Jade -

Jade was an American soul-funk band from Virginia that released the album In Pursuit on Pesante Records in 1975.

Members: Lucius I. Goodson (guitar, vocals), Vernon B. Goodson (bass, vocals), Gregory Rich (keyboards, vocals, percussion), Lorenzo Jones (alto saxophone, vocals, percussion), Larry D. Kindred (congas, percussion), Harrison Robinson II (drums, percussion, vocals)

Background

Jade formed in Norfolk, Virginia, as a studio ensemble in 1974.

Multi-instrumentalist Gregory Rich (keyboards, vocals, percussion), bassist/vocalist Vernon B. Goodson, guitarist/vocalist Lucius I. Goodson, drummer/vocalist Harrison Robinson II, congas player Larry D. Kindred, and alto saxophonist/vocalist/percussionist Lorenzo Jones assembled through East Coast session networks. Rich handled keyboard training from local jazz circles; Goodson brothers drew guitar and bass lines from R&B gigs; Robinson and Kindred supplied percussion from funk outfits; Jones added sax runs from soul dates.

They cut basic tracks at Sound Ideas Studios in New York. Pesante Records issued their 1974 debut single: “Boodi Shakes Money” (b/w “Paper Man,” catalog number M-713) as a 1974 single.

The group overdubbed at Sound City Studios in Los Angeles with West Coast players, then released the debut album in 1975. Jade skipped live performances and dissolved after the release amid slim promotion.

In Pursuit

Jade released their singular album, In Pursuit, in 1974 on Pesante Records.

The album fuses funk breaks with soul lifts through Rich’s organ swells and Jones’ sax flares against Lucius Goodson’s guitar bends. Robinson snaps drum fills while Vernon Goodson locks bass walks; Kindred layers conga rolls amid horn punches from Marty Grebb and Steve Madaio, with Carol Kaye doubling bass lines and William D. Smith framing piano accents.

Gregory L. Rich and Vernon B. Goodson co-wrote all of Side A and group-wrote the remaining tracks with assorted members.

Tracks span urgent pleas with horn charts and jam stretches laced with percussion tradeoffs. “Music Slave” stomps in modern soul mode, bass thumps propelling sax cries over relentless drum cracks that press forward without pause. “Heaven Or Hell (You Got To Choose)” tightens into choice-driven funk, guitar riffs slicing against organ clusters in pointed calls. “Evil Ways” reworks Santana‘s Latin-rock outline into horn-led funk struts, trumpet blasts riding conga pulses.

A1. “Start With the Children” (3:17)
A2. “Music Slave” (3:48)
A3. “Home Orpheus” (4:45)
A4. “Heaven or Hell (You Got to Choose)” (4:17)

B1. “The World Is a Merri-Go-Round” (3:10) Rich, Goodson, Robinson.
B2. “Tomorrow May Be Too Late” (3:25) Rich, Goodson, Robinson.
B3. “Evil Ways” (3:55)
B4. “Jam #1” (4:38) Robinson, Kindred, Lucius Goodson.

Sessions occurred at Sound Ideas Studios in New York, where William D. Smith co-produced the album with engineer Keith Olsen. The pair handled overdubs at Sound City Studios in Los Angeles.

The album’s “special thanks” section names Willie Weeks, Teresa Coen, Joe Godfrey, Buzzy Feiten, and Tish Coulter.

Pesante Records followed with “Lately ‘I'” (b/w “Music Slave,” catalog number P-002) as a 1975 standalone single.

As of January 2024, original copies of In Pursuit sell for a median price of $399.99 on Discogs. A red-vinyl bootleg appeared in 2019 in Germany on Tidal Waves Music.

Discography: