Harvey Mason "Marchin In The Street"

Easily the greatest album ever by funky drummer Harvey Mason -- and quite possibly the only one to live up to the rhythmic complexity that Mason brought to countless other fusion sessions for other groups in the 70s! The tracks are all spacious and snapping with brilliantly funky touches -- a sound that resonates with Mason's contributions to Johnny Hammond's Gears album, but which comes off slightly differently here, thanks to a stronger focus on the drums. Keyboards are still a prime element of the set -- played here by Herbie Hancock, Dave Grusin, and Jerry Peters -- the latter 2 of whom helped out on arrangements for the record -- and other players include an all-star lineup of 70s jazz funk legends such as Blue Mitchell, Bennie Maupin, Paul Jackson, Hubert Laws, and others. The title cut "Marching In The Street" is a bucketful of breaks -- but all tracks are great too, and titles include "Modaji", "Wild Rice", "Fair Thee Well", "Building Love", "Ballad For Heather", and "Hop Scotch".

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