Mandrill

An eclectic band from Brooklyn, NY most often categorized as "funk", though their influences range from rock, blues, jazz, and African and Latin music as well. Their early albums (Mandrill, Mandrill Is, Composite Truth, Just Outside Of Town, and Mandrilland) are sometimes wild and experimental and sometimes danceable and fun, often times both at once. Their approach is somewhat comparable to early Funkadelic. Like Funkadelic, by their 1975 album called Solid they had settled into a smoother, more traditional funk sound, losing much but not all of their progressive edge. The band was seven members: 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. Claude 'Coffee' Cave II (keyboards, percussion, vocals, Bundy Cenac on bass for one album "Mandrill" replaced by Fudgie Kae Solomon in 1972 (bass, vocals), Charles Padro (drums, percussion, vocals) for two albums, replaced by Neftali Santiago in 1972 (drums, percussion, vocals), Omar Mesa (guitar, vocals) replaced by Doug Rodriguez in 1974 (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 on 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 like Latin, salsa, rock, blues and soul.

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