Out of the Blue, also known as OTB, was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

ensemble founded by Blue Note Records in the 1980s as a showcase for the label's younger musicians. The group was formed in 1984, releasing four albums and touring extensively over the next five years. Their most commercially successful album was 1986's ''Live at Mt. Fuji'', which reached #9 on '' Billboard'' magazine's Top Jazz Albums chart. The lineup changed occasionally over this time, and the group disbanded in 1989 after its members moved on to solo careers. Scott Yanow, Out of the Blueat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

Members

Michael Philip Mossman Michael Philip Mossman (born October 12, 1959) is an American jazz trumpeter. Career Mossman's early career included a tour of Europe with Anthony Braxton in 1978 and tours with Roscoe Mitchell in the early 1980s. He also did session work in the ...

- trumpet *

Kenny Garrett Kenny Garrett (born October 9, 1960) is an American post-bop jazz musician and composer who gained recognition in his youth as a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra and for his time with Miles Davis's band. His primary instruments are alto and ...

- alto saxophone *

Ralph Bowen Ralph Bowen (born December 24, 1961) is a Canadian jazz saxophonist. Biography Bowen started piano lessons at an early age, with clarinet and saxophone lessons following soon after. At thirteen he led a quartet and performed in big bands in Tor ...

- tenor saxophone *

Harry Pickens Harry Pickens is an American jazz pianist. He began his career with the Blue Note Records group Out of the Blue before releasing several albums as leader. Allmusic credits/ref> Pickens has been a mainstay feature at the Idyllwild Arts Jazz in ...

- piano * Robert Hurst - bass *

Ralph Peterson, Jr. Ralph Peterson Jr. (May 20, 1962 – March 1, 2021) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Early life Four of Peterson's uncles and his grandfather were drummers. Peterson himself began on percussion at age three. He was raised in Pleasan ...

- drums * Kenny Davis - bass * Steve Wilson - alto saxophone * Renee Rosnes - piano *

Billy Drummond Willis Robert "Billy" Drummond Jr. (born June 19, 1959) is an American jazz drummer. Early life Billy Drummond was born in Newport News, Virginia, where he grew up listening to the extensive jazz record collection of his father, an amateur dr ...

- drums

Discography

* ''Out of the Blue'' (

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...

, 1985) * ''Inside Track'' (Blue Note, 1986) * ''Live at Mt. Fuji'' (Blue Note, 1987) – live recorded at Mount Fuji Jazz Festival in 1986 * ''Spiral Staircase'' (Blue Note, 1989)

References

External links

Out of the Blue
Blue Note Records {{Authority control 1984 establishments in California 1989 disestablishments in California American jazz ensembles from California Blue Note Records artists Musical groups established in 1984 Musical groups disestablished in 1989