Mandrill - Discography (1971-2014)

Mandrill is an American multi-genre band formed in Brooklyn, New York City in 1968. Members of the band included three brothers: 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. Other members included Claude 'Coffee' Cave II (keyboards, percussion, vocals); Bundy Cenac (bass) on the band's eponymous first album, replaced by Fudgie Kae Solomon (bass, vocals) in 1972; Charles Padro (drums, percussion, vocals) for two albums, replaced by Neftali Santiago (drums, percussion, vocals); and Omar Mesa (guitar, vocals), replaced in 1974 by Doug Rodriguez (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 (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 such as Latin, salsa, rock, blues and soul.

Some of their songs have been used in the soundtracks of films: The Greatest (1977), directed by Tom Gries and Monte Hellman; and The Warriors (1979), directed by Walter Hill. The band continues to perform live. Their signature song is arguably "Fencewalk."

Composite Truth (1973) was the band's most commercially successful album.