FATHERS conjure a tropical, ’70s-inspired jazz, funk, and fusion atmosphere on their eponymous 2026 Blue Note debut. A supergroup, FATHERS features creative director/producer Kenneth Blume (aka Kenny Beats), keyboardist Keifer Shackelford, bassist/multi-instrumentalist Ben Carr (aka CARRTOONS), and drummer Nate Smith. While they formally came together in 2026, the group initially began as a one-off collaboration when Smith brought Kiefer and Carr on board his 2023 residency at the Montreal Jazz Festival. No stranger to cross-genre experimentation, Smith won a Grammy for 2025’s Live-Action, an album that showcased his broad-minded taste, dipping into funk, hip-hop, and sophisticated modal jazz. Here, FATHERS take a similarly…