Grooves & Samples #9: Harold Alexander – Mama Soul (1971)

Grooves & Samples is a weekly dive into old dusty crates of jazz, funk, soul and beyond.

In a strange coincidence, our next featured artist looks a hell of a lot like indie rap favourite Blu. Harold Alexander however, is not Johnson Barnes, he was a saxophonist and flautist who recorded 3 albums as leader of a group and also contributed to various other recordings.

After a very brief period of recording music, from about 1967 to 1974, Alexander disappeared from the music scene. He is alleged to have commented on the music industry by saying: “They didn’t kill my spirit, but they killed my desire to share. Ain’t that cold? But you keep growing. You keep practicing, you keep getting better…I’m just not gonna share it. Most people don’t know what happened to me. I guess they think I’m gone.”

Before his removal from the world of recorded music, Harold Alexander provided the world with some incredibly funky jazz fusion tracks with a distinct otherwordly craziness. His most recognized LP is 1971’s Sunshine Man, on Flying Dutchman Records. On that album, the most sought after groove is the straight up ridiculous “Mama Soul” which features insane scatting over a delicious funky flute and organ driven beat. Enjoy the music and keep an eye out for any Harold Alexander vinyl, his records are a great addition to any library.