Coati Mundi

Coati Mundi - Me No Popi [Popeye] (1981)
This is the stage name of Andy Hernandez, vibraphone player and member of Kid Creole and the Coconuts as well as Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band.

He scored the Top 40 UK hit "Me No Pop I" in 1981, just before the release of Tropical Gangsters. He produced and arranged an album by "Don Armando Second Avenue Rhumba Band", which spurned the disco hit song "Deputy of Love".

Hernandez is a first generation Puerto Rican who grew up in Spanish Harlem, NYC. As a young teenager, the first band he played and recorded with was called Eddie Hernandez & his Orchestra. Mundi has worked with assorted musical groups and artists including Ralfi Pagan, Joe Bataan, Vernon Reid, N'Dea Davenport, Nona Hendryx, Tito Puente, Manny Oquendo & Conjunto Libre, Hall & Oates and Machito.

He was known as Sugarcoated Andy while in Dr. Buzzard's band and played vibes, marimba and percussion for them. Credits Stony Browder, August Darnell and Cory Daye of Dr.Buzzard's band as major influences. In 1979, he helped create along with Adriana Kaegi the "Kid Creole and The Coconuts" band. Andy was the musical director and arranger for the Coconuts band until his departure in 1989.

Mundi is a self-taught musician. Main instrument is the vibraphone but also plays piano, percussion, flute and is a music arranger/composer. In an interview, he once said: "I have never let the lack of talent stop me from doing anything". He cited an example of this regarding the "Gichy Dan and Beachwood 9" record produced by August Darnell. He was being interviewed for the job of arranger-orchestrator by the Head of A&R at RCA records. Andy was asked if he knew how to arrange for strings. He said without hesitation "Of course". Andy convinced RCA Records to give him the job. In actuality, he did not know a thing about string arrangements.

Immediately after the interview, he bought a book on arranging for strings and woodshedded day and night. What resulted was a successful arrangement job. He even received a wonderful compliment from the great violinist Harry Lookofsky who served as concertmaster on the date.
In 1983, he released a solo album titled Little Coati Mundi The Former 12 Year Old Genius. Mundi composed, produced and provided the lead vocals. It contained a version of Captain Beefheart's "Tropical Hot Dog Night" featuring salsa singer Rubén Blades. The album also featured former Kid Creole & The Coconut singer Lori Eastside.

Coati Mundi appeared as an actor in the film Who's That Girl starring Madonna and Griffin Dunne. He wrote and performed a song for the soundtrack album called: "El Coco Loco". Mundi has acted in several Spike Lee films, including Mo Better Blues, He Got Game and Girl 6. He can also be seen in the film We Own the Night.
He is credited as one of the music supervisors for the Miramax film 54 and as producer of several of the film's songs. Mundi has composed music for various films, including Spike of Bensonhurst. Coati Mundi is the composer and sound designer for a series of educational DVD's for children produced by Karyn Parsons (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air). - Wikipedai

Kid Creole + Coconuts

Kid Creole & The Coconuts - Table Maners (1985)
Live in at The Le Zenith, Paris. The group is an American musical group created and led by August Darnell. Their music incorporates a variety of styles, in particular "American and Latin American, South American, Caribbean, Trinidadian, Calloway" and conceptually inspired by the big band era. The Coconuts are a glamorous trio of female backing vocalists whose lineup has changed throughout the years.

Thomas August Darnell Browder was born 1950. "Growing up in the melting pot of the Bronx...Darnell was exposed early on to all kinds of music". Darnell began his musical career in a band named The In-Laws with his half-brother, Stony Browder Jr, in 1965, which disbanded so Darnell could pursue a career as an English teacher. Darnell obtained a masters degree in English, but in 1974 again formed a band with Stony Browder Jr under the name Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band. Their self-titled debut release was a Top 40-charting album which was certified gold and was nominated for a Grammy. The stage shows are very memorable, with plenty of good musicians.

Dr. Buzzard's Original Savanah Band

Dr. Buzzards Original Savannah Band - I'll Play The Fool

This footage is taken from the 1978 Paul Anka Show and you can see Anka sitting at one of the bar tables. I have treasured this footage for all these years and is the the oldest personal recording that I posses. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have over the 30 years in my achieve.

The concept of taking the disco sound back to the 1940's worked well for this band and was quite unique at the time and a very danceable groove too. I collected about 5 of their albums before they later became Kid Creole & The Coconuts. The lead singer here, Cory Daye, though was not still with them. Their 1976 song "Sunshower" recorded with Daye, has been sampled by a number of contemporary artists, including A Tribe Called Quest, M.I.A., Ghostface Killah, De La Soul, and Doug E. Fresh.

It was also remixed by Japanese recording artist, Fantastic Plastic Machine. The song was also featured in the film Boyz 'N The Hood. The song "Cherchez La Femme" was covered by Ghostface Killah in 2000, as "Cherchez La Ghost" on his Supreme Clientele album. Other members of the band are August Darnell Browder & Andy Hernandez aka Coati Mundi who emailed me for copy of this footage when i had it on YouTube some years ago. As a live working band (kid & coconuts) they were one of the best I've ever seen and I have lots of footage.