Idris Muhammad – Power of Soul
In the early/mid-90′s, my love of jazz really started to explode and I started to branch out from the standards like Miles Davis and John Coltrane. A friend taught me how to expand my horizons as this type of exploration can be overwhelming with so many wonderful jazz artists.
He told me to pick a record I liked and check the liner notes. Pick one of the band members as they surely had their own records or have played in other bands. Or pick an instrument and find a band leader who played it. (This is great advice for the new jazz listener and advice I pass on to friends new to the genre.) I did both of these things and this was when my lessons on all things jazz truly began.
A mixing of these paths led me to the man who has become my favorite jazz drummer who has played with some of the greatest names in jazz…the original funky drummer. Idris Muhammad released “Power of Soul” in 1974 on CTI Records with Grover Washington, Jr. and Bob James as his sidemen.
I can’t even tell you what kind of whirlwind this set me off into. Let’s just say that paying for college text books became secondary to my jazz exploration. This record was the quintessential funky jazz groove that contributed heavily to my current tastes in music. As always, I strongly suggest you pick this record up if you don’t already have it. If you do, it’s probably been a while since you’ve listened to it so why don’t you dust off that vinyl and let the “Power of Soul” take you over.