Bernard Purdie has played drums on so many recordings, by such a mind-numbing list of artists (Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Herbie Hancock, Dizzy Gillespie, Steely Dan, and on and on) that it’s easy to forget he also records under his own name—at least 25 albums as a leader. Cool Down is his first new one since 2009 and, in his late‘70s, Purdie hasn’t lost any of his trademark force and smarts. From the first NOLA-centric drum licks of the opening “Elevate” through the blues-infused “Stranded” ballad that closes it out—the latter fronted by Cyril Neville’s heart-melting vocal— this is one impressive slab of classic funk and soul. Recorded live in the studio in Brooklyn, Cool Down, initially released for Record Store Day, is something of a tour through Purdie’s favored grooves. He’s got help from a new generation of jam-embraced groovers: keyboardist Ivan Neville, New Mastersounds bassist Pete Shand and Pimps of Joytime guitarist Brian J (the latter two also served as co-producers). It’s a tight unit with a well-honed sense of the various branches of vintage R&B. “Deep in Love,” featuring vocalist Mayteana Morales, also from Pimps of Joytime, is the type of midtempo good-time soul that would’ve been all over soul radio in the early-‘70s, while the title track—its weighty bass giving Purdie just what he needs to burrow deep inside—could pass for a lost Funkadelic jam.