Quazar -

Quazar was an American funk band that released a 1978 self-titled album on Arista. Singer Kevin Goins formed the group from the local ten-piece Eclipse. Drummer Jerome Brailey followed with Mutiny.

Members: Darryl Deliberto, Darryl Dixon, Eugene “Moochie” Jackson, Glen Goins, Greg Fitz, Harvey Banks, Jeff Adams, Kevin Goins, Lady Peachena, Monica Peters, Richard “Shaidi” Banks

Background

Kevin Goins organized Eclipse in Plainfield, where the ten-piece rehearsed across a six-year span. His older brother Glen Lamont Goins (b. January 2, 1954) became a singer-guitarist with Parliament–Funkadelic. His P-Funk stint covered the 1975–77 albums Mothership Connection, The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein, and Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome.

Jerome Brailey began with The Unifics and Five Stairsteps, then moved to the Chambers Brothers. He played on the original “O-o-h Child” before joining P-Funk in 1975, where he co-wrote “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker).” Glen left Parliament-Funkadelic in 1977, then established Quazar with Kevin and Brailey around the Eclipse lineup. Brailey joined the project as producer and drummer.

Quazar entered Sound Ideas Studios in New York for an album. Glen died from Hodgkin lymphoma on July 29, 1978, before completion. Brailey completed the remaining production for Arista.

Quazar

Quazar released their singular album, Quazar, in September 1978 on Arista.

Kevin Goins and Eugene “Moochie” Jackson divide most lead parts; Lady Peachena fronts “Love Me Baby.” Side one contains four funk titles; side two combines four vocal pieces with the closing instrumental “Shades of Quaze.” Glen Goins and Greg Fitz prepared string arrangements; Darryl Dixon supplied horn charts.

“Funk With a Big Foot” stomps across stop-start breaks, command chants and compact group replies. “Funk With a Capital ‘G’” hurtles amid handclaps, sharp lead shouts and short group answers. “Funk ’N’ Roll (Dancin’ in the ‘Funkshine’)” barrels on a rolling bass figure beneath terse collective shouts. “Workin’ On the Buildin’” charges through wah-wah guitar turns and a heated saxophone break.

“Your Lovin’ Is Easy” eases from sparse percussion and keyboards into pleading lead phrases and warm replies. “Love Me Baby” simmers around Peachena’s impassioned lead and brassy accents. “Starlight Circus” drifts over spare piano and brief background harmonies. “Shades of Quaze” spirals from growling horn figures toward a sweeping orchestral close.

A1. “Funk With a Big Foot” (5:48) – Brailey, Glen Goins, Kevin Goins, Fitz
A2. “Funk With a Capital ‘G’” (4:28) – Kevin Goins, Harvey Banks, Brailey
A3. “Funk ’N’ Roll (Dancin’ in the ‘Funkshine’)” (4:39) – Glen Goins, Brailey
A4. “Workin’ on the Buildin’” (3:40) – Glen Goins, Kevin Goins, C. “Butch” Watson

B1. “Your Lovin’ Is Easy” (4:21) – Glen Goins
B2. “Love Me Baby” (4:42) – P. Eure
B3. “Savin’ My Love for a Rainy Day” (3:54) – Glen Goins, Richard Banks
B4. “Starlight Circus” (2:50) – Jackson, Fitz
B5. “Shades of Quaze” (4:30) – Richard Banks, Dixon

Sessions took place in 1978 at Sound Ideas Studios in New York, where Jeff Titmus engineered the recording and mix. Glen produced “Funk ’N’ Roll” and “Savin’ My Love for a Rainy Day” alone; Brailey handled “Love Me Baby.” Kevin joined Brailey on “Funk With a Capital ‘G’,” while Glen and Brailey shared the remaining five titles.

Illustrator and book-jacket designer Fred Marcellino created the cover under Arista art director Donn Davenport, while photographer Mario Astorga supplied the inner-sleeve photographs. The front shows a monochrome star field and radial burst behind the Quazar wordmark, with a five-point star integrated into the lettering. Davenport also directed 1978 sleeves for Muhal Richard Abrams (Lifea Blinec) and the Brecker Brothers (Heavy Metal Be-Bop). Marcellino’s contemporary jacket work included Rick DeMarinis’s Cinder and William Wharton’s Birdy.

Arista lifted “Funk ’N’ Roll (Dancin’ in the ‘Funkshine’)” as an August 1978 single (b/w “Savin’ My Love for a Rainy Day”). In December 1978, “Funk With a Big Foot” followed (b/w “Starlight Circus”).

Postlude

P-Vine issued a Japanese CD in 1991 for the domestic market. BBR followed with an expanded July 2012 edition that added single edits of “Funk ’N’ Roll (Dancin’ in the ‘Funkshine’),” “Savin’ My Love for a Rainy Day,” and “Funk With a Big Foot.”

Quazar did not record a second album. Brailey developed Mutiny from production work begun with Glen; Columbia issued Mutiny on the Mamaship in 1979 as the group’s debut album.

Discography: