Mandrill - Mandrill Is Mandrill

Released by Polydor Records on April 1, 1972, “Mandrill Is” is the second album by Mandrill, the Brooklyn seven-piece led by brothers Carlos, Lou, and Ric Wilson. Recorded at Electric Lady Studios during the winter of 1971–72, it finds the band refining the adventurous blend of funk, soul, jazz, rock, and Latin rhythms established on their acclaimed debut.

With its powerful horn section, deep grooves, percussion-rich arrangements, and flashes of psychedelia and jazz-rock, “Mandrill Is” sounds both tighter and more ambitious than its predecessor. ‘Ape Is High’ and the horn-driven ‘Git It All’ deliver the album’s most immediate funk, while ‘Cohelo’ and ‘Kofijahm’ explore Latin and Afro-diasporic rhythmic traditions. ‘Children of the Sun’ and ‘Lord of the Golden Baboon’ stretch further into expansive, progressive territory, revealing a band as interested in atmosphere, arrangement, and instrumental interplay as in the groove itself.

The album’s strength lies precisely in that refusal to settle into one category. Mandrill use funk as a foundation for moving freely between soul, jazz, rock, Latin music, and psychedelic textures, creating a sound that is unmistakably their own. “Mandrill Is” captures the group at an important early peak: more focused and confident than their debut, yet still willing to follow the music wherever it leads.