Mandrill (band)
| Mandrill (band) | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Brooklyn, New York City, United States |
| Genres | Funk, funk rock, jazz-funk, rock, world, Latin rock, Latin funk, soul,[1][2]progressive rock[3] |
| Years active | 1968–present |
| Labels | Polydor, United Artist Records, Arista Records, Montage Records |
| Website |
www |
| Past members |
Carlos Wilson Lou Wilson Ric Wilson Claude "Coffee" Cave II Bundy Cenac Omar Mesa Charles Padro Fudgie Kae Solomon Neftali Santiago Doug Rodriguez Arlan Aschierbaum Gemi Taylor Stacey Lamont Sydnor Derrek Murdoch |
Mandrill is an American multi-genre band formed in Brooklyn, New York City in 1968. Members of the band included three brothers: Carlos Wilson (trombone, vocals), Lou Wilson (trumpet, vocals) and Ric Wilson (sax, vocals). The brothers were born in Panama and grew up in the Bedford–Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn. Other members included Claude 'Coffee' Cave II (keyboards, percussion, vocals); Bundy Cenac (bass) on the band's eponymous first album, replaced by Fudgie Kae Solomon (bass, vocals) in 1972; Charles Padro (drums, percussion, vocals) for two albums, replaced by Neftali Santiago (drums, percussion, vocals); and Omar Mesa (guitar, vocals), replaced in 1974 by Doug Rodriguez (lead guitar, vocals). This completed the Mandrill line-up from the Polydor years 1970–1975 which make up the Mandrill sound. Other members of the band in later years included Juaquin Jessup (lead guitar, percussion, vocals) and Tommy Trujillo (guitar).
Their songs have been sampled by many hip-hop acts such as Johnny D, Public Enemy, DJ Shadow, Shawty Lo, Big L, Kanye West, Jin, Eminem, and 9th Wonder. They combined funk with many other styles such as Latin, salsa, rock, blues and soul.
Some of their songs have been used in the soundtracks of films: The Greatest (1977), directed by Tom Gries and Monte Hellman; and The Warriors (1979), directed by Walter Hill. The band continues to perform live. Their signature song is arguably "Fencewalk."
Composite Truth (1973) was the band's most commercially successful album.
Discography
Albums
- 1970: Mandrill
- 1971: Mandrill Is
- 1972: Composite Truth
- 1973: Just Outside of Town
- 1974: Mandrilland
- 1975: Solid
- 1975: The Best of Mandrill
- 1975: Beast from the East
- 1977: The Greatest (with George Benson) film soundtrack
- 1977: We Are One
- 1979: New Worlds
- 1980: Getting in the Mood
- 1981: Energize
- 1981: The Warriors ("Echoes In My Mind" (with Luther Vandross, film soundtrack))
- 1992: Rebirth
- 1997: Fencewalk: The Anthology
- 2000: The Ultimate Collection
- 2001: Peace and Love (EP for the 911 victims)
- 2001: Driving While Black and Brown
- 2002: 'Live at Montreux
- 2004: Pre-nuclear War Blues (single)
- 2004: Sunshine (single from the movie Civil Brand)
- 2005: Sunshine (compilation)
- 2009: untitled featuring "ablessing" (tribute to Barack Obama “Spirit of Hiroshima”, “We Gotta Get It (Right This Time)), collaborators including George Duke, Gerald Albright & Chuck D.