Stuff -

Stuff was an American jazz-funk supergroup that released three albums and two live discs between 1976 and 1980 on Warner Bros. Bassist Gordon Edwards assembled the New York session players Cornell Dupree, Eric Gale, Richard Tee, Steve Gadd, and Chris Parker around a standing engagement at Mikell’s in Manhattan. Stuff played the 1976 Montreux Jazz Festival, backed Joe Cocker on tour, and appeared on Saturday Night Live while the members maintained separate studio careers with major soul, jazz, and pop artists.

Members: Gordon Edwards (bass), Richard Tee (keyboards), Eric Gale (guitar), Cornell Dupree (guitar), Steve Gadd (drums), Chris Parker (drums)

Background

Stuff formed in 1975 in New York when bassist Gordon Edwards recast his part-time Encyclopedia of Soul around a stable studio-musician lineup. Edwards organized Encyclopedia of Soul in 1967 with a changing cast that included tenor saxophonist Charlie Brown and several keyboard players. The eventual Stuff lineup paired Edwards and keyboardist Richard Tee with guitarists Cornell Dupree and Eric Gale and drummers Chris Parker and Steve Gadd.

Edwards built his career on New York studio dates and regularly hired Dupree for recording work. Dupree grew up in Fort Worth and moved to New York when King Curtis recruited him for the King Pins. Dupree established himself on Atlantic sessions and debuted as a bandleader on the 1974 Atlantic album Teasin’.

Richard Tee studied at the High School of Music & Art and Manhattan School of Music, then worked for Motown as a house pianist and staff arranger. Eric Gale studied chemistry at Niagara University and worked one year as a chemist. King Curtis and Jimmy Smith recommended Gale for studio dates. Gale debuted as a bandleader on the 1973 Kudu album Forecast.

Chris Parker studied painting at New York’s School of Visual Arts and joined the Woodstock group Holy Moses when he answered a Rolling Stone drummer ad. He played on their self-titled 1971 album and later joined Paul Butterfield’s Better Days. Parker returned to New York after four years around Woodstock and met Edwards on a jingle session. Edwards invited Parker to sit in with Encyclopedia of Soul at Mikell’s, at 97th Street and Columbus Avenue.

Queen Esther Marrow had brought an Edwards-led studio unit to Mikell’s for a club engagement after a recording date at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio. Edwards retained the group at Mikell’s after Marrow left and developed a regular residency with Tee, Dupree, Parker, and tenor saxophonist Charlie Brown. Marrow and Brown later left the group; guitarist Eric Gale joined the Mikell’s lineup.

Parker met Steve Gadd at the Village Vanguard and asked him to cover Mikell’s dates when Parker played with the Brecker Brothers. Gadd studied for two years at Manhattan School of Music and transferred to Eastman School of Music. He spent three years in U.S. Army bands, then entered New York studio work after a 1972 trio with bassist Tony Levin and pianist Mike Holmes. Gadd and Parker split the Mikell’s residency until Edwards kept both drummers and placed two drum kits on the stage.

Promoter Michael Lang approached Edwards at Mikell’s and brought Warner Bros. representatives to the club. Warner offered the group a recording deal and requested a shorter name than Encyclopedia of Soul. Erma Dupree, the wife of Cornell Dupree, proposed Stuff because Edwards habitually called people “stuff.”

Stuff recorded the self-titled Warner Bros. debut at Long View Farm Studios with producers Herb Lovelle and Tommy LiPuma. On July 2, 1976, Stuff played the Montreux Jazz Festival, where they followed sets by Frankie Miller and Odetta. That autumn, Stuff toured behind Joe Cocker and backed the singer on the October 2 Saturday Night Live broadcast, where the band also performed “Foots.”

Discography: