Have you ever waited to hear a disc for so long that in your mind the album's attained some majestical perfection that only lets you down once you play it? Yup. It happens on occasion. But very rarely have I been so utterly let down by a funky jazzbo as I recently was by Ronnie Foster. The keyboardist - and moog player, organist, etc. - was responsible for some huge grooves during the '70s - but apparently only a part of that decade yielded any sort of palatable music from this player. This is probably a bit over blown, but Cheshire Cat is pretty forgettable.

Being as tied to funk and soul as jazz by the time of that 1975 Blue Note date - his last for the label - Foster unloosed a set of tracks ready for the AM radio airwaves. The date isn't void of charm - although, you do really hafta dig to find it. Accompanied by his sometimes boss George Benson, the guitarist also took over production duties. And by this late date in the '70s when Benson had shed most of his traditional jazz leanings, his work here reflects that. It's mostly pop fodder. The break on "Tuesday Heartbreak," amongst a few other brief moments is the only thing that keeps this disc from being an utter disaster.

Just a few years prior in '72 Foster recorded a date that counts at least three tracks that have gone on to be sampled by some of the most thoughtful and well respected producers in hip hop. That's obviously not a real or meaningful endorsement. But to a generation raised on their parents' funky jazz and soul records, Foster apparently made a brief, but important dent into the American markets. His solo dates didn't make him a millionaire or a star - and it could be argued that The Two Headed Freap is the only must have in his discography - but his contribution to the genre is important nonetheless.

The lead off track from The Two Headed Freap sports Foster's signature keyboard solo that's echoed throughout the rest of his catalog. Foster can't be said to be the most inventive soloist and at times he seems at a loss for where to go next. But the groove that his band raves up here is enormous. None of the players utilized here are gonna be familiar to anyone but the most voracious jazz geek -Rudy Van Gelder did engineer this date, though. And the relatively recent reissue can be said to sound just short of superb.

This disc probably isn't all too indispensible to a great many jazz fans. So unless you frequently traffic in funked up fusion, you may as well move on. With that being said, the final eight minutes of The Two Headed Freap might be as strong as any other tandem of songs from the Blue Note catalog during the '70s. That's a pretty hefty statement. A brief listen to the opening bass line of "Mystic Brew" and Foster's keyboard vamps on "Kentucky Fried Chicken" will surely reign in any dissenters, though.