Mandrill - 1974 My Father’s Place

My Father's Place,

Roslyn, New York, 1974.
Broadcast on WLIR-FM.
Ex FM stereo.

00:00 Mandrill 12:58
12:58 Hang Loose 5:43
18:42 Mango Meat 4:53
23:36 Fat City Strut 6:32
30:08 - Radio Interview 3:41
33:49 Cohello 9:19
43:08 Fencewalk 4:20
47:28 Git It All 6:00 (the end is cut)

Carlos Wilson - trombone, flute, guitar, percussion, vocals
Lou Wilson - percussion, trumpet, vocals
Ric Wilson - saxophone, percussion, vocals
Claude Cave - keyboards, vibraphone, percussion, vocals
Fudgie Kae - bass, percussion, vocals
Omar Mesa - guitar, percussion, vocals
Neftali Santiago - drums, percussion, vocals

The Wikipedia nutshell:

Mandrill is an American funk band formed in Brooklyn, New York City in 1968. The band was formed by 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.

Their songs have been sampled by many hip-hop acts such as Johnny D, Public Enemy, Shawty Lo, Big L, Kanye West, Jin, Eminem, and 9th Wonder. They combined funk with many other styles like Latin, salsa, rock, blues and soul.

The band continues to perform live; their signature song is arguably "Fencewalk."

Both Santana and Mandrill came out about the same time but the former was from the West Coast while Mandrill was an East Coast band. No one can deny that it was Santana that brought the focus to Latin Rock with several recordings that could challenge for chart position. The late '60s was a melting pot of styles and influences, a much better stew than what we currently have. Mandrill offered Latin rock, progressive funk, stellar soloing on guitar and Hammond and a solid rhythm section with percussive power to shake your booty. All these styles can be found on this rare live recording for a radio show. The '74 show was probably to promote their then latest album, Just Outside Of Town.

Like Mandrill, other funksters and Latin rockers have faded into obscurity including Malo, Osibisa, War, Sly Stone, El Chicano and others. Their ethnicity isolated them as much as music's turning into a huge business that had little time for variety. Especially if small. They remain outside of the mainstream. Only Santana, powered by the charisma of their namesake guitarist, managed to sustain its popularity.

Yet you can't deny the attractiveness of the beats here. From the heavenly dance beat of Fat City Strut to Mandrill's four-minute master blast with Fencewalk to the gritty and anthemic Git It All.