US funk sextet Lettuce dished up their delicious new album, “Cook”, this month (December 2025) after completing the European leg of a world tour in London, with four sold out shows at Ronnie Scott’s.
“Cook” is a melting pot of funk, soul, jazz, rock and hip-hop which further expands their musical palette following tours with rap icon GZA (Wu-Tang Clan) and reggae artist Ziggy Marley, plus the live album and concert film “Lettuce with the Colorado Symphony” issued in early 2025.
The new album pays tribute to James Brown and his J.B.’s and honouring mentors such Maceo Parker and Tower of Power.
“This record is a little more three-dimensional than our past albums,” explains drummer Adam Deitch. “It shows a lot more sides to the band, exploring further depths of production and arrangements.”
The album includes the singles “Gold Tooth”, “Rising To The Top” (a cover of the Keni Burke track), “Breathe”, and “Keep On” (co-written with Tower of Power leader Emilio Castillo).
Lettuce have recently announced the launch of “Lettuce Red Crush” and “Orange Crush” wine brands in collaboration with Aquila Cellars, along with a recipe book featuring pairings, to be included with the vinyl LP edition of the album, but also available in digital form.
“Music and food are very related,” muses Deitch. “Use the wrong ingredients in either and you can ruin the sound and the meal.”
The band have also begun a partnership with the non-profit organisation “Music Is A Language” to launch a transformative new scholarship in their name. The initiative will fund a full-tuition scholarship for a deserving student to attend the prestigious Berklee College Of Music, where the roots of Lettuce first took hold.
The campaign to raise funds for the scholarship kicked off with a series of shows hosted by the band in Denver, Colorado from 5th-7th December 2025.
Lettuce is:
Adam Deitch – drums, percussion,
Adam ‘Shmeeans’ Smirnoff – guitar
Erick ‘Maverick’ Coomes – bass
Ryan ‘Zoid’ Zoidis – alto, baritone and tenor sax, synths
Eric ‘Benny’ Bloom – trumpet, horns
Nigel Hall – vocals, Hammond B-3, Rhodes, clavinet, keyboards
Photos by Sam Silkworth
