Johnny Pate - Brother On The Run (The Original Soundtrack)

Famed for his prolific creative partnership with fellow Impressions member Curtis Mayfield, bassist Johnny Pate comes into his own here on one of the most critically acclaimed film soundtracks and score to come out of 1970’s Hollywood. Released in 1973 on the Perception label and coming a year after Pate’s collaboration with Mayfield on the iconic Superfly soundtrack, Brother On The Run launched Pate as a go to film score composer. Indeed, this album led him to be commissioned write the score and soundtrack for the Blaxploitation classic Shaft In Africa.

Something of an auteur soundtrack Pate not only composed every track he also did all the arrangements, produced the album and conducted the orchestra in the recordings. His selection of musicians to feature on the album reads like a who’s who of African American Jazz and RnB greats starting with the inspired choice of selecting Adam Wade to sing the title track. Add into the mix the likes of James Mtume and James Beck; two musicians who have worked with Gato Barbieri, Miles Davis, Carlos Franzetti, James Brown, Lonnie Liston Smith, Wes Montgomery, Carlos Garnett and Eddie Henderson amongst others and you get a clear sense of how good this album is.

Now available from BBE Music, this re-issue of the original soundtrack of Brother On The Run not only showcases Johnny Pate’s creative genius as a composer, songwriter and arranger, it also combines heart rending Soul with the bass heavy Funk driven sound that would ring the changes for African American RnB to be much more Afrocentric, more political, more hard edged and …well… just more damn funky.