Herbie Mann -

Herbie Mann Live at the Whiskey A Go Go

Posted: October 4th, 2008

Date: 1968
Release: Atlantic AMCY-1240
Cover Art: view / download
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A funky, swirling, heady pair of side-long grooves from one of the most soulful jazzmen to ever record on the Atlantic label. Check out some of the assembled talent on this classic late-60s live date—Roy Ayers, Sonny Sharrock, Miroslav Vitous—whew!!! The chemistry was definitely happening with this super group. Both tracks stretch into a marathon of soul grinding funk, giving each of these energetic soloists room to run and run without anyone dropping the ball. Mann gives ample proof that he really was “The Man” when it came to getting down deep into the groove long before the 70s funk revolution made it the thing to do. Mann infuses each of these tasty tunes with his distinctly soulful sound, giving his compatriots plenty of heavy ideas to play with. Still, it is Sharrock’s mind-expanding guitar on “Philly Dog” that undeniably steals the show, demonstrating without a doubt that Jimi Hendrix actually had some real competition in 1968. Now for the bad news: this disc is only available on import, confirming once again the sad fact that some of the best jazz ever recorded in the States can only be found in Japan.