Black Rhythm Revolution!

Drummer and bandleader Muhammad 1971, who played on many Prestige albums for artists including Melvin Sparks, Houston Person, Charles Earland and Rusty Bryant, put out two albums on Prestige in 1971. Black Rhythm Revolution is a strong five-tracker. Side one features two high-end funk tracks given the Prestige jazz treatment, Charles Wright’s Express Yourself and James Brown’s Superbad, the latter getting a particularly propulsive reworking. The funk tracks are separated by Soulful Drums, a funereal-paced blues full of all sorts of drum trickery and impressive showboating from Muhammad. Side two is taken up with a pair of gorgeous soul-jazz pieces that allow space for him to showcase his full powers.