Drummer Geoff Mann Releases New Single “Memphis Underground” | LISTEN! Reimagines His Father Herbie Mann’s Landmark Fusion Album w/New Project “Underground” – Coming August 8th, 2025

Geoff Mann Reimagines His Father Herbie Mann’s Landmark Fusion Album ‘Memphis Underground’ with a Modern Edge Entitled ‘Underground’

The First Single & Title Track From the Full-Length Reinterpretation of the 1969 Classic “Memphis Underground” is Available Today on What Would Have Been Herbie Mann’s 95th Birthday

Geoff Mann’s ‘Underground’ Features Latin GRAMMY-Winning Flautist Dominica Fassati, Marcos Garcia (Antibalas, Here Lies Mann Chico Mann), Daptone Mainstay Victor Axelrod, and J.P. Maramba

Acclaimed drummer, composer, and producer Geoff Mann is set to release Underground, a full-length tribute to his father Herbie Mann’s seminal 1969 album Memphis Underground. Today, on what would have been Herbie Mann’s 95th birthday, Geoff Mann has released the lead single and title track of his father’s original album “Memphis Underground.”

Herbie Mann’s original Memphis Underground remains a landmark in the melding of jazz and Southern soul and is often cited as one of the first albums deemed as “fusion.” Released on Atlantic Records, the album brought together a merger of New York jazz soloists including Roy Ayers, Larry Coryell, and Sonny Sharrock with the rhythm section at Memphis’ American Sound Studio, a hub for R&B and soul hits. Produced by the legendary Tom Dowd, the record blended deep groove and improvisational freedom to create a genre-crossing sound that resonated well beyond the jazz world.

Beyond its cross-genre, cross-cultural, and commercial success, Memphis Underground attracted wider acclaim and a devout audience including gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, who cited that album as one of his ‘Favorite Albums of the 60s’ and used Herbie Mann’s version of “Battle Hymn of the Republic” as the official song of his 1970 campaign to run for Sheriff of Pitkin County.

Speaking about the new reinterpretation project, Geoff Mann says, “Memphis Underground deserves to be remembered for the impact that it had, but in my opinion it could only be properly re-presented as an evolution of the original concept. There are others who could’ve made a similar record with the same intention, but having a unique insight into my father’s music, being both intimately familiar and detached at the same time, I was the only one who was going to do it.”

Mann’s reimagining of the title track preserves the soulful core of the original while bringing a modern edge with expanded arrangements and a subtle nod to rock aesthetics. “I wanted to honor the original groove but give this version a bit more grit,” he explains. “This band really shines when given space to stretch, so I leaned into that without straying too far from the DNA of the piece.”

The musicians featured on the new track include Latin GRAMMY Award-Winning flautist Domenica Fossati, frequent collaborator guitarist Marcos Garcia (Antibalas, Here Lies Man, Chico Mann), Daptone Records mainstay Victor Axelrod on piano, and Here Lies Man bandmate J.P. Maramba on bass. The album was mixed by Eddie Spear, who mixed Brandie Carlile’s GRAMMY-Award-winning album By The Way, I Forgive You and the A Star is Born soundtrack ft. Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper.

A New York City native now based in Los Angeles, Geoff Mann is a versatile drummer, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and film composer. He has toured and recorded with celebrated acts including Antibalas, Here Lies Man, and has collaborated with avant-garde artists such as Ori Kaplan (Balkan Beat Box). His work as a composer spans independent films, documentaries, television campaigns, and video games.

Mann’s current projects include drumming with the LA psych-rock band Here Lies Man and leading his own cinematic soul-jazz ensemble. Notable credits in his discography include: Herbie Mann & Sona Terra — Eastern European Roots (Lightyear Records, 2002); Here Lies Man – Ritual Divination (Riding Easy Records, 2021); Antibalas – Where the Gods Are in Peace (mixing, Daptone, 2017); Geoff Tries New Shit, Vol. 1 (2022); Yuganaut ft. Roscoe Mitchell – Four Ways (Nessa Records, 2017); and Sharon Leal – Leal (producer, 2014).

Reflecting on the upcoming release of Underground and the legacy behind it more than five decades after Herbie Mann’s original release, Geoff Mann adds, “This album is a love letter to my father, to the musicians who created the original, and to the idea that music can evolve across generations. The original ‘Memphis Underground’ was a radical blend of voices and backgrounds. I’ve tried to approach this tribute with that same spirit of creative risk and reverence.”

Underground will be available via Color Red on Aug. 8th, 2025.

For more information and to learn more, please visit geoffmann.net.

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