SLY & the Family Stone were one of the most influential funk acts there’s ever been.

While Sly himself has stepped away from performing for the most part, some of his former band members are still going strong - and bringing the Family Stone to Glasgow tomorrow night as part of the Jazz Festival.

Although the San Francisco group - famed for their peace and love ethos and era-defining albums like Stand! - are known most for their funk, they inspired many of the jazz-rock acts that followed.

“The original band influenced almost all of the upcoming jazz bands,” says their legendary saxophone player, Jerry Martini.

“Everybody from George Clinton and Bootsie Collins to Jeff Beck, Steven Tyler, Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock. The list is long!”

Jerry is one of three members in the Family Stone present during the group’s hey-day, alongside trumpeter Cynthia Robinson and drummer Greg Errico.

The horn section helped power along pop classics like I Want To Take You Higher and If You Want Me To Stay, tunes that’ll no doubt be making an appearance tomorrow night.

That’s when the group roll into the O2 ABC, fresh off an appearance at Glastonbury last night. They’ll be helping to wrap up this year’s jazz festival, which has already welcomed the varied likes of Gladys Knight, Partisans and Jarrod Lawson to the city.

Obviously main man Sly Stone will be missing, however the fact the Family Stone boast a trio of original members ensures they’re not a mere tribute act.

And Jerry reckons that singer Alex Lewis is a fitting replacement for Sly.

“Except for the original members and my musical director Blaise Sison, it took a while to get it right,” he says, discussing when the band first reformed.

“Alex Davis has been a friend of mine for years.

"He was with another band in Los Angeles and I waited a few years to get him. He did Sly's voice almost perfect and also Larry Graham’s. Plus, he looks like he could be a relative when on stage.”

There’s plenty of other plans for the band afoot, too. They’re even planning a new single, and were recently recording a video in Chicago for it.

Yet their past achievements are unlikely to be topped, with their late 60s and early 70s run of records some of the most ridiculously danceable records ever created.

For Jerry, one highlight that springs to mind is their famous set at Woodstock in 1969, when the band didn’t end up performing until 3am.

“Going on stage at Woodstock was mind blowing,” he says.

“To see hundreds of thousands of people getting up and dancing to the music of our band, the hairs stood up on my arms and I could hardly believe how much they loved us.

"It was a once in a lifetime experience.”

Just before Woodstock came arguably the Family Stone’s greatest recorded achievement, when they released Stand!

Their fourth album clocked up over 500,000 sales in the year of its release and Jerry’s full of praise for how Sly Stone took charge of the album.

“Sly pretty much did all of the creating on Stand,” says Jerry.

“He was a man with a plan. He always asked for feedback and would use any of our ideas that made sense to him. He was amazing.”

As the 1970s arrived, the group hit harder times, with drug problems becoming apparent, and rifts emerging between members of the group. Their sound shifted too, becoming a harder funk that reflected the changing times, before they eventually broke up in 1975.

Right from the start, the group had always been known for standing up against prejudice, with multi-ethnic line-ups hardly common at the time.

It’s only fair to ask Jerry what he’s made of how American culture has changed since those days.

“I feel that America has progressed much since the old days,” he says.

“But it still has a long way to go. Last week’s tragic church massacre (in Charleston) is a good example of that.”

A happier note is struck when looking at modern music. The saxophonist believes there’s a whole host of talented acts out there.

“I love many of the newer acts,” he adds.

“Bands and singers like Maroon 5 and the Red Hot Chili Peppers or John Legend and Josh Stone - there’s too many others to name, but there is no shortage of talent.”

The Family Stone, O2 ABC, tomorrow, 7pm, £22.50