The Average White Band are a Scottish soul–funk sextet that debuted with the 1973 MCA release Show Your Hand. Between 1974 and 1979, AWB released six studio albums and a live set on Atlantic, followed with 1980–82 titles on RCA. Stateside, they’re best known for the instrumental “Pick Up the Pieces,” a 1974 chart-topper from […]
Popol Vuh was a German new age group led by Florian Fricke. They debuted as a trio with the 1971 Moog-based Affenstunde, followed by the Pilz titles In den Gärten Pharaos and Hosianna Mantra, which established their mix of wood instruments and nature sounds. Members: Florian Fricke (Moog synthesizer, organ, electric piano, piano, harpsichord, spinet, […]
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 […]
Charlie was an English rock band, formed in 1971. After five years on the live circuit, they signed with Polydor and released eight albums, starting with the 1976 release Fantasy Girls. They drew attention with the provocative models that graced the covers of their 1977–79 albums No Second Chance, Lines, and Fight Dirty. Musically, Charlie […]
Styx are an American symphonic/hard-rock band from Chicago, rooted in the early Dennis DeYoung–Panozzo brothers partnership. The band released four albums on Wooden Nickel between 1972 and 1974, with Styx II later yielding the delayed breakout single “Lady.” After their move to A&M, Tommy Shaw joined the lineup for Crystal Ball. Styx then reached its […]
Gordon Lightfoot (November 17, 1938 – May 1, 2023) was a Canadian singer/songwriter, best known for the songs “If You Could Read My Mind,” “Sundown,” “Beautiful,” “Carefree Highway,” and “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” He released five studio albums between 1966 and 1970 on United Artists, followed by six-album runs on Reprise (1971–76) and […]
Rick Springfield (born Aug. 23, 1949) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actor with a musical career that dates back to the late 1960s. He rose to prominence in his home country as one-fourth of the beat/psych combo Zoot. In 1972, Springfield moved to the U.S. and launched a solo career with back-to-back albums on […]
Luther Vandross (April 20, 1951 — July 1, 2005) was an American soul singer, songwriter, and producer who emerged as a backing vocalist for Roberta Flack and David Bowie. He fronted the soul-funk combo Luther on two albums in 1976–77 on Cotillion. In 1979, he sang on a soundtrack album by the New York City […]
Kazumi Watanabe — 渡辺香津美 (born Oct. 14, 1953) — is a Japanese jazz-rock guitarist who cut his first album in 1971 at age 17. Between 1975 and 1996, he released albums biannually on Better Days, DOMO, and Gramavision. During the early 1980s, he led the namesake Kazumi Band for two albums. He also backed Ryuichi […]
Keith Jarrett is an American jazz pianist who debuted with Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers (1965) and made six albums with the Charles Lloyd Quartet (1966–67). In 1968, he released his first two solo albums (Life Between the Exit Signs, Restoration Ruin) on Vortex Records. In the Seventies, he recorded for Atlantic, Impulse!, and […]
Gladys Knight & the Pips was an American soul group from Atlanta, formed in 1952 and active until 1989. They cut ten singles between 1961 and 1965 on the Fury and Maxx labels and scored and early hit with “Every Beat of My Heart.” In 1966, they signed with Motown and made eight albums through […]
Minako Yoshida — 吉田美奈子 (April 7, 1953) — is a Japanese singer/songwriter who debuted with an album on Showboat in 1973, followed by a four-album run on RCA that culminated with the 1977 release Twilight Zone. Between 1978 and 1983, she released four albums and a live disc on Alfa. Background Yoshida grew up in […]
Synergy is the recording/performance moniker of American electronic musician Larry Fast (born December 10, 1951), who released seven albums between 1975 and 1982 on Passport Records. Fast pioneered structured, orchestral synthesizer compositions that blended sequenced rhythms with layered textures. His 1975 debut Electronic Realizations for Rock Orchestra introduced the Synergy sound, followed by Sequencer, Cords, […]
Ahora Mazda was a Dutch ethno/psych band that released a self-titled album on Catfish in 1970. Members: Peter Abbink (guitar, vocals, piano, trumpet, organ, bass), Rob van Wageningen (flute, saxophone, vocals, percussion, kalimba), Tony Schreuder (bass, percussion), Winky Abbink (drums, 1969-71), Paul van Wageningen (drums, percussion, 1971) Background Ahora Mazda evolved from the Free Art […]
Maneige was a Québécois chamber|jazz-rock band that released the 1975 Harvest albums Maneige and Les Porches, followed by the 1977–79 Polydor titles Ni vent… Ni nouvelle, Libre service – Self Service, and the live Composite. Two early Eighties albums, Montréal 6 A.M. and Images, appeared on Intérim and Saisons. Members: Alain Bergeron (flute, saxophone, piano), […]
Gato Barbieri (Nov. 28, 1934 — April 2, 2016) was an Argentinian tenor saxophonist with a musical career that spanned more than 60 years. He began as a side-player for Lalo Schifrin during the late 1950s. The following decade, he notched credits alongside Don Cherry, Gary Burton, and Alan Shorter. In 1967, Barbieri released his first […]
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 […]
Modrý Efekt was a Czech rock band, formed in 1968 as Blue Effect. They charted early with “Slunečný Hrob,” followed by the 1970 album Meditace on Supraphon. After that year’s Coniunctio (a collaboration with Jazz Q) they reverted to the Czech spelling of their name for 1971’s Nová Syntéza. Between 1974 and 1981, they released […]
Lucio Dalla (March 4, 1943 — March 1, 2012) was an Italian singer/songwriter with a career that spanned five decades. During the second half of the 1960s, he released multiple singles and the album 1999 (1966) on ARC. Between 1970 and 1990, he released more than fifteen albums on RCA Italiana. Background Lucio Dalla was […]
Cluster was a German electronic/experimental combo from Berlin, formed in 1969 as a trio. After two albums under the name Kluster, founder Conrad Schnitzler launched a solo career. Drummer/keyboardist Moebius and cellist/keyboardist Hans-Joachim Roedelius continued as Cluster. They made two albums on Philips and the 1974 Brain release Zuckerzeit, followed by two albums as Harmonia […]
Flora Purim (born March 6, 1942) is a Brazilian samba-jazz vocalist who debuted with an album on RCA in 1964. She is the wife of percussionist–vocalist Airto Moreira. In 1972, the couple appeared on Chick Corea‘s album Return to Forever and stayed for the ensuing namesake band‘s Light as a Feather, recorded that same year. […]
Status Quo was an English hard-rock/boogie band from London that initially cut three beat singles as The Spectres circa 1966/67, followed by a fourth as The Traffic Jam in 1967. After settling on the name Status Quo, the band released four albums on Pye between 1968 and 1971, followed by 16 further studio albums on […]
Jimmy Webb is an American singer, composer, producer, and arranger who emerged as a writer of late-Sixties hits for the 5th Dimension (“Up, Up and Away”), Glen Campbell (“Wichita Lineman,” “Galveston”), and Richard Harris (“MacArthur Park”). Webb commenced his solo career with the 1970 Reprise release Words and Music, followed by And So: On, Letters, […]
Bette Midler (born Dec. 1, 1945) is an American singer and actress from Honolulu who rose to prominence on New York’s cabaret scene during the early 1970s. After starring in several Broadway productions (Salvation, Fiddler On the Roof, Tommy), she launched her singing career at the Continental Baths. Between 1972 and 1995, she released 10 […]
Gerry Rafferty (1947–2011) was a Scottish musician and songwriter who emerged in The Humblebums, a folk duo with future comedian Billy Connolly. The pair released two 1969–70 albums, which presaged Rafferty’s 1971 solo debut Can I Have My Money Back? In 1972, Rafferty teamed with longtime friend Joe Egan in the art-pop/folk combo Stealers Wheel, […]
Horslips was an Irish Celt-rock/folk band that released four albums on self-press Oats between 1972 and 1975. They renamed the label Horslips Records for five additional albums and two live discs up through 1980. Outside Ireland, their 1973 concept album The Táin appeared on MCA and their 1976–77 albums The Book of Invasions and Aliens […]
Univers Zéro is a Belgian chamber-rock/Zeuhl ensemble that debuted with a 1977 self-titled Atem release (later retitled 1313), followed by the 1979–84 discs Hérésie, Ceux du Dehors, and Uzed. Musically, they evolved from an acoustic neo-classical sound to the hi-tech avant-rock style of their 1986 Cuneiform release Heatwave. Bandleader Daniel Denis released two Nineties solo […]
Bruford was an English jazz-rock supergroup that released four albums on Polydor/EG between 1978 and 1980. The band was headed by ex-Yes drummer Bill Bruford and featured former Tempest/Soft Machine guitarist Allan Holdsworth and one-time Egg/Hatfield keyboardist Dave Stewart. The supergroup’s first album, Feels Good to Me, was recorded amid Bruford and Holdsworth’s involvement in […]
Lou Reed (March 2, 1942 — Oct. 27, 2013) was an American singer, musician, and songwriter from Brooklyn who emerged as the Velvet Underground frontman. He charted with “Walk On the Wild Side” from his 1972 album Transformer, a rock/burlesque set followed with Berlin, a concept album steeped in Wiemar cabaret. He released eleven further […]
Oregon are an American ethno-jazz band from Eugene, Ore., formed in 1970. The original lineup—guitarist/pianist Ralph Towner, oboist/reedist Paul McCandless, bassist Glen Moore, and percussionist Collin Walcott—emerged from the Paul Winter Consort and developed a distinctive chamber-jazz style blending classical, Indian, and folk influences. They debuted with Music of Another Present Era (1972) and recorded […]
Fox was an English dream-pop band that released three albums on GTO between 1975 and 1977. After the departure of vocalist Noosha Fox, the band morphed into Yellow Dog for two further albums on Virgin during the late 1970s. Members: Noosha Fox (vocals), Herbie Armstrong (guitar, vocals), Kenny Young (guitar, percussion, vocals), Pete Solley (keyboards), […]
Sharks were an English hard-rock band that released the 1973–74 Island albums First Water and Jab It in Yore Eye. Guitarist Chris Spedding formed the band with ex-Free bassist Andy Fraser, who went solo after the first album. Singer Steve Parsons later joined Baker Gurvitz Army and recorded under the moniker Snips. Members: Andy Fraser […]
Wizzard was an English rock band, formed in 1972 by onetime Move and Electric Light Orchestra frontman Roy Wood. They released four singles on Harvest, culminating with the 1973 album Wizzard Brew. Three singles on Warner surrounded the 1974 retro-rock concept album Introducing Eddy & The Falcons. On the ELO-vine imprint Jet, Wizzard issued a […]
Contraction was a Québécois symphonic/jazz/folk band that released a self-titled album on Columbia in 1972, followed by La Bourse ou la Vie on Deram in 1974. Members: Robert Lachapelle (piano, organ, synthesizer), Yves Laferrière (bass), Richard Perrotte (drums, 1973-76), Christiane Robichaud (vocals), Robert Stanley (guitar), Christian St-Roch (drums, 1971-73) Backing Band Contraction spawned from the […]
Easy Street was an English pop-rock trio that issued two albums on Polydor/Capricorn: Easy Street (1976) and Under the Glass (1977). They evolved from a musical partnership between singing guitarists Ken Nicol and Peter Marsh, who bookended Easy Street with two albums as a duo. Marsh surfaced in the synthpop band Blanket of Secrecy. Drummer […]
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 […]
Rupert Holmes (born Feb. 24, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, producer, playwright, and screenwriter with a career in entertainment that dates to the late 1960s. Starting as a hit-writer for The Cuff Links and The Buoys, he emerged as a recording artist with a string of production-pop albums during the second half of […]
Shadowfax was an American jazz band from Chicago that first appeared with the 1976 Passport Records jazz-rock release Watercourse Way. After six quiet years, they reemerged as a new age act on Windham Hill Records. Members: Chuck Greenberg (Lyricon, saxophone, flute, oboe, recorder, 1972-95), Phil Maggini (bass, 1972-95), Stuart Nevitt (drums, tabla, percussion, 1972-95), Greg […]
The Manhattan Transfer are an American vocal group from N.Y.C., formed in 1969 by swing enthusiast Tim Hauser. The original lineup, a five-piece with songwriter Gene Pistilli, issued one album of retro jazz and pop on Capitol in 1971. Hauser then recruited singers Alan Paul, Janis Siegel, and Laurel Massé, establishing the two man/two woman […]
Nucleus was an English jazz-rock ensemble formed in 1969 by trumpeter Ian Carr, who spent much of the 1960s co-leading the Don Rendell/Ian Carr Quintet. With a fluid lineup of top-tier session and jazz players, Nucleus debuted on Vertigo with Elastic Rock, a benchmark in British jazz fusion. Between 1970 and 1975, Nucleus released eight […]
Sylvia Robinson (May 29, 1935 — September 29, 2011) was an American singer, songwriter, producer, and entrepreneur from New York who first recorded in the early 1950s as Little Sylvia. Between 1955 and 1958, she cut eleven singles as half of the R&B duo Mickey & Sylvia, which scored a 1956 crossover hit with “Love […]
Pulsar was a French space-rock band that released the albums Pollen (1975) and The Strands of the Future (1976) on Kingdom Records, followed by the 1977 CBS release Halloween. Adopting a minimal-wave sound, they issued the 1981 album Bienvenue au conseil d’administration! on self-press Compagnie du Théâtre de la Satire. Members: Jacques Roman (keyboards, Hammond […]
Jon Anderson (born Oct. 25, 1944) is an English singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Accrington, Lancashire, who rose to fame as the frontman of Yes, appearing on all but one of the band’s 17 proper studio albums between 1969 and 2001. During a break in the band’s activities in 1976, he self-recorded his debut solo […]
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 […]
Cortex was a French samba-jazz/funk combo that released two albums and a standalone single between 1975 and 1977 on Espérance, followed by a 1978 third album on Crypto. A 54-minute disc of material for a shelved 1979 album appeared in 2006 on Underdog Records. Members: Alain Labib (alto saxophone), Alain Mion (keyboards, vocals), Jean Grevet […]
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes were an American soul group, formed in 1954 as The Blue Notes. They cut four albums between 1972 and 1975 on Philadelphia International and scored R&B crossover hits with “If You Don’t Know Me by Now,” “The Love I Lost,” “Bad Luck,” “Hope That We Can Be Together Soon,” […]
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 […]
Haruomi Hosono — 細野晴臣 (July 9, 1947) — is a Japanese multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer who first emerged as the bassist for blues-psych rockers Apryl Fool in the late 1960s. Between 1970 and 1973, he recorded three albums with folk-rockers Happy End. In 1978, co-founded the electro-pop trio Yellow Magic Orchestra, which achieved global success […]
The Movies were an English adult-oriented rock band from Cambridge that premiered with a 1975 album on A&M, followed by the 1977–78 albums Double A and Bullets Through the Barrier and the 1980–81 RCA titles India and Motor Motor Motor. Its three co-founders came from the 1973 Sovereign one-off Public Foot the Roman. Members: Greg […]
Pete Townshend (born May 19, 1945) is an English musician, composer, and singer who rose to global prominence as the guitarist and songwriter for The Who, which released 10 studio albums between 1965 and 1982. His first proper solo album, Who Came First, appeared on Track Records in 1972. As the Who’s activities became more […]
Carla Bley (May 11, 1936 – October 17, 2023) was an American jazz pianist and composer who appeared on 1970s albums by Charlie Haden, Don Cherry, Gary Burton, and husband Michael Mantler. As a bandleader, she released eight studio albums between 1974 and 1989 on WATT Works. Background Carla Bley was born Lovella May Borg […]
Chris Rea is an English singer, guitarist, and songwriter who released nine albums between 1978 and 1987 on Magnet, followed by further titles on WEA, EastWest, and Jazzee Blue over the subsequent three decades. Rea’s 1989–91 albums The Road to Hell and Auberge both topped the UK Albums Chart and spawned Top 20 title singles. […]
The Silesian Blues Band — commonly billed as SBB — are a Polish symphonic/space-rock band that debuted with a 1974 live album, followed by seven studio albums between 1975 and 1981, including the popular 1976/77 titles Pamięć, Ze słowem biegnę do ciebie, and Follow My Dream. Members: Józef Skrzek (vocals, bass, keyboards, Hammond, Mini Moog, […]
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 […]
Millie Jackson is an American soul singer who made nineteen albums between 1972 and 1983 on Spring/Polydor, followed by seven further titles on Jive and Ichiban during the subsequent 12-year period. She rose to prominence with the albums Caught Up (1974) and Still Caught Up (1975), which combined deep soul balladry with candid spoken-word monologues. […]
Al Jarreau (April 12, 1940 — Feb. 12, 2017) was an American soul and jazz singer who released eleven albums between 1975 and 1988 on Warner/Reprise. Jarreau rose to prominence with We Got By (1975) and Glow (1976), then expanded his audience through This Time (1980), Breakin’ Away (1981), and Jarreau (1983), which featured the […]
The Damned is an English punk-rock/psych band from London that released two albums on Stiff Records in 1977. They split in early 1978 but reformed later that year with a revised lineup in which original bassist Captain Sensible switched to guitar, opening the door to a succession of bassists. In 1979, the band released Machine […]
Hummingbird was an English-American jazz-funk band that released three albums between 1975 and 1977 on A&M: Hummingbird, We Can’t Go On Meeting Like This, and Diamond Nights. They featured three-fifths of the second Jeff Beck Group, including keyboardist Max Middleton, who plays on Beck’s 1975–76 jazz-rock albums Blow by Blow and Wired. Members: Bobbie Tench […]
Ashford & Simpson were an American soul-pop duo from N.Y.C. comprising the husband-and-wife musical team of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – Aug. 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (b. Aug. 26, 1946). The pair debuted with a standalone single in 1964, followed by a half-decade behind the scenes as staff writers for Motown. The couple […]
Terje Rypdal is a Norwegian jazz-rock guitarist who’s released more than 25 albums since 1968 in solo and combo form, mostly on ECM. He gained jazz world plaudits in the late 1960s playing with Jan Garbarek and the Arild Andersen–Jon Christensen rhythm section. His early work includes Sart (1971) with Garbarek and What Comes After […]
Zao was a French Zeuhl ensemble, active during the 1970s and later sporadic intervals. Between 1973 and 1977, they released five albums on Vertigo, Urus, and RCA, beginning with their debut Z=7L, which featured François “Faton” Cahen on keyboards, Yochk’o Seffer on saxophones, and Mauricia Platon on vocals. Their second album, Osiris (1974), saw Seffer […]
John Abercrombie (Dec. 16, 1944 — Aug. 22, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist who played in the supergroups Dreams and Atmospheres. In 1975, he debuted as a bandleader with the ECM release Timeless. His output spans jazz-rock, free-form, post-bop, and solo unaccompanied sets. Background John Abercrombie was born on December 16, 1944, in Port […]
The Muffins were an American jazz-rock band that released two proper albums: the Canterbury-style Manna / Mirage (1978) and the No Wave-inspired 185, both on the avant-garde DC label Random Radar Records. Tracks from their earlier incarnation (circa 1975–76) later surfaced on the Cuneiform CD Chronometers. They backed Fred Frith on his 1980 Ralph Records […]
Carpe Diem was a French space-rock band that released the 1975–77 Crypto albums En Regardant Passer le Temps and Cueille le Jour. Members: Christian Truchi (organ, synthesizer, piano, lead vocals), Gilbert Abbenanti (guitar, 1970-77), Alain Bergé (bass, 1970-77), Claude Méchard (drums, 1970-74), Claude “Marius” David (soprano saxophone, flute, percussion, 1974-79), Alain Faraut (drums, percussion, 1974-79), […]
Lucio Battisti (March 5, 1943 — Sept. 9, 1998) was an Italian singer, songwriter, arranger, and producer who released Ricordi albums between 1969 and 1971, then moved through a long Numero Uno run from Umanamente uomo: il sogno through L’apparenza. His later CBS and Columbia albums closed a studio sequence that ran through Hegel in […]
Bruce Cockburn (born May 27, 1945) is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Ottawa, best known for a long string of albums on the True North label, starting in 1970. His biggest hits include “Wondering Where the Lions Are” and the politically-charged “If I Had a Rocket Launcher.” Background He was born in Ottawa, Ontario, the son […]
Rick Derringer (August 5, 1947 — May 26, 2025) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer famed for his 1973 evergreen “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo.” He originated in Sixties pop-rockers The McCoys of “Hang On Sloopy” fame. After stints with Johnny and Edgar Winter, he launched a solo career interspersed with albums by […]
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 […]
Love Unlimited was an American soul trio from Los Angeles comprised of two sisters, Glodean and Linda James, and their cousin Diane Taylor. Barry White served as their writer, arranger, and producer. They debuted with a 1972 album on Uni Records, followed by the 1973/74 titles Under the Influence and In Heat on 20th Century. […]
Betty Davis (1944–2022) was an American soul-funk singer who released the 1973/74 small-label albums Betty Davis and They Say I’m Different and the 1975 Island title Nasty Gal. Her two subsequent albums, Is It Love or Desire (recorded 1976) and Crashin’ From Passion (recorded 1979), remained vaulted until her 21st century reappraisal. Background Davis was […]
Steve Winwood (born May 12, 1948) is an English vocalist, keyboardist, and songwriter from Birmingham who emerged as the voice of the Spencer Davis Group, which he joined in 1963 at age 15. After four years, three proper albums, and assorted singles with the band — including the soul-rock evergreens “Gimme Some Lovin’” and “I’m […]
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 […]
Caldera was an American Latin jazz-rock band that released four albums between 1976 and 1980 on Capitol. They synthesized jazz-funk with Afro-Cuban styles on their debut, Caldera (1976), then expanded their textural range on Sky Islands (1977), which features guest vocalist Dianne Reeves. The band continued to refine its complex, Latin-rooted fusion across Time and […]
Burning Spear — aka Winston Rodney (born March 1, 1945) — is a Jamaican dub/roots-reggae artist who issued a round of singles on Bamboo and Studio One between 1969 and 1971, followed by a 1972 debut album on Coxsone. Signed to Island Records, he released the popular 1975 album Marcus Garvey, followed by a dub […]
Chrisma was an Italian synthpunk duo that released the 1977–79 Polydor albums Chinese Restaurant and Hibernation. They respelled their name Krisma for a string of Eighties synthpop albums. Members: Maurizio Arcieri, Christina Moser Background Chrisma formed in Milan in 1976 when Italian pop veteran Maurizio Arcieri (b. April 30, 1941, Milan) formed a duo with […]
Wigwam was a Finnish psychedelic jazz-rock/art-rock band that cut seven studio albums between 1969 and 1977 on Love Records. They formed around English singer–pianist Jim Pembroke, organist Jukka Gustavson, and drummer Ronnie Österberg. Bassist Pekka Pohjola joined on the second album. Their early albums Hard N’ Horny (1969) and Tombstone Valentine (1970) blended jazz touches […]
Chris De Burgh (born Oct. 15, 1948) is an Irish singer/songwriter who launched his five-decade career with the 1975 A&M albums Far Beyond These Castle Walls and Spanish Train and Other Stories. His songs combine lyrical storytelling with arrangements steeped in folk, art pop, and lavish orchestration. Stateside, De Burgh achieved his biggest successes with […]
Jerry Butler (December 8, 1939 — February 19, 2025) was an American soul singer who first fronted The Impressions, which he co-founded in 1958 with Curtis Mayfield. After three Impressions singles, he went solo and scored his first hit with the 1960 R&B No. 1 “He Will Break Your Heart.” Butler made four albums between […]
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 […]
