Mastermind

[originalbigm]

While doing a little crate digging lately I came across a sealed 12" copy of "Happy Music" by Mastermind.When I opened it and put it on the turntable I was pleasantly surprised.I'd never heard of this group let alone this record. It's got a mid tempo disco funk groove.The B side is a song called "Uncle Sam". It has a definite Brass Construction sound to it with Parliament overtones.
This is apparently an independant production on Mastermind Records.I got a kick out of the slogan on the cover.No release date but sounds mid to late seventies.Distributed by Sun Records 747 Linden Blvd. Brooklyn,NY

"Beautiful Women and Handsome Men Will Mingle To A Mastermind Disco '45."

Looked up the name on Allmusic and came across this
"Comparable to Brass Construction and Mass Production but not nearly as well known, Mastermind was an obscure ten-piece funk-soul band that recorded in New York in the late '70s. Unlike the Ohio Players, Earth, Wind & Fire, Tower of Power, the Commodores and other big funk-soul bands of the '70s, Mastermind didn't have a really identifiable lead vocalist. Several of its members could contribute vocals if called upon to do so, but everyone in the band was a musician first and foremost with the overall sound of the band being more important than the vocals. Even though funk-soul was Mastermind's foundation, its very danceable and horn-driven music contained jazz overtones. In fact, jazz musicians David Sanborn, Steve Khan and Jon Faddis were employed on Mastermind's self-titled debut album, which Prelude released in 1977. Unfortunately, the LP didn't sell, and the band broke up without ever recording a second album. Mastermind's members included trumpeter/vocalist Anselm Scrubb, baritone and tenor saxophonist Mario Ford, tenor saxophonist/flutist Guy Fuertes, alto saxophonist/flutist Lenny White (not to be confused with the Return to Forever and Twennynine drummer), guitarist/vocalist Joe Frye, keyboardist/vocalist Geoffrey Williams, bassist/vocalist Carl Bain, drummer/vocalist Brian Wilson (not to be confused with the Beach Boys member), percussionist/vocalist Wendell Derrick and percussionist Juan Clouden."

On their one album:
"When R&B went high-tech in the '80s, genuine bands became harder and harder to find. There were still plenty of groups in the '80s and '90s, although honest-to-God bands that had nine or ten members and boasted full horn sections became the exception instead of the rule. When Cameo and the Ohio Players downsized in the '80s, you knew that large funk bands were becoming an endangered species. But back in 1977, when Mastermind's first and only album came out on Prelude, R&B was still full of large, horn-driven bands. Listening to this enjoyable, if uneven, LP, you won't be blown away by the singing -- Mastermind didn't have a great lead vocalist like Earth, Wind & Fire's Philip Bailey, L.T.D.'s Jeffrey Osborne, or the Commodores' Lionel Richie to win you over. What you will appreciate is the overall sound of the band and the horn-driven, jazz-influenced, very danceable funk grooves -- cuts like "Mother Nature," "I Am Music," and "Hustle Bus Stop" could easily appeal to fans of Brass Construction, Mass Production, the Crown Heights Affair, or BT Express. Several jazz musicians are employed as guests, including saxman David Sanborn, trumpeter Jon Faddis, and guitarist Steve Khan. But none of them do a great deal of improvising -- they're only on board to support Mastermind, whose LP wasn't a big seller and has long been out of print but is worth acquiring if, by some chance, you come across a copy somewhere."

Definitely "Happy Music" would have had a place on my playlist BITD.My guess is that it might have had only local distribution in the Northeastern US. Anybody have any further info on this song or group ?

[SandraDee]

The main thing I know about Mastermind is that they were produced by Danny Weiss who usually worked on stuff that came out on the Vanguard label such as Players Association, The Ring & Roni Griffith, so he must've been moonlighting on this early Prelude project. :lol:

[eddie]

Is that the same Danny Weiss that produces many contempory instrumental jazz artists on the Shanachie label like Chuck Loeb, Walter Beasley, Kevin Toney, ect. I really enjoy this new "urban groove" style of jazz while many think that it is pedestrian and pandering.