Miles Davis (May 26, 1926 — September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter with a recording career that spanned nearly five decades. In the late 1940s, Davis collaborated with Gil Evans and Gerry Mulligan on the nonet sessions that became the Birth of the Cool LP (1957). He later formed his first great quintet […]
Herbie Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz and funk keyboardist active since the late 1950s. His 1962 Blue Note debut, Takin’ Off, includes his signature piece, “Watermelon Man.” In 1963, he joined Miles Davis‘s Second Great Quintet with Ron Carter and Tony Williams. Hancock’s profile rose with the 1964/65 albums Empyrean Isles […]
Weather Report was a multinational jazz-funk/fusion ensemble that released fourteen studio albums between 1971 and 1986 on Columbia. Throughout its existence, the band was co-led by American saxophonist Wayne Shorter and Austrian keyboardist Joe Zawinul. Numerous rhythm players did stints with the band during its fifteen-year history, most notably drummers Alphonse Mouzon and Narada Michael […]
Return to Forever was an American jazz-rock supergroup that evolved from a namesake 1972 solo album by bandleader Chick Corea. Members: Chick Corea (keyboards), Stanley Clarke (bass), Joe Farrell (reeds, 1971-73, 1977), Airto Moreira (percussion, 1971-73), Flora Purim (vocals, 1971-73), Bill Connors (guitar, 1973-74), Steve Gadd (drums, 1973), Mingo Lewis (percussion, 1973), Lenny White (drums, […]
George Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American jazz-funk keyboardist, composer, arranger, and producer, active from the mid-1960s through the early 2010s. During the 1970s and ’80s, he released 21 studio albums. Duke began his career as a Bay Area post-bop bandleader. After a stint with Jean-Luc Ponty, he embraced jazz-rock […]
Patrice Rushen is an American keyboardist, composer, and singer who started as a sidewoman on mid-Seventies jazz albums by Alphonso Johnson, Azar Lawrence, Donald Byrd, Eddie Henderson, Harvey Mason, Jean-Luc Ponty, and Luis Gasca. As a solo artist, she made three post-bop/jazz-funk albums (1974–77) on Prestige, then transitioned to soul-funk for a five-album run (1978–84) […]
Chick Corea (June 12, 1941 – Feb. 9, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader with a six-decade career that spanned the early 1960s to the late 2010s. He emerged as a backing player for Mongo Santamaria, Sonny Stitt, Blue Mitchell, Herbie Mann, Hubert Laws, and Cal Tjader. As a solo artist, Corea […]
Freddie Hubbard (1938–2008) was an American jazz trumpeter who released seven post-bop albums on Blue Note (1960–67), followed by stints on Atlantic (1967–70), CTI (1970–74), and Columbia (1974–77). He went electric on the 1970–71 albums The Black Angel, Red Clay, and Straight Life and embraced jazz-funk on the 1974–76 titles High Energy, Liquid Love, and […]
Donald Byrd (1932–2013) was an American post-bop trumpeter who apprenticed with the Jazz Messengers and played on multiple mid-Fifties albums by Hank Mobley, Jackie McLean, Gigi Gryce, Pepper Adams, Kenny Burrell, and John Coltrane. In 1959, Byrd released Off to the Races, his first of twenty-seven albums through 1976 on Blue Note. He embraced jazz-funk […]
Roy Ayers (1940–2025) was an American vibraphonist, composer, and producer who debuted with the 1963 UA release West Coast Vibes. Amid backing credits with Herbie Mann, Ayers cut the 1967–69 Atlantic albums Virgo Vibes, Stoned Soul Picnic, and Daddy Bug. In 1969/70, the Roy Ayers Quartet (with Sonny Sharrock and Miroslav Vitous) cut two albums […]
Billy Cobham (born May 16, 1944) is a Panamanian-American jazz-rock drummer who played in the bands Dreams, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Atmospheres during the early 1970s. Starting with his 1973 solo debut Spectrum, Cobham released eight albums on Atlantic and four on Columbia through 1979, including a live release in partnership with George Duke. He […]
Lenny White is an American jazz-rock drummer who emerged behind Miles Davis (Bitches Brew) and Freddie Hubbard (Red Clay). After guesting on Santana‘s Caravanserai, he cut two albums with Latin-rockers Azteca. White joined bassist Stanley Clarke in keyboardist Chick Corea‘s Return to Forever for the 1973 release Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy. With guitarist Al […]
Sadao Watanabe — 渡辺貞夫 (born Feb. 1, 1933) — is a Japanese saxophonist and flutist who emerged as a bandleader in the early 1960s, releasing his first album in 1961 on King Records. During the 1970s, he released more than 25 albums in solo and collaborative form on CBS, East Wind, and other labels. Background […]
George Benson (March 22, 1943) is an American jazz-funk guitarist and singer from Pittsburgh. He recorded small-group jazz and orchestrated CTI albums before a run of vocal-led Warner Bros. releases. Benson first recorded as a child and joined organist Jack McDuff, then debuted as a bandleader in 1964 on Prestige. Between 1976 and 1983, Benson […]
The Eleventh House was an American jazz-funk-rock supergroup led by guitarist Larry Coryell. They issued a self-titled album in 1974 on Vanguard, followed by the 1975–1976 Arista albums Level One and Aspects. Noted participants included drummer Alphonse Mouzon, keyboardist Mike Mandel, and trumpeters Randy Brecker and Terumasa Hino. Members: Larry Coryell (guitar), Randy Brecker (trumpet, […]
Stanley Clarke is an American jazz-funk bassist who gained prominence in the supergroup Return to Forever. Amid numerous backing credits, Clarke made his solo debut with the 1973 Polydor release Children of Forever. On Nemperor, he cut the 1974–79 albums Stanley Clarke, Journey to Love, School Days, Modern Man, and I Wanna Play for You. […]
Lonnie Liston Smith is an American jazz-funk keyboardist, composer, arranger, and band-leader who has been musically active since the early 1960s. His early career included stints with Max Roach, Roland Kirk, Pharoah Sanders, and Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Following an early ’70s gig with Gato Barbieri, Smith formed the Cosmic Echoes, a spiritual jazz-funk-soul ensemble […]
Roland Kirk — aka Ronald Theodore Kirk (August 7, 1935 — December 5, 1977) — was an American multi-reedist and bandleader with a twenty-year jazz career. Kirk debuted as a bandleader in 1956 with Triple Threat and followed with Introducing Roland Kirk (1961). He recorded several albums on Mercury, including We Free Kings (1962), Domino […]
Ramsey Lewis (May 27, 1935 – September 12, 2022) was an American pianist, composer, and bandleader from Chicago. He entered recording with bassist Eldee Young and drummer Redd Holt, reached the pop and R&B charts with “The ‘In’ Crowd,” “Hang On Sloopy,” and “Wade in the Water,” and later led electric-keyboard, orchestral, and large-ensemble projects […]
Alphonse Mouzon (Nov. 21, 1948 — Dec. 25, 2016) was an American jazz-rock drummer who started his career with credits on albums by Roy Ayers, Wayne Shorter, McCoy Tyner, Eugene McDaniels, Bobbi Humphrey, Les McCann, Norman Connors, Doug Carn, and Teruo Nakamura. In 1971, he co-founded the jazz-funk supergroup Weather Report and played on their […]
Narada Michael Walden is an American jazz-funk/soul musician and producer who drummed in the second lineup of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, which made the 1974/75 albums Apocalypse and Visions of the Emerald Beyond. In 1976, he played on jazz-rock albums by Weather Report, Jaco Pastorius, Jeff Beck, Allan Holdsworth, and Nova. As a solo artist, Walden […]
Norman Connors is an American drummer, composer, producer, and arranger who emerged in the Seventies behind Pharoah Sanders. He attained bandleader status with the 1972/73 Cobblestone titles Dance of Magic and Dark of Light. For Buddah, he cut the 1974–77 jazz-funk albums Love From the Sun, Slewfoot, Saturday Night Special, You Are My Starship, and […]
Larry Young (October 7, 1940 – March 30, 1978) was an American organist who released eleven albums between 1960 and 1976 and had backing stints with Grant Green, Miles Davis, John McLaughlin, and Tony Williams. In the early 1960s, Young built his reputation through soul-jazz recordings and extensive sideman work. He released his first three […]
Johnny Hammond (aka Johnny Smith, Dec. 16, 1933 — June 4, 1997) was an American jazz keyboardist who debuted in 1958 with a solo organ album as Johnny Smith. Adopting the name Johnny “Hammond” Smith, he released three soul-jazz albums on Prestige-subsidiary New Jazz in 1959/60, then switched to Prestige for 16 further albums between […]
Jaco Pastorius (1951–1987) was an American bassist renown for his fretless style. He exploded onto the scene in 1976 with a star-backed solo album and guest appearances on titles by Joni Mitchell (Hejira) and Pat Metheny (Bright Size Life). That year, he joined Weather Report for a six-album stint. Background He was born John Francis […]
Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 — June 30, 2001) was an American tenor saxophonist with a forty-year jazz career. He emerged in New York in 1962 as a sideman for trumpeter Kenny Dorham, who provided guidance and mentorship. He soon joined Horace Silver’s band and contributed a solo to the 1963 jukebox hit “Song for […]
Yusef Lateef (October 9, 1920 — December 23, 2013) was an American reedist and composer with a six-decade jazz career. After early stints behind Dizzy Gillespie and Donald Byrd, Lateef launched his bandleader career with the 1957 Savoy Records release Jazz for the Thinker. He followed with albums such as Jazz Mood and Prayer to […]
Wayne Shorter (1933–2003) was an American saxophonist and composer who did stints with Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers (1959–64) and Miles Davis (1964–70). Between 1959 and 1970, he recorded fourteen bandleader albums for Blue Note. In 1971, he co-founded Weather Report, a jazz-funk supergroup with Austrian keyboardist Joe Zawinul. Background Wayne Shorter was born […]
Catalyst was an American jazz-funk band that released four albums between 1972 and 1975. Their first, a self-titled release on Cobblestone, features future Weather Report bassist Alphonso Johnson. After the label was acquired by Muse Records, Catalyst released the albums Perception, Unity, and A Tear & A Smile. Members: Eddie Green (keyboards, vocals), Alphonso Johnson […]
Tony Williams (1945–1997) was an American jazz drummer who emerged in the second Miles Davis Quintet. As Anthony Williams, he cut the 1965/66 Blue Note albums Life Time and Spring. After Miles, Williams formed Lifetime, a pioneering jazz-rock band that cut the 1969–72 Polydor albums Emergency!, Turn It Over, Ego, and The Old Bum’s Rush. […]
Ike White (1945–2014) was an incarcerated American musician who recorded the jazz-funk album Changin’ Times for LAX Records in 1976. Background Ike White, born Milton David White in 1945 in California, plays guitar, keyboards, and vocals. In 1964, at age 19, he faced a murder charge and received a life sentence, landing in San Quentin […]
David Sancious is an American keyboardist, guitarist, composer, and arranger who led jazz-rockers Tone on the 1975/76 Epic albums Forest of Feelings and Transformation (The Speed of Love). After the 1977 recording Dance of the Age of Enlightenment, he issued three further albums on Arista. Background Sancious was born on November 30, 1953, in Long […]
Charles Earland (1941–1999) was an American organist who made two Sixties soul-jazz albums heading the Charlie Earland Trio. Between 1970 and 1975, he made ten albums for Prestige Records, including Leaving This Planet (a jazz-funk double-album) and The Dynamite Brothers (a blaxploitation soundtrack). In 1976, Earland reappeared on Mercury with Odyssey and formed a big […]
Les McCann (September 23, 1935 – December 29, 2023) was an American jazz pianist and singer. He emerged on Pacific Jazz Records with the 1960/61 albums Les McCann Ltd. Plays the Truth, Les McCann Ltd. in San Francisco, and Les McCann Sings. His records blended energetic trio performances with gospel-inflected vocals. He expanded his reputation […]
Ronald Shannon Jackson (Jan. 12, 1940 — Oct. 19, 2013) was an American jazz-funk drummer on the New York avant-garde scene. He emerged as a free-jazz sideman for Albert Ayler, Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, and James Blood Ulmer. As a bandleader, Jackson led the No Wave-inspired Decoding Society on the 1980–83 albums Eye on You, […]
Grover Washington Jr. (Dec. 12, 1943 — Dec. 17, 1999) was an American jazz-funk and soul-jazz saxophonist who released 10 albums on Kudo between 1971 and 1977, followed by multiple titles on Motown, Elektra, and Columbia during the next two decades. Background Washington was born on December 12, 1943, to a musical family in Buffalo, […]
Tarika Blue was a New York-based, multi-national jazz-funk/soul collective that released the 1976 album The Blue Path, followed by a 1977 self-titled release. Members: Phil Clendennin (keyboards, piano), Ryo Kawasaki (electric guitar), Barry Coleman (bass), Kevin Atkins (drums), Marvin Blackman (tenor saxophone), Bradie Speller (percussion), Justo Almario (soprano saxophone), James Mason (electric guitar), Tequila (vocals), […]
Ronnie Laws is an American jazz-funk flutist and saxophonist who played in the 1972/73 lineup of Earth, Wind & Fire. Between 1975 and 1981, he cut three albums each on Blue Note and UA/Liberty. His 1975 debut Pressure Sensitive produced “Always There,” while the 1977 album Friends and Strangers earned US gold certification. Laws placed […]
Lalo Schifrin (June 21, 1932–June 26, 2025) was an Argentinian pianist, composer, and arranger who began his career in the mid-1950s. During his first active decade, he served as a backing musician for Ástor Piazzolla, Xavier Cugat, Duke Ellington, and Dizzy Gillespie. Schifrin’s first headlining album was the 1959 release Piano Espanol on Tico Records. In […]
Dexter Wansel is an American keyboardist, singer, composer, and producer who cut a 1973 album with the funk-psych one-off Yellow Sunshine. As a solo artist, he released four albums between 1976 and 1979 on PIR. Background He was born Dexter Gilman Wansel on August 22, 1950, in Philadelphia. From age nine to thirteen, he worked […]
The 360 Degree Music Experience was an American jazz ensemble formed in New York in 1968 by drummer Beaver Harris, pianist Dave Burrell, and trombonist Grachan Moncur III. Harris sustained the project through changing lineups and six albums, ending the sequence with the Shemp release A Well Kept Secret. Their repertory joined early-jazz forms with […]
Oneness of Juju was an American spiritual-jazz/funk band from Washington, D.C., that grew out of Ju Ju. Background Oneness of Juju evolved from Ju Ju, an avant-garde jazz sextet that released the 1973/74 albums A Message From Mozambique and Chapter 2 Nia on Strata-East. Saxophonist James “Plunky Nkabinde” Branch formed Ju Ju in San Francisco, […]
The Crusaders were an American jazz-funk band from Los Angeles that was known throughout its first decade as The Jazz Crusaders, which issued a string of post-bop albums on Pacific Jazz during the 1960s. In 1971, they shortened their name to The Crusaders and issued a string of jazz-funk/R&B albums on Blue Thumb. They scored […]
The Brecker Brothers were the American jazz-funk duo of saxophonist Michael Brecker and trumpeter Randy Brecker, who played on numerous recordings together and separately throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Members: Randy Brecker (trumpet), Michael Brecker (saxophone) Background Randy Brecker (b. November 27, 1945, Cheltenham, Pennsylvania) and Michael Brecker (b. March 29, 1949, Philadelphia) were raised […]
Eddie Henderson (born Oct. 26, 1940) is an American trumpeter, cornetist, and composer who emerged in Herbie Hancock‘s backing band Mwandishi. On Capricorn, he released the popular 1973/74 albums Realization and Inside Out. Switching to Blue Note, he made the 1975/76 albums Sunburst and Heritage, followed by a trio of titles on Capitol, including the […]
Idris Muhammad (1939–2014) was an American jazz-funk drummer. He played on Fifties hits by The Hawketts and Fats Domino and earned Sixties credits behind Lou Donaldson, Donald Byrd, and Pharoah Sanders. As a solo artist, he made two 1971 Prestige albums, followed by multiple titles on Kudo, including the 1974 jazz-funk classic Power of Soul. […]
Sonny Sharrock (Aug. 27, 1940 — May 25, 1994) was an American avant-jazz guitarist, active for twenty-five years on the New York free-jazz scene. He started in the late-1960s beside saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, flutist Herbie Mann, and reedist Byard Lancaster. He cut Black Woman in 1969 with his wife Linda Sharrock, followed with Monkey-Pockie-Boo and […]
Kenny Barron (born June 9, 1943) is an American jazz pianist from Philadelphia who emerged as a Sixties sideman for Yusef Lateef and Dizzy Gillespie. In 1967, he teamed with trumpeter Jimmy Owens on the Atlantic release You Had Better Listen. After gigs behind Bobby Hutcherson, Freddie Hubbard, and Idris Muhammad, Barron cut the 1973–75 […]
Don Cherry (November 18, 1936 — October 19, 1995) was an American avant-garde jazz trumpeter. He emerged in 1958 as a sideman for Ornette Coleman on the trumpeter’s early Contemporary/Atlantic run. During the 1960s, Cherry moved through frontline roles with Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Albert Ayler, George Russell, and the New York Contemporary Five, often […]
Ben Sidran (born August 14, 1943) is an American singer, pianist, keyboard player, songwriter, producer, and writer from Chicago. He emerged in the late 1960s after work with the Steve Miller Band, then built a solo catalog that moved across jazz, blues, soul, funk, and song-based small-group settings. His first three solo albums—Feel Your Groove, […]
Doug Carn (born July 14, 1948) is an American jazz keyboardist who recorded four albums between 1971 and 1975 for the Black Jazz label, the first three with his then-wife, singer Jean Carn. Background Doug Carn was born July 14, 1948, in St. Augustine, Florida. His mother occasionally played church organ and his uncle was […]
Houston Person (born Nov. 10, 1934) is an American post-bop/jazz-funk tenor saxophonist and record producer from Florence, SC. His catalog runs from Prestige to HighNote, alongside work as Etta Jones’s accompanist and producer. Background Person grew up in Florence, where his mother played piano and started him on lessons. He took up tenor saxophone at […]
Bobbi Humphrey is an American jazz-funk flutist who released six albums between 1972 and 1975 on Blue Note. Background Bobbi was born Barbara Ann Humphrey on April 25, 1950, in Marlin, Texas, and raised in Dallas. She studied classical and jazz flute at Lincoln High School, then continued her studies at Texas Southern University, Houston. […]
Michael Henderson (July 7, 1951 – July 19, 2022) was an American R&B bassist, vocalist, songwriter, and producer who served as a backing player for Miles Davis during the early 1970s. As a solo artist, he released seven albums on Buddah between 1976 and 1983, followed by an eighth on EMI in 1986. Background Henderson […]
Robin Kenyatta (March 6, 1942 — Oct. 26, 2004) was an American jazz-funk saxophonist who emerged as a Bill Dixon sideman, graduating to bandleader status with the 1968 Vortex release Unity. In 1970, he teamed with Et Cetera personnel on the ECM title Girl From Martinique. On Atlantic, he cut the 1973/74 albums Gypsy Man, […]
Weldon Irvine (Oct. 27, 1943 — April 9, 2002) was an American pianist and composer from Hampton, Va., who released two albums on self-press Nodlew Music in 1972 and 1973, followed by three albums on RCA Victor between 1974 and 1976. He studied music at Amherst College and entered professional circles as a pianist, arranger, […]
Joe Farrell — aka Joseph Carl Firrantello (Dec. 16, 1937 — Jan. 10, 1986) — was an American woodwind player from Chicago Heights, Ill., who was a founding member of Return to Forever, playing on the band’s 1972 albums Return to Forever and Light as a Feather and returning for 1977’s Musicmagic. Background Joe Farrell […]
The First Cosins Jazz Ensemble was an American jazz-funk supergroup that released the 1977 Capitol album For the Cos of Jazz. Members: David Shields (bass), James Gadson (drums), Nate Neblett (drums), Wah Wah Watson (guitar), Ray Parker (guitar), Larry Farrow (keyboards), Stu Gardner (keyboards), Allen Estes (percussion), Rudy Johnson (saxophone), Doug Richardson (saxophone, flute), Dick […]
Eddie Russ (1934–November 1996) was an American jazz-funk keyboardist from Pittsburgh who released the 1974 album Fresh Out on Jazz Masters, followed by the 1976–78 Monument albums See the Light and Take a Look at Yourself. While under contract with that second label, he adopted the pseudonym Gaff Dunsun to participate in the singular album […]
Ronnie Foster is an American organist and arranger who released eight albums between 1972 and 1986 and played on more than 200 jazz, funk, and soul titles. Background Ronnie Foster was born on May 12, 1950, in Buffalo, New York. He took an interest in music as a small child and studied accordion for one […]
Larry Ridley (born Sept. 3, 1937) is an American jazz bassist from Indianapolis who released the album Sum of the Parts on Strata-East in 1975. Background Larry Ridley was born September 3, 1937, in Indianapolis and began violin lessons at age five with Ruth McArthur, whose school supported African American students amid segregation. Early classical […]
Bobby Hutcherson (January 27, 1941 – August 15, 2016) was an American vibraphonist who started as a sideman for Les McCann, Eric Dolphy, and Grant Green. Between 1963 and 1977, he recorded twenty-one albums for Blue Note. Background He was born Robert Hutcherson on January 27, 1941, in Los Angeles. His earliest exposure to jazz […]
Harvey Mason is an American drummer, producer, and composer who played on Seventies jazz-funk albums by Bobbi Humphrey, Charles Earland, Donald Byrd, Gene Harris, and Herbie Hancock. As a bandleader, Mason cut five albums between 1975 and 1981 on Arista. Background Harvey Mason was born on February 22, 1947, in Atlantic City. He played drums […]
Pat Martino (1944–2021) was an American jazz guitarist from Philadelphia. He first recorded behind saxophonist Willis Jackson on multiple mid-Sixties titles on Prestige Records, which issued his first five solo albums between 1967 and 1970. After his 1972 Cobblestone release The Visit!, Martino cut two albums for Muse Records and switched from post-bop to jazz […]
Sunbear was an American jazz-funk/soul duo that released a self-titled album on Soul Train Records in 1977. The duo consisted of multi-instrumentalists Ahaguna G. Sun and Werner “Bear” Schuchner, who were backed on the album by keyboardist Greg Phillinganes and saxophonist Ernie Watts. Members: Ahaguna G. Sun [Arnie Oliver] (vocals, drums, percussion, clavinet, electric piano), […]
L.A. Express was an American jazz-funk band that released four albums between 1974 and 1976, the first two with featured saxophonist Tom Scott. Their first album features keyboardist Joe Sample and guitarist Larry Carlton, who cleared out respectively for Larry Nash and Robben Ford. Members: David Luell, Joe Sample, John Guerin, Larry Carlton, Larry Nash, […]
Azar Lawrence is an American jazz saxophonist who released three albums between 1974 and 1976 on Prestige. Background Lawrence was born on November 2, 1953, in Los Angeles. His mother, a music teacher, nurtured his musical interests from a young age. He first practiced violin as a tween, then switched to the saxophone at age […]
Courtial was an American jazz-funk band that released the album Don’t You Think It’s Time on Pipeline Records Inc. in 1976. Members: Bill Courtial (guitar), Errol Knowles (vocals), David “Dasher” Kempton (keyboards), Ed Williams III (bass), Geoff Whyte (drums), Jose Najera (percussion) Background Courtial was a Bay Area jazz-funk group centered on guitarist Bill Courtial […]
Noel Pointer (1954–1994) was an American jazz-funk violinist, composer, and producer who released the 1977 Blue Note album Phantazia, followed by three albums on United Artists (1978–80) and two on Liberty (1981–82). He died of a stroke one week before his fortieth birthday. Background Noel Pointer was born on December 26, 1954, in Brooklyn, where […]
Cleveland Eaton (August 31, 1939 – July 5, 2020) was an American jazz-funk bassist and arranger who did 1960s stints behind Donald Byrd and Ramsey Lewis. As a bandleader, he made the 1973–79 albums Half and Half, Plenty Good Eaton, Instant Hip, and Keep Love Alive. Background Cleveland Josephus Eaton II was born on August […]
John Blair (Nov. 8, 1943 — June 3, 2006) was an American violinist and guitarist from Toledo, Ohio, who released the 1971 album Mystical Soul on New York small-press A&R. After five years of session work for assorted jazz, soul, and pop artists (Alice Coltrane, Bobby Womack, Charles Earland, Hall & Oates), he made the […]
Milton Wright is an American soul-funk musician, songwriter, and producer who made the 1975 Alston album Friends and Buddies, followed in 1977 with Spaced. He was the brother of soul singer Betty Wright. Background Milton Wright was born Milton L. Wright Jr. on January 28, 1944, in Miami, Florida. Wright grew up in a musical […]
Lonnie Smith (July 3, 1942 – September 28, 2021) was an American soul-jazz/funk organist. He emerged as a George Benson sideman, followed by a stint with Lou Donaldson. In 1967, Smith launched his solo career with the Columbia album Finger Lickin’ Good. Smith surfaced on Blue Note with the 1968 album Think!, followed by Turning […]
Ramon Morris is an American jazz-funk saxophonist who emerged in the 1970/71 lineup of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. After credits with Reuben Wilson, Curtis Fuller, Shirley Scott, and Woody Shaw, Morris cut the 1973 album Sweet Sister Funk on Groove Merchant. Background Ramon Morris emerged from mystery origins in May 1967, when he […]
Jack Ashford (born May 18, 1934) is an American jazz-funk percussionist, vibraphonist, songwriter, arranger, and producer from Philadelphia. He joined the Funk Brothers house band at Motown in 1963 and supplied tambourine, vibraphone, marimba, bells, and auxiliary percussion across recordings from the Detroit studio. Ashford also co-founded Pied Piper Productions, operated Just Productions, released the […]
Jimmy Owens is an American jazz-funk trumpeter, composer, and arranger who emerged as a mid-Sixties sideman of Herbie Mann and Eric Kloss. In 1967, Atlantic Records issued You Had Better Listen, billed to the Jimmy Owens/Kenny Barron Quintet. Owens played on 1968/69 albums by Gary Bartz, George Benson, Joe Zawinul, and Yusef Lateef. He also […]
Sam Sanders (Nov. 19, 1937 — Oct. 18, 2000) was an American jazz-funk saxophonist who recorded the 1975 set Mirror, Mirror, followed by the 1983 album The Gift of Love. Background Sam Sanders was born on November 19, 1937, in Birmingham, Alabama. During the fifties, he attended Northeastern High School in Detroit, where his school […]
Compost was an American jazz-rock band from N.Y.C. that released the 1971–73 albums Take Off Your Body and Life Is Round on CBS/Columbia. Members: Jack DeJohnette (vocals, keyboards, drums), Harold Vick (tenor saxophone, flute, bass violin, clarinet, piano), Jack Gregg (bass, guitar, vocals), Bob Moses (drums, vocals), Jumma Santos (congas, percussion) Background Compost formed in […]
Ambiance was an American jazz-funk/soul band from Los Angeles that released the 1979/80 albums Ebun and Drift Up to Space on Da Mon. Members: Daoud Abubakar Balewa Background Ambiance began in Los Angeles when Nigerian-born reedist and multi-instrumentalist Daoud Abubakar Balewa organized a changing studio collective around his compositions and the self-financed Da Mon Records imprint. […]
The Mixed Bag was an American jazz-funk sextet from the Detroit–Ann Arbor corridor that released the 1976 Tribe album Mixed Bag’s First Album. Keyboardist Eddie Russ introduced the group on his 1974 Jazz Masters release Fresh Out and maintained a parallel solo career. Members: Ron Brookes (bass), Geoff Dunsun [aka Eddie Russ] (keyboards), Jerry Glassel […]
Seawind was an American jazz-funk-soul septet, originally from Hawaii, that released two albums on CTI in 1976 and 1977, followed by three further albums on Horizon, A&M, and CBS/Sony between 1979 and 1982. Members: Pauline Wilson (vocals), Bud Nuanez (guitar), Ken Wild (bass), Bob Wilson (drums), Larry Williams (keyboards, saxophone, flute), Kim Hutchcroft (saxophone, flute), […]
