Idris Muhammad - Power Of Soul (1974)

Blurb from the back CD insert:

A frequent drummer on some of the most visible Kudu sessions, Idris Muhammad was finally signed to the label as a recording artist, and marked his album debut with the sensational POWER OF SOUL. With Bob James writing the charts, and Grover Washington, Jr. providing some exquisite contributions on the saxophone, the album made quite a splash at the time, and quickly established Idris as a force to contend with on the music scene.

That hyperbolic statement is, I believe, intentionally vague and misleading as this was not the drummer's first album, but rather his "album debut" on the Kudu label. He had previously released two albums on the Prestige label.

Nevertheless, this is a good - albeit brief - instrumental album put together with a whole lot of recognizable names from the smooth jazz genre. Recorded at Van Gelder Studios and engineered by Rudy Van Gelder, the album was produced by Creed Taylor, and the pieces were arranged and conducted by Bob James. If you're a fan of Taylor, James, or Grover Washington, Jr., this is an album worth checking out.

2002 reissue liner notes by Didier Deutsch who, in 1974 at the time of this album's release, was publicity director at CTI records.

Idris Muhammad - drums
Grover Washington, Jr. - soprano & tenor saxophones
Bob James - keyboards
Gary King - bass
Joe Beck - guitar
Ralph MacDonald - percussion
Randy Brecker - trumpet & flugelhorn

Ratings/reviews:

• Downbeat (★★★): "quite good"
• Billboard: "a real blockbuster"
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★
• The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide (1985): ★★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: Did not chart
• Billboard Jazz: #15
• Record World Jazz: #9

Tracks: Only four tracks, and three of those four I had heard previously on other recordings prior to purchasing this CD.

1. Power Of Soul - a cover of a Jimi Hendrix tune, a.k.a. Power To Love. A tune which is much harder than the remaining tunes. Beck delivers a scorching solo, but is ultimately upstaged by Washington.
2. Piece of Mind - a midtempo Bob James original. Silky smooth with tasty work from Washington, Brecker, and, of course, James.
3. The Saddest Thing - this track, written by Joe Beck, was rerecorded for the 1975 Beck album and retitled Star Fire. So relaxing and calm with a restrained string arrangement, this is my favorite track on the album.
4. Loran's Dance - a Grover Washington, Jr. tune which the saxophonist later recorded on his 1978 album, Reed Seed.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
You Ain't No Friend Of Mine! (1978)

Idris Muhammad - You Ain't No Friend Of Mine! (1978)

Disco-jazz similar to what we were getting around 1978 from other jazz artists such as Roy Ayers, Donald Byrd, and Gary Bartz. Muhammad had previously played drums with Horace Silver, Sam Cooke, and Lou Donaldson as well as being in the house bands for Prestige Records and the Apollo Theatre and in the pit for the Broadway musical Hair - quite the pedigree. While no singles on this record found the R&B or dance charts, Muhammad would hit those charts from time-to-time in the late '70s. Nevertheless, I dig the disco tunes here - there's a fair share of hooks, plus Muhammad's drumming patterns are so original and innovative that it gives the rhythm section a fresh sound. Guitarist Hiram Bullock has some great solos on many of the tracks.

Press of the time:

• Billboard: "A well mixed LP"
• Record World: "masterful jazz/funk sound"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: #208
• Billboard Jazz: #25
• CashBox Jazz: #25

Tracks: 6 tracks, 39 minutes. The first four are highly danceable; my favorites are Disco Man and The Doc (featuring a scorching tenor solo from Bob Berg), but the funky title track, written and sung by Bullock, isn't far behind. The penultimate track was written by Muhammad and has a calypso feel; Jamaican reggae musician Max Romeo provides smooth vocals. The final track, Big Foot, is credited to Idris's wife Sakinah Muhammad, former lead singer of The Crystals. It's an eight minute, free-form affair and the closest thing to jazz on the disc, ultimately coming across as a jam session where Idris gets to stretch out on multiple percussion instruments over repetitive bass lines. Enjoyable for what it is, it doesn't exactly fit with the other 5 tracks, but it did make me look up what a duggi is.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None