Woman Is Sweeter / Shapes Of Rhythm

Galt MacDermot's affair with funk did not begin and end with HAIR. With this CD, we present two examples of LPs MacDermot released independently on his Kilmarnock label: Shapes of Rhythm and Woman Is Sweeter. 'Shapes of Rhythm' features not only MacDermot on piano and vocals, but three of the most skillful men working in New York at the time (1966), the 'Mid-Manhattan Rhythm Section' consisting of Bernard 'Pretty' Purdie on drums, Jimmy Lewis on fender bass and 'Snag' Napoleon Allen on rhythm guitar. The CD contains the mesmerizing and powerfully morose melody, 'Coffee Cold.' 'Woman Is Sweeter' perhaps best represents MacDermot's take on funk music. Recorded in 1969, this soundtrack does not linger in one tempo, nor does it stagnate in a single mood. As dynamic as the musicians behind it's creation (the LP contains drumming by both funk masters Muhammad and Bernard Purdie), Woman Is Sweeter has come to be known best for the minute-and-fifty-one-second ballad 'Space,' sampled for Busta Rhyme's breakthrough 'Woo-Haa! Got You All In Check.'