Earth Disciples (not the reggae group) were an instrumental funk-soul-jazz group from Southern California in the late ’60s and early ’70s.

A few days ago I discovered a little known group called Earth Disciples from decades ago and posted a song I’d never heard before.

Today I’m doing the same but it’s an entirely different song – and an entirely different group.

The first Earth Disciples were a reggae band from Jamaica. These Earth Disciples are an instrumental quartet from Southern California: four soul brothers playing a steamy hybrid of funk and soul, jazz and rock.

Their only album, Getaway Train, came out in 1969 on Sonny Lester’s Solid State Records and promptly disappeared without trace, dropped when the label was merged with Capitol and Blue Note.

More’s the pity, because it’s fantastic. 

There’s the electric piano of Rudy Reid, who wrote most of the tunes and whose playing is fashioned from the same cloth as Joe Sample of The Crusaders and, maybe, Donald Fagen of Steely Dan.

Then there’s guitarist Jimmy Holloway, the son of legendary jazz sax man Red Holloway, playing the sort of searing solos you might normally expect to find in a rock band. 

Rooting their sound is drummer Reggie Harris, laying down the grooves alongside bass guitarist Reggie Austin, both of them at the top of their game.

The album is produced by saxophonist Dave Pell, whose main claim to fame is with the novelty group Alvin & The Chipmunks, who did weird speeded-up covers of songs like Mr Tambourine Man and What’s New Pussycat?

The highlight of the Earth Disciples’ short career was a 1970 show in LA when they supported Steppenwolf, but that’s about it. 

They seemed to pass unnoticed, leaving an unreleased second album in the studio, at least until Getaway Train was recently re-released – and has made it to streaming services.