The Free Spirits was an American band credited as the first
jazz-rock
Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and keyb ...
group. The band also incorporated elements of
pop and
garage rock.
Their first album ''Out of Sight and Sound'' was recorded in 1966
and released in 1967.
History
The band formed in New York as a
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 ...
group. Every member except Chip Baker had a background in jazz. According to drummer
Bob Moses, guitarist
Larry Coryell turned the group to more rock-oriented music. The band played several times in a New York club called The Scene but made little money from the shows, getting paid only ten dollars as a group per night. The band also performed with
Mitch Ryder
Mitch Ryder (born William Sherille Levise, Jr.; February 26, 1945) is an American musician who has recorded more than 25 albums over more than four decades.
Career
Ryder formed his first band, Tempest, when he was at Warren High School, and th ...
and
The Rascals.
By 1967, Coryell left the band to play with
Gary Burton
Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American jazz vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused him to be he ...
. Moses also joined Burton because he "knew that it wasn't going to be the same without Coryell". Pepper, Hills, and Baker formed the band Everything is Everything with Lee Reinoehl on Hammond C-3 organ and both John Waller and Jim Zitro on drums.
Vanguard
The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force.
History
The vanguard derives fr ...
released their self-titled album, which included Pepper's composition "Witchi Tai To".
Moses later recorded with
Jack DeJohnette,
Steve Swallow
Steve Swallow (born October 4, 1940) is an American jazz bassist and composer, known for his collaborations with Jimmy Giuffre, Gary Burton, and Carla Bley. He was one of the first jazz double bassists to switch entirely to electric bass guitar.
...
,
Pat Metheny
Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer.
He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progre ...
,
Jaco Pastorius
John Francis Anthony "Jaco" Pastorius III (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987) was an American jazz bassist, composer and producer. He recorded albums as a solo artist and band leader and was a member of Weather Report from 1976 to 1981. ...
, and Coryell.
Personnel
*
Larry Coryell – lead guitar, sitar, lead vocals
* Columbus "Chip" Baker – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
*
Jim Pepper – tenor sax, flute
* Chris Hills – bass guitar
*
Bob Moses – drums
Discography
* ''Out of Sight and Sound'' (ABC, 1967)
* ''Live at the Scene'' (Sunbeam, 2011)
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Free Spirits, The
American jazz-rock groups
Rock music groups from New York (state)