Back in Town

The legendary Mandrill came 'outta da bush' five decades ago, pushing the musical envelope with a hard-driving combination of heavy horns and heavy percussion deftly layered on a complex mix of Funk, Jazz, Latin, R&B, Rock and Afro-Caribbean sounds, pioneering a genre called World Music. This multi-layered cultural mash-up is a staple of the modern music industry today however because of their innovative work, Grammy Award-winning Mandrill commands enthusiastic adoration from supporters around the world who have been touched by the Mandrill Experience. Mandrill formed in Brooklyn, New York City in 1968 with their debut gig opening for the legendary Duke Ellington. Mandrill's musical and lyrical message is positive, uplifting and purposely brings people of all races, genders and ages together. "Peace, Love and Justice is our mantra" says the founding member Ric Wilson. "It's always an agenda for healing" and to that end they have performed extensively throughout the world. Mandrill combine funk with many other styles such as Latin, salsa, rock, blues and soul. The original band included three brothers: Carlos Wilson (trombone, percussion, vocals), Lou Wilson (1941-2013) (trumpet, percussion, vocals) and Ric Wilson (sax, percussion vocals). The Wilson brothers were born in Panama and grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, New York. Mandrill's current line-up includes the brothers Carlos Wilson, Ric Wilson, and Wilfredo Wilson, along with Mark Rey (lead guitar), Stacy Lamont Sydnor (drums), Derrick Murdock (bass guitar), Eli Brueggeman, (keyboards, synthesizer), and Keith Barry (viola, saxophone, flute). The current members all participated in the recording of Mandrill's new studio album Back In Town. Mandrill's distinctive sound is found in Eminem - On Fire(Grammy Award-winning album Recovery), Kanye West - Two Words(Grammy Award-winning album College Dropout), Snoop Dog - Cold Game, Brandy - Talk About Our Love, Black Eyed Peas - Weekend, Wyclef Jean - You Say Keep It Gangsta, Tweet & Missy Elliott - We Don't Need No Water, Floetry - Have Faith, Nas - U Gotta Love It, Shawty Lo Dey Know, KRS One - For Example, Kindred - If I, Public Enemy - By theTime I Get To Arizona (dubbed as hip hop's anthem) and many more.