EDDIE HARRIS - 'Is It In'

One the funkiest, most freakily tripped-out, and (of course!) highly collectable LPs of tenor saxophonist Eddie Harris' many, many records, Is It In released in early 1974 remains a funk-synth groove-jazz landmark. Eddie's edgy electric sax is processed through Moog pitch-tracking effects designed especially for him on this album allowing his horn to sound like a treated Clavinet piano or Fender Rhodes keyboards or an eerie mournful lute -- often all at once. Rufus Reid and William James provide slinky electro-rhythms underneath on bass, drums and electric bongos while Ronald Muldrow's intensely processed 'GuitarOrgan' alternates between vocoder and chicken-scratch funk sounds. It's amazing how perfectly modern many of these warm analog tracks still sound when dropped in any dance club today. The heavily sampled opener 'Funkaroma' is pure hard-groove, robotic synth-ghetto get-down and 'It's War' with its long hypnotic funky vamp are both standout tracks. Harris put out so many records during this mid-1970s era that some were bound to be duds or come off like indiscriminate jokey gags. But Is It In is a cohesive, sinewy, and deeply forward-thinking work -- a minor masterpiece really-- and a killer soundtrack for rockin' Saturday night downtempo electro-funk jams with the ladies. Highly recommended.