Coati Mundi (musician)

Last updated
Coati Mundi
Birth nameAndy Hernandez
Also known as"Sugar Coated" Andy Hernandez
Born (1950-01-03) January 3, 1950 (age 74)
Origin New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation(s) Musician
Record producer
Instrument(s) Vibraphone, vocals
Years active1970s–present
Labels ZE Records

Andy Hernandez (born January 3, 1950), better known by his stage name Coati Mundi, is an American musician, percussionist, notably playing the vibraphone, and a member of Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band, then of Kid Creole and the Coconuts. 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's Second Avenue Rhumba Band, which spurred the disco hit song "Deputy of Love". [1]

Contents

Early life

Hernandez is a first-generation Puerto Rican who grew up in Spanish Harlem, New York City. As a young teenager, the first band he played and recorded with was called Eddie Hernandez & his Orchestra.

He learned to play the vibes from George Rodriguez of The New Swing Sextet.

Career

Hernandez 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. He credits Stony Browder, August Darnell and Cory Daye of Dr. Buzzard's band as major influences.

In 1980, along with Adriana Kaegi, he helped create Kid Creole and the Coconuts. Hernandez was the musical director and arranger for the Coconuts band until his departure in 1989.

His single "Me No Pop I" reached #32 on the British charts in summer 1981. [2] The song was ranked at #3 among the top ten "Tracks of the Year" for 1981 by NME . [3]

Hernandez is a self-taught musician. His main instrument is the vibraphone but he also plays piano, percussion, and flute, and is a music arranger and composer.

He once said in an interview, "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" [4] record produced by Ron Rogers and August Darnell. He was being interviewed for the job of arranger-orchestrator by the head of A&R at RCA records. Asked if he knew how to arrange for strings, he replied without hesitation, "Of course", and convinced them 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. The result was a successful arrangement job; his work was complimented by 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 Coconuts singer Lori Eastside.

Coati Mundi had several appearances on the TV show Miami Vice including the episode "No Exit" with Bruce Willis and "Everybody's in Showbiz" with Benicio del Toro (see List of Miami Vice guest appearances ). Hernandez 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 films Red Doors , Get Crazy , and 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. Hernandez has composed music for various films, including Spike of Bensonhurst. He is also the composer and sound designer for a series of educational DVDs for children produced by Karyn Parsons ( Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ).

In December 2010 he released a new solo CD Coati Mundi Is Dancing For The Cabana Code In The Land Of Boo-Hoo (Rong Music). [5] The recording has garnered favorable reviews and praises by the New York Times, [6] Time Out magazine, [7] Village Voice [8] and others.

On December 16, 2010, he appeared in the line-up on the BBC music/comedy show Never Mind the Buzzcocks .

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kid Creole and the Coconuts</span> American musical group

Kid Creole and the Coconuts is an American musical group created by August Darnell with Andy Hernandez and Adriana Kaegi. Its music incorporates a variety of styles and influences, in particular a mix of disco and Latin American, Caribbean, and Calloway styles conceptually inspired by the big band era. The Coconuts are a trio of female backing vocalists/dancers, founded and originally choreographed and costumed by Kaegi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Ayers</span> American funk, soul, and jazz composer (born 1940)

Roy Ayers is an American vibraphonist, record producer and composer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Polydor Records beginning in the 1970s, during which he helped pioneer jazz-funk. He is a key figure in the acid jazz movement, and has been described as "The Godfather of Neo Soul". He is best known for his compositions "Everybody Loves the Sunshine", "Lifeline", and "No Stranger To Love" and other that charted in the 1970s. At one time, he was said to have more sampled hits by rappers than any other artist.

Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band was a big band- and swing-influenced disco band that was formed in the Bronx, New York. The band is best known for its number-one US dance hit "Cherchez La Femme/C'est si bon", from its self-titled debut album.

<i>Tropical Gangsters</i> 1982 studio album by Kid Creole and the Coconuts

Tropical Gangsters is the third album by Kid Creole and the Coconuts, released on May 10, 1982. Originally conceived as a solo album by band leader August Darnell and titled Wise Guy, his label ZE Records pressured him to change it to a Kid Creole and the Coconuts record and to make it more commercial sounding in order to relieve the label's financial problems. Despite the tensions this caused within the band and Darnell's complaint that the subsequent record was a "cop-out", the more dance-pop oriented sound helped it reached number 145 on the Billboard 200 album chart, representing the group's commercial breakthrough in their home country. However, to the surprise of Darnell and his record company Tropical Gangsters was a huge success in Australia and New Zealand, Europe, and in particular the UK, where the album peaked at number three in the UK Albums Chart and yielded three top ten singles. Tropical Gangsters made Darnell a worldwide star, and the album remains both his and the ZE label's most successful record by far.

<i>Dr. Buzzards Original Savannah Band</i> (album) 1976 studio album by Dr. Buzzards Original Savannah Band

Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band is the debut studio album by Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band. It was released in 1976 by RCA. It peaked at number 22 on the Billboard 200 chart and number 31 on the Top R&B Albums chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">August Darnell</span> Musical artist

Thomas August Darnell Browder, known professionally as August Darnell and under the stage name Kid Creole, is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He co-founded Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band and subsequently formed and led Kid Creole and the Coconuts.

<i>Fresh Fruit in Foreign Places</i> 1981 studio album by Kid Creole and the Coconuts

Fresh Fruit in Foreign Places is the second album by Kid Creole and the Coconuts, released in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Finnerty</span> American jazz musician

Michael Barry Finnerty is an American jazz guitarist, keyboardist, singer, songwriter, and arranger, known for his work as a touring and recording session musician for Miles Davis, The Crusaders, the Brecker Brothers, Hubert Laws, and Ray Barretto. Finnerty is the author of books on music improvisation and a semi-autobiographical novel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig Leon</span> American record producer

Craig Leon is an American-born record producer, composer and arranger currently living in England. Leon was instrumental in launching the careers of many recording artists including the Ramones, Suicide, Talking Heads and Blondie.

<i>Dr. Buzzards Original Savannah Band Meets King Penett</i> 1978 studio album by Dr. Buzzards Original Savannah Band

Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band Meets King Penett is the second studio album by Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band. It was released in 1978 by RCA Records. It peaked at number 36 on the Billboard 200 chart and number 23 on the Top R&B Albums chart.

<i>Dr. Buzzards Original Savannah Band Goes to Washington</i> 1979 studio album by Dr. Buzzards Original Savannah Band

Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band Goes to Washington is the third studio album by Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band. It was the last album recorded by the original line-up. The album was a commercial failure, not making the top 100 on either the Pop or the R&B chart.

<i>Doppelganger</i> (Kid Creole and the Coconuts album) 1983 studio album by Kid Creole and the Coconuts

Doppelganger is the fourth studio album by Kid Creole and the Coconuts, released in 1983. The album was a relative commercial and critical disappointment following the group's most popular album Tropical Gangsters/Wise Guy. The album was released on LP and cassette in September 1983 and peaked at #21 in the UK, and to moderate success throughout Europe but did not chart in the US. The album includes the singles "There's Something Wrong in Paradise", "The Lifeboat Party", and in the US "If You Wanna Be Happy". It was reissued by Universal Island Records with bonus tracks added to album in 2002.

<i>Off the Coast of Me</i> 1980 studio album by Kid Creole and the Coconuts

Off the Coast of Me is the debut album by Kid Creole and the Coconuts, released in 1980. The album was reissued in 2003 with additional bonus tracks by Universal Island Records.

Adriana Kaegi is a Swiss-born American actress, producer, and former singer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Rogers</span>

Ronald Bruce Rogers , better known as Ron Rogers or Ronnie Rogers, is a songwriter, composer, recording artist and record producer from New York City. His career spanned from the late 1970s until the 1990s.

The discography of American musical group Kid Creole and the Coconuts created and led by August Darnell includes fourteen studio albums, one live album, seven compilations, one extended play and twenty-seven singles. The small discography of The Coconuts – Kid Creole's backing singers – consisting of two studio albums and three singles is included on this page.

<i>In Praise of Older Women... and Other Crimes</i> 1985 studio album by Kid Creole and the Coconuts

In Praise of Older Women... and Other Crimes is the fifth studio album released by the American musical group Kid Creole and the Coconuts. It was released in 1985 and includes the singles "Endicott" and "Caroline Was a Drop-Out". The album and its lead single "Caroline Was a Drop-Out" did not chart in any territory, but the second single "Endicott" became one of the group's better known songs in the US, where it peaked at #21 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. The single also reached the top 30 in France and the Netherlands.

<i>I, Too, Have Seen the Woods</i> 1987 studio album by Kid Creole and the Coconuts

I, Too, Have Seen the Woods is the sixth studio album released by the American musical group Kid Creole and the Coconuts. It was released in 1987 and includes the single "Dancing at the Bain Douches".

<i>Private Waters in the Great Divide</i> Album by Kid Creole and the Coconuts

Private Waters in the Great Divide is the seventh studio album by the American musical group Kid Creole and the Coconuts, released in 1990. It includes the singles "The Sex of It" and "I Love Girls".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timo Blunck</span> German composer and musician

Timo Blunck is a German composer, lyricist, producer, bassist and vocalist.

References

  1. ↑ Coati Mundi credits at Allmusic
  2. ↑ "UK Official Charts". Officialcharts.com. Official Charts Company. 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  3. ↑ "Albums and Tracks of the Year". NME. 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  4. ↑ "Gichy Dan's Beachwood # 9 - Gichy Dan's Beachwood # 9 at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  5. ↑ E-Love (1999-02-22). "Coati Mundi". Rong Music. Archived from the original on 2012-07-14. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  6. ↑ Ben Ratliff. "Doom Metal, Melodic Jazz, Boiled-Down Funk". The New York Times . Retrieved 2013-02-11.(subscription required)
  7. ↑ Tantum, Bruce (2010-10-11). "Coati Mundi | Nightlife | reviews, guides, things to do, film - Time Out New York". Newyork.timeout.com. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  8. ↑ Carol Cooper (2010-12-01). "Coati Mundi, Back in the Fray - Page 1 - Music - New York". Village Voice. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.