Alex Henderson

Ndugu & the Chocolate Jam. Co.

Do I Make You Feel Better? [Expanded Edition]

Leon “Ndugu” Chancler was a busy man during the 1970s. The list of jazz heavyweights who employed the prolific drummer, percussionist, producer and composer as a sideman during that decade reads like a who’s-who of 1970s jazz: Miles Davis, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Henderson, Weather Report, Freddie Hubbard, Flora Purim, Lalo Schifrin, Eddie Harris, Jean-Luc Ponty, Harold Land and Hampton Hawes. But as much as the Shreveport, Louisiana native (who has lived in California since he was eight) loved jazz, he didn’t want to play jazz exclusively. Ndugu was part of Latin rockers’ Santana’s lineup in the mid-1970s, and during his long association with George Duke, Ndugu watched that eclectic pianist/keyboardist make the transition from jazz instrumentalist to soul/funk vocalist. Duke certainly didn’t have to drag Ndugu kicking and screaming into the R&B realm; it was a journey he was more than happy to make. And when Ndugu put together his own band, the Chocolate Jam Co., at the end of the 1970s, soul and funk were the main ingredients.

The Chocolate Jam Company didn’t last long. After Epic Records released their debut album, The Spread of the Future, in 1979, they recorded one more album for Epic, 1980’s Do I Make You Feel Better?, before calling it quits. Do I Make You Feel Better? was not a big departure from The Spread of the Future, although there were a few noteworthy changes. First, Ndugu altered the band’s name slightly: on The Spread of the Future, Ndugu and his colleagues were billed as simply the Chocolate Jam Co., whereas on Do I Make You Feel Better?, they were billed as Ndugu & the Chocolate Jam Co. And on parts of this album, they are a bit more mindful of disco. The disco influence is at its strongest on the Chic-flavored “Send You My Love” and a cover of the late Andy Gibb’s 1978 smash “Shadow Dancing.” The Manchester, England-born Gibb, of course, was the younger brother of Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees, who became known for playing British Invasion rock in the late 1960s but went on to become one of the top disco acts of the mid- to late 1970s. Andy Gibb’s disco hits of 1977-1980 were quite Bee Gees-influenced, but when the Chocolate Jam Co. tackled “Shadow Dancing” (which Epic released as a single), they didn’t make their cover very Bee Gees-sounding. Instead, the Chocolate Jam Co. take “Shadow Dancing” in an Earth, Wind & Fire-ish direction, sounding a bit like 1979’s “Boogie Wonderland” (which was easily EWF’s most overtly disco-minded hit). 

Just as the disco gloss of “Boogie Wonderland” wasn’t typical of EWF on the whole, the disco influence that one hears on “Shadow Dancing” and “Send You My Love” isn’t representative of Do I Make You Feel Better? on the whole. Most of the material has more in common with EWF (that is, non-“Boogie Wonderland” EWF) and Ndugu’s late 1970s work with George Duke (who plays some keyboards on this album) than it does with disco. This is a soul/funk album first and foremost.

Ndugu turns up the funk on the sweaty “Make You Feel Better,” and EWF’s influence is evident on mid-tempo grooves like “A Chance with You,” “Come Into My Life Again” and “Take Some Time” (which neo-soul star Erykah Badu sampled on her song “Umm Hmm” in 2010). In fact, some EWF alumni appear on this album, including guitarists Al McKay and Roland Bautista and saxophonist Ronnie Laws (whose distinctive soprano sax playing is impossible to miss on the lush quiet storm track “Give Your Love”). Other guests on this album include the O’Jays (who are among the singers heard on “Shadow Dancing”), the Jones Girls and flutist Hubert Laws (Ronnie Laws’ brother). Some of the artists Ndugu knew from Duke’s band are also on board, including singer Josie James and bassist Byron Miller.

The infectious “Love Anew (What You Feel Inside)” combines EWF’s influence with a strong Afro-Cuban/salsa flavor, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who know about Ndugu’s associations with Santana and Latin jazz percussionist Willie Bobo or know that Ndugu composed a great fusion/Latin jazz instrumental called “Hot Fire.” Ndugu played that gem on Duke’s Reach For It album in 1977 and revisited in 1981 as part of an all-star jazz project that was billed as Fuse One. 

In 1979, The Spread of the Future fell through the cracks commercially, and the same thing happened to Do I Make You Feel Better? the following year. But Ndugu had his hardcore fans who enjoyed both albums, and those followers will be glad to see Do I Make You Feel Better? reissued on CD in 2013. FunkyTownGrooves’ expanded edition of Do I Make You Feel Better? contains three bonus tracks: the 7” single versions of “Shadow Dancing,” “Take Some Time” and “Love Anew (What You Feel Inside).”

After discontinuing his underexposed Chocolate Jam Co., Ndugu kept busy with a variety of jazz and non-jazz activities in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1982, Ndugu contributed to the best-selling album of all time: Michael Jackson’s Thriller, playing his drums on the smash hit “Billie Jean.” Other non-jazz artists who have used Ndugu’s talents include Lionel Richie, Donna Summer, Kenny Rogers, the Dazz Band (Ndugu co-wrote their 1982 hit “Let It Whip”), bluesman John Lee Hooker and traditional pop icon Frank Sinatra. Ndugu, who turned 60 on July 1, 2012, also has accomplishments in academia. In 2006, Ndugu became an adjunct professor of jazz and popular music studies at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. He is also part of the faculty for the Stanford Jazz Workshop (SJW) at Stanford University.

Do I Make You Feel Better? wasn’t the commercial breakthrough that the Chocolate Jam Co. were hoping for in 1980. But as this reissue demonstrates, it was an enjoyable footnote in Ndugu’s long and productive career.

—Alex Henderson, February 2013

Alex Henderson’s work has appeared in Billboard, Spin, Creem, The L.A. Weekly, JazzTimes, Jazziz, AlterNet, Cash Box, HITS, CD Review, Skin Two, Black Beat, The Pasadena Weekly, Black Radio Exclusive (BRE), Music Connection, Latin Style, The New York City Jazz Record and many other well known publications. Henderson (alexvhenderson.com) has also contributed several thousand CD reviews to The All Music Guide’s popular website and series of music reference books.