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Brand X

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A relative late-comer to the Jazz-Rock game, Brand X came together in the wake of the tumult and tremors that the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return To Forever had created. The brainchild of bassist Percy Jones and keyboard specialist Robin Lumley, the band started out as a practice band, jamming for long hours whenever the members had the time or need or desire to get their willies out. M uch of their efforts were stylized after the most recent incarnation of the American Fusion band Return To Forever. ATOMIC ROOSTER guitarist John Goodsall was an occasional member of these jam sessions.  Things took a more serious turn when ISLAND RECORDS expressed interest in recording their material. With this new impetus, Lumley and Jones got more serious about creating a stable ensemble of committed musicians in order to fulfill the Island Records' hope for an in-house band. Though Lumley and Jones had been actively trying to recruit drummer Bill Bruford for the band, Percy had recently befriend...
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Freddie Hubbard

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Prolific and highly energetic, Freddie Hubbard is one of the jazz musicians whose boundless energy seemed to serve his career well: consequently he was always aware and curious about the latest developments in music, his own niche in jazz as well as the ever-changing and expanding styles and sounds "out there" in music's the other genres and sub-genres. Jazz-Rock Fusion and, in particular, funk and Smooth Jazz are two sub-genres of Jazz and Popular music that seemed to serve Freddie particularly well as his 1970s discography not only stands up supremely well with the passage of time but fit in well, even in an imaginative leadership capacity, contributing to the growth and deepening of the burgeoning sub-genres. I do not know whether his albums of the 1970s proved commercially successful for him--I hope they did--because they are eminently enjoyable--but I think he commanded a respect from his peers that hopefully paid off in other ways. Also, there are very few trumpeter...
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