Mandrill is an American soul 1973's Composite Truth was the band's most commercially successful release and contained their signature song, "Fencewalk".

Mandrill continued to release albums throughout the 1970s such as Just Outside of Town (1973), Mandrilland (1974), Solid (1975), Beast from the East (1976), We Are One (1977), and New Worlds (1978). The band also contributed to the soundtracks for the 1977 film The Greatest (starring boxer Muhammad Ali) and the 1979 film The Warriors. 1980 saw the release of Getting in the Mood, followed by Energize in 1982, after which the band broke up due to dwindling commercial returns. The band reunited in 1992 and has toured and released new music occasionally since then. A live album, recorded in 2002 at the Montreux Jazz Festival, was released in 2006. Louis Wilson died in 2013.

Mandrill's most recent album, Back in Town, was released in 2020. Although the band was not as commercially successful as some of their peers in the funk scene of the era, their music has been extensively sampled by numerous hip-hop and contemporary R&B artists.

History

The Wilson brothers were born in Panama and grew up in the Bedford–Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn. With Carlos on trombone and vocals, Lou on trumpet and vocals, and Ric on saxophone and vocals, they formed the band, which they named after the mandrill species of primate, known for its colorful features and family-oriented social structure. The other original members included keyboardist Claude "Coffee" Cave, guitarist Omar Mesa, bassist Bundie Cenas, and drummer Charlie Padro. Fudgie Kae Solomon replaced Cenas for their second album Mandrill Is, which also reached the Billboard soul and pop charts. Guitarist Dougie Rodriguez, a former Santana sideman, joined in time for the fifth Mandrill album, Mandrilland, In 1975, all members of the group other than the Wilson brothers and Cave departed, and Mandrill switched to United Artists. The albums Solid and Beast from the East were recorded with session musicians. The band then switched to Arista Records and added a fourth Wilson brother, Wilfredo, on bass. Former drummer Neftali Santiago returned and guitarist Joaquin Jessup joined. The band released three more albums for Arista, with diminishing success, and stopped recording as a group in 1982.

Lou Wilson died at age 71 in 2013. In 2019, Mandrill announced a new album titled Back in Town. The album was released in October 2020. The lineup included Carlos, Ric, and Wilfredo Wilson, plus Marc Rey (lead guitar), Stacy Lamont Sydnor (drums), Derrick Murdock (bass), Eli Brueggeman (keyboards), and Keith Barry (viola, saxophone, flute).

Mandrill songs have been sampled by many acts, such as Johnny D, Public Enemy, EPMD, Ice Cube, Beck, DJ Shadow, Shawty Lo, Big L, Kanye West, Brandy, Jin, Eminem, The Avalanches, Kindred the Family Soul, and 9th Wonder. The band has been described as soul-rock, Latin funk, progressive funk, and R&B. Andy Kellman of AllMusic describes the band's sound as "a jam-heavy form of funk liberally infused with Latin, Caribbean, and jazz influences, plus gospel, blues, psychedelia, African music, and straight-up rock."

The band's prominent use of Latin elements drew comparisons to Santana and War.

  • Back in Town (2020)

Compilations

  • The Best of Mandrill (1975)
  • Fencewalk: The Anthology (1997)
  • The Ultimate Collection (2000)
  • Sunshine (2004)

Singles and EPs

  • "Mandrill" (single, 1971)
  • "Hang Loose" (single, 1973)
  • "Living It Up" (single, 1975)
  • "Peace and Love" (EP, 2001)
  • "Driving While Black and Brown" (single, 2001)
  • "Pre-Nuclear War Blues" (single, 2004)
  • "Sunshine" (soundtrack contribution, 2004)
  • "Summer in the City" (single, 2018)
  • "Ape's Back in Town (The Reflex Funky Monkey Dub)" (single, 2020)

Live albums

  • Live at Montreux (2006)

References

  • interview on TNJT.com/jazzlive