If the album title, cover, and artist strike a familiar chord, they should. Drummer Geoff Mann is the son of jazz flautist Herbie Mann, and Undercover is in every way a tribute to his dad’s landmark jazz/funk fusion album Memphis Underground. Joined by flautist Domenica Fossati, pianist Victor Axelrod (Antibalas), bassist J.P. Marimba, and guitarist Marcos Garcia (Antibalas, and, like Marimba, Mann’s bandmate in psych rock/Afrobeat weirdos Here Lies Man), Mann faithfully reinterprets the songlist, but adds his own personal flavor as well. “Chain of Fools,” for example, slows to a crawl, acquiring an aura of menace via Fossati’s percussive solo and Garcia’s psychedelic growl. “Battle Hymn of the Republic” becomes a stately ballad, and just as with Herbie’s cover, gains empathy and soul in the retelling. Spiced by Axelrod’s spiky piano solo, “Hold On, I’m Comin’” rearranges the groove into a double-time shuffle, the polyrhythm making the track float on turbulent air. Geoff also expands the running time by adding “Muscle Shoals Nitty Gritty,” a boogalooing Herbie tune taken from the flute legend’s 1970 LP of the same title. With its refusal to simply ape the original album while keeping faith with its spirit, Underground becomes more than simply a tribute – it’s a fun ride in its own right.
