The Memphis Scene

Members of one of my favorite Memphis bands of the past few years, The Grip, have formed a new outfit called City Champs, and it looks like this group will also be near to my heart and ears. Whereas The Grip -- featuring Art Edmiston on tenor sax, Al Gamble on Hammond organ, Joe Restivo on guitar, and a rotating cast of drummers -- specialized in the organ trio-plus sound of 1960s Blue Note jazz recordings, City Champs -- minus Edmiston, with sometime Grip drummer George Sluppick on the trapset -- are a stripped-down funk combo along the lines of Booker T. & the MGs or contemporary acts like Sugarman 3 (this is judging by the two tunes on their MySpace page). They've got an album on the way, cut on analog tape at Scott Bomar's studio. And they've got a full slate of gigs coming up, starting this Sunday at Huey's Downtown. (8:30 p.m.)