undertones, while Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis pursued a more abstract call to the brain while maintaining an irresistible pull on the booty.