Tuesday 29 July will see two acclaimed Latin funk collectives take to the Jazz Café stage in a special gig to showcase new albums on Aire Sol Records.

Hailed as one of the hardest-working and most exciting bands to emerge from the States in the last decade, Grupo Fantasma draws on a wide variety of influences from the 1960s’ Fania All-Stars through to folk-fusion wonderkid Manu Chao. Sonidos Gold, released in June this year, is described by bandleader Adrian Quesada as “the one we’ve wanted to make from the beginning,” and features guest appearances from, among others, legendary saxist Maceo Parker. Prince is also a designated star fan, having given the 10-piece group a two-month residency at his Las Vegas nightclub.

Homenaje, the debut album from label-mates Brownout, was two-and-a-half years in the making. It was worth waiting for. Simmering, acerbic grooves, catchy guitar riffs and richly funky solos come as standard. It’s impossible not to feel the energetic party vibes - the CD is one to turn up and play loud, which almost always translates into a highly enjoyable live experience. In fact, you probably won’t be surprised to find out that the eight members of Brownout all play in Grupo Fantasma.

There is clearly a deep pool of talent in Austin, Texas — the home city of both groups. More importantly, they have evidently worked incredibly hard to bring their music to a global audience: the label was formed in 1999. Now they are reaping the rewards, with distribution deals and festival appearances to take things to a new level. Watch out.

Hackneyed cliché it may be, but Kenny Garrett really has done it all. Work with names such as Duke Ellington, Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock provides a mere glimpse of his glittering CV, augmented by recording dates for labels including Atlantic, Warner and Nonesuch.

At Ronnie’s he was joined by Lennie Stalworth on bass, Jeff Motley on organ and impressive young drummer Justin Brown. The opening number was reminiscent of Davis’s late fusion group, in which Garrett prominently featured, and he opted to play his alto through a variety of electronic effects. Its fluid, shimmering tone was cheapened to the level of poor quality synth sax and struggled for penetration above the bustling band.

This alarming trait continued, with Garrett often abandoning his horn to join Motley on a second keyboard. Not a wise move. Indeed, it was Brown on drums who threw up the most surprises; his energetic, imaginative cross-rhythmic ideas saved many tunes from turning into drearily predictable elevator music.

Garrett’s apparent preference for cheesy smooth jazz in the vein of near-namesake jazz pariah Kenny G will leave purists foaming at the mouth. A final grandstand version of ‘Happy People’ served as the perfect example: with its gospelesque organ vamps and cringingly catchy sing-along sax melody, accompanied by animated calls from Garrett to bring the crowd to its feet for repeated choruses, it represented an undeniable trend of “selling out” to popular appeal.

The performance’s jazz merit was questionable – especially in relation to Garrett’s established post-bop credentials. However, if judged only against itself, it cannot fail to satisfy. The skull-capped saxophonist’s open defiance of “Quiet Please” jazz club decorum demands respect. How often does a full house at Ronnie Scott’s rise as one to sing, dance and applaud? Traditionalists will always take issue, but lovers of enjoyable good-time music have a powerful counterargument.