Brian Albert Gordon Auger (born 18 July 1939) is an English jazz rock and rock keyboardist who specialises in the

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

. Auger has worked with

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...

, Tony Williams,

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

, John McLaughlin, Sonny Boy Williamson,

Eric Burdon Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer and songwriter. He was previously the lead vocalist of the rhythm and blues, R&B and Rock music, rock band The Animals and the funk band War (band), War. He is regarded as one of the Br ...

, and CAB. He has incorporated jazz, early British pop, R&B,

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...

, and rock into his sound. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award.

Career

In 1965, Auger played on "

For Your Love "For Your Love" is a rock song written by Graham Gouldman and recorded by the English group the Yardbirds. Released in March 1965, it was their first top ten hit in both the UK and the US. The song was a departure from the group's blues roots ...

" by

The Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1963. The band started the careers of three of rock's most famous guitarists: Eric Clapton (1963–1965), Jeff Beck (1965–1966) and Jimmy Page (1966–1968), all of whom ...

as a session musician. He was brought in to play the Hammond organ, but settled for the only available keyboard, the harpsichord. That same year, Auger formed the group The Steampacket with

Long John Baldry John William "Long John" Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005) was an English musician and actor. In the 1960s, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including ...

Julie Driscoll Julie Driscoll Tippett (born 8 June 1947) is an English singer and actress, known for her work with Brian Auger and her husband, Keith Tippett. Career Driscoll is known for her 1960s versions of Bob Dylan and Rick Danko's " This Wheel's on F ...

Vic Briggs Victor Harvey Briggs III (14 February 1945 – 30 June 2021) was a British blues and rock musician, best known as the lead guitarist with Eric Burdon and The Animals from 1966 to 1968. Briggs, a convert to Sikhism, later played classical ...

, and

. Due to contractual problems there were no official recordings made by the band; nevertheless, nine tracks were laid down for promotional use in late 1965 and released as an LP in 1970 in France on the BYG label. They were released on a CD by Repertoire Records in 1990 (licensed from

Charly Records Charly Records is a British record label that specialises in reissued material. Among the labels whose original releases are reissued by Charly are Vee-Jay, Sun, Immediate, BYG, Tomato, and Fania. History Charly Records was founded in Fran ...

) as well as 12 live tracks from ''Live at the Birmingham Town Hall, February 2, 1964''. Stewart left in early 1966 and soon thereafter the band broke up.

The Trinity

With Driscoll and the band

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

, he went on to record a cover version of

David Ackles David Thomas Ackles (February 20, 1937 – March 2, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, pianist, and child actor. He recorded four albums between 1968 and 1973. Describing Ackles' style in 2003, critic Colin McElligatt wrote, "An unlikely ...

' "Road to Cairo" and Bob Dylan's " This Wheel's on Fire", which appeared on ''Dylan Covered''. The latter track was a number 5 pop hit in the UK. In 1969 Auger, Driscoll, and Trinity performed in the United States on the NBC special ''

33⅓ Revolutions Per Monkee '' Revolutions per Monkee'' is a television special starring the Monkees that aired on NBC on April 14, 1969. The musical guests included Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Little Richard, the Clara Ward Singers, the Buddy Miles Express, Paul Arnold ...

''. Auger and Driscoll stopped performing together after the 1969 album '' Streetnoise'', but reunited for the 1978 album ''

Encore An encore is an additional performance given by performers at the conclusion of a show or concert, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford Universi ...

''.

Brian Auger's Oblivion Express

In 1970, he formed the

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

ensemble Brian Auger's Oblivion Express shortly after abandoning the abortive "Wassenaar Arrangement" jazz rock commune in a small suburb of The Hague. Oblivion Express cultivated the talents of several notable musicians, including

Average White Band The Average White Band (also known as AWB) was a Scottish funk and R&B band that had a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980. They were best known for their million-selling instrumental track " Pick Up the Pieces", and their alb ...

drummers

Robbie McIntosh Robbie McIntosh (born 25 October 1957) is an English guitarist. McIntosh is best known as a session guitarist and member of the Pretenders from 1982 until 1987. In 1988 he began doing session guitar work for Paul McCartney, joining his band ...

and

Steve Ferrone Stephen A. Ferrone (born 25 April 1950) is an English drummer. He is known as a member of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from 1994 to 2017, replacing original drummer Stan Lynch, and as part of the "classic lineup" of the Aver ...

, as well as guitarist

Jim Mullen Jim Mullen (born 26 November 1945) is a Scottish, Glasgow-born jazz guitarist with a distinctive style, like Wes Montgomery before him, picking with the thumb rather than a plectrum. Biography Jim Mullen was guitarist with Pete Brown & Piblo ...

. According to the 13 December 1970 issue of ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...

'', the line up comprised Brian Auger on Keyboards, Jim Mullen on guitar, Barry Dean on bass, and Keith Bailey on drums. Another musician, saxophonist Alan Skidmore was expected to join the group in the near future. In 1971 Auger produced and appeared on Mogul Thrash's only album, '' Mogul Thrash''. Two members of that band, Roger Ball and Malcolm Duncan, would go on to form the

Maestro

Auger toured with

Kim Simmonds Kim Maiden Simmonds (5 December 1947 – 13 December 2022) was a Welsh musician. He was the founder, guitarist, primary songwriter and sole constant member of the blues rock band Savoy Brown, which he formed in 1965. Simmonds had led Savoy Br ...

, Gregg Errico, and

Tim Bogert John Voorhis "Tim" Bogert III (August 27, 1944 – January 14, 2021) was an American musician. As a bass guitarist and vocalist he was best known for his powerful vocal ability and his fast runs, fluid agility and ground-breaking sound on hi ...

in the mid-1980s in a band they called Maestro. No album resulted from this collaboration and tour. In 1986, he played keyboards for the Italian singer

Mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...

on the album ''

Odissea ''Odissea'' ("Odyssey") is the fifth studio album released by Mango, in 1986. The album contains some of his most known songs - " Lei verrà" and "Oro" - and two songs in English language - "Love is just a melody" and "Modern love" co-written wi ...

''.

Further activities

In 1989, Auger was musical director for the thirteen-part film retrospective series ''Villa Fantastica'' made for German television. A live recording of the series, '' Super Jam'' (1990), features Auger on piano,

Pete York Peter York (born 15 August 1942 in Middlesbrough, Yorkshire, England) is an English rock drummer who has been performing since the 1960s. Biography Born in Middlesbrough but growing up in Redcar, York attended the Nottingham High School an ...

on drums,

Dick Morrissey Richard Edwin Morrissey (9 May 1940 – 8 November 2000) was a British jazz musician and composer. He played the tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone and flute. Biography Background He was born in Horley, Surrey, England. Dick Morrissey emerged ...

on tenor saxophone, Roy Williams on trombone, Harvey Weston on bass guitar, and singers

Zoot Money George Bruno "Zoot" Money (17 July 1942 – 8 September 2024) was an English vocalist, keyboardist and bandleader. He was best known for playing the Hammond organ and for his leadership of the Big Roll Band. Inspired by Jerry Lee Lewis and Ra ...

and

Maria Muldaur Maria Muldaur (born Maria Grazia Rosa Domenica D'Amato; September 12, 1942) is an American folk and blues singer who was part of the American folk music revival in the early 1960s. She recorded the 1973 hit song " Midnight at the Oasis" and h ...

. Auger toured with

in the early 1990s and recorded the live album ''

Access All Areas Access All Areas may refer to: * ''Access All Areas'' (Spyro Gyra album), 1984 * ''Access All Areas'' (Eric Burdon & Brian Auger Band album), 1993 * ''Access All Areas'' (Anna Vissi album), 2012 * ''Access All Areas'' (EP), 2017 extended play by th ...

'' with him in 1993. Oblivion Express was revived in 2005 with recording and touring. The group featured Brian Auger, his son Karma Auger on drums, his daughter Savannah Auger on vocals, and Derek Frank on bass. In 2012, Auger released ''Language of the Heart'', one of the few solo albums of his career, produced by Tea. It features

Jeff "Skunk" Baxter Jeffrey Allen "Skunk" Baxter (born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, known for his stints in the rock bands Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers during the 1970s and Spirit in the 1980s. More recently, he has worked as a defense cons ...

and

Julian Coryell Julian Coryell (born 1973) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer. Biography Coryell was born in Pennsylvania in 1973 to famed jazz guitarist Larry CoryellAnderman, Joan (February 20, 2004). "Look how they've grown: Two childre ...

on guitars. In 2014, Auger was invited by producer Gerry Gallagher to record with

El Chicano El Chicano was an American brown-eyed soul group from Los Angeles, California, whose style incorporated various modern music genres including rock, funk, soul, blues, jazz, and salsa. The group's name came from the word Chicano, a term for Un ...

as well as

Alphonse Mouzon Alphonse Lee Mouzon (November 21, 1948 – December 25, 2016) was an American musician and vocalist, most prominently known as a jazz fusion drummer. He was also a composer, arranger, producer, and actor. Mouzon gained popularity in the late 196 ...

David Paich David Frank Paich (born June 25, 1954) is an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter, best known as the co-founder, principal songwriter, keyboardist, and secondary vocalist of the rock band Toto (band), Toto since 1977. He wrote or co-wrot ...

Alex Ligertwood Alexander John Ligertwood (; ) (born 18 December 1946) is a Scottish singer, guitarist and drummer. Early life, family and education Ligertwood was born in Drumchapel, Glasgow, Scotland. Career He is best known as the lead vocalist of Santa ...

Ray Parker Jr. Ray Erskine Parker Jr. (born May 1, 1954) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. As a solo performer, he wrote and performed the theme song for the 1984 film '' Ghostbusters'' and also sounds from the animated series '' The ...

, Lenny Castro,

Vikki Carr Florencia Vicenta de Casillas-Martínez Cardona (born July 19, 1940), known by her stage name Vikki Carr, is an American vocalist. She has a singing career that spans more than five decades. Born in El Paso, Texas, to Mexican parents, she has ...

Pete Escovedo Peter Michael Escovedo Jr. (born July 13, 1935 in Pittsburg, California) is an American percussionist. Career With his two brothers, he formed the Escovedo Bros Latin Jazz Sextet, before Carlos Santana hired Pete and Coke Escovedo for his grou ...

, Peter Michael Escovedo,

Salvador Santana Salvador Santana (born May 22, 1983) is a singer, spoken word artist, songwriter, and composer. His main instruments are the electronic keyboard and piano. He is the son of ten-time Grammy winning guitarist Carlos Santana and poet/author/activist ...

Jessy J Jessica Arellano (born December 20, 1982) known professionally as Jessy J, is an American saxophonist. Biography Jessy J was born Jessica Arellano on December 20, 1982, in Portland, Oregon, and raised in Hemet, California. Of Mexican-Ameri ...

Marcos J. Reyes Marcos J. Reyes (born 1960) has been the Latin percussionist for the American progressive soul band War since 1998. Early life Reyes was born to parents from Chihuahua, Mexico. He is native of Lamont, California. Career Beginning by practicing ...

Siedah Garrett Deborah Christine "Siedah" Garrett (born June 24, 1960) is an American singer and songwriter who has written songs and performed backing vocals for many recording artists in the music industry, such as Michael Jackson, the Pointer Sisters, Brand ...

, Walfredo Reyes Jr., and

Spencer Davis Spencer Davis (born Spencer David Nelson Davies; 17 July 193919 October 2020) was a Welsh musician. He founded the Spencer Davis Group, a band that had several hits in the 1960s including "Keep On Running", " Somebody Help Me", "Gimme Some Lov ...

. In the same year, Brian Auger and Oblivion Express played at the KJAZZ festival in Los Angeles, and toured in Japan and Europe with Karma Auger on drums, daughter Ali Auger on vocals,

on vocals, Yarone Levy on guitar, Les King on bass, and Travis Carlton on bass.

Discography

With Steampacket

* ''Rock Generation, Volume 6: The Steampacket (Or the First Supergroup)'' (BYG 529.706, 1970)

As leader

* ''Open'' with

(Marmalade/Atco, 1967) * ''Definitely What!'' (Marmalade/Atco, 1968) * '' Streetnoise'' with Julie Driscoll (Marmalade/Atco, 1969) * ''Jools & Brian'' with Julie Driscoll ompilation of early singles(Capitol, 1969) * ''Befour'' (RCA Victor, 1970) * ''The Best of Brian Auger'' ompilation(RCA Victor, 1977; later expanded/released as a 2-CD set by One Way) * ''

'' with Julie Tippetts (Warner Bros., 1978) * ''Search Party'' (Headfirst, 1981) * ''Here and Now'' (Polydor, 1982

984 Year 984 ( CMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – German boy-king Otto III (4 years old) is seized by the deposed Henry II, Duke of Bavaria ("the Wrangler"), wh ...

* ''Access All Areas Live'' with

(

SPV Records SPV GmbH (short for ''Schallplatten Produktion und Vertrieb GmbH'', "Vinyl Production and Distribution Company") is a German independent record label. Founded on 1 January 1984, it has slowly grown to be one of the largest independent distributors ...

, 1993) * ''Auger Rhythms: Brian Auger's Musical History'' ompilation(Ghostown, 2003) * ''Live at the Baked Potato'' (Ghostown, 2005) * ''Mod Party'' featuring Savannah Grace (Ghostown, 2011

013 013 is a music venue in Tilburg, the Netherlands. The venue opened in 1998 and replaced the ''Noorderligt'', the ''Bat Cave'' and the ''MuziekKantenWinkel''. 013 is the largest popular music venue in the southern Netherlands. There are two concer ...

* ''Language of the Heart'' (Ghostown, 2012) * ''Train Keeps A-Rolling'' with

Jeff Golub Jeff Golub (April 15, 1955 – January 1, 2015) was an American jazz guitarist who had a solo career and who led the band Avenue Blue. He worked as a sideman for a number of rock and pop musicians. He was arguably best known for his work with Rod ...

(E1/eOne Music, 2013) * ''Back to the Beginning: The Brian Auger Anthology'' (Soul Bank Music, 9/2015) * ''Back to the Beginning... Again: The Brian Auger Anthology, Volume 2'' (Soul Bank Music, 9/2016) * ''Full Circle: Live at Bogies'' (Freestyle, 2018) * ''Introspection'' ompilation(Sunset Blvd, 2020) * ''Auger Incorporated'' ompilation(Soul Bank Music, 2/2022) * ''Search Party'' eissue(Soul Bank Music, 4/2022) * ''Far Horizons – The Trinity Box Set'' (5-LP box set) inyl reissues of ''Open'', ''Definitely What!'', ''Streetnoise'', and ''Befour''(Soul Bank Music, 9/2022)

With the Oblivion Express

* ''Brian Auger's Oblivion Express'' (RCA Victor, 1970

971 Year 971 ( CMLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Battle of Dorostolon: A Byzantine expeditionary army (possibly 30–40,000 men) attacks the Bulgarian frontier, perso ...

* ''A Better Land'' (RCA Victor, 1971) * ''Second Wind'' (RCA Victor, 1972) * ''Closer to It!'' (RCA Victor, 1973) * ''Straight Ahead'' (RCA Victor, 1973

974 Year 974 ( CMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Battle of Danevirke: Emperor Otto II defeats the rebel forces of King Harald I, who has invaded Nordalbingia (modern-day Ho ...

* ''Live Oblivion, Vol. 1'' (RCA Victor, 1974) * ''Live Oblivion, Vol. 2'' (RCA Victor, 1974

976 Year 976 ( CMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * January 10 – Emperor John I Tzimiskes dies at Constantinople, after returning from a second campaign against ...

* ''Reinforcements'' (RCA Victor, 1975) * ''Happiness Heartaches'' (Warner Bros., 1977) * ''Keys to the Heart'' (One Way, 1987

996 Year 996 ( CMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * February - Chotoku Incident: Fujiwara no Korechika and Takaie shoot an arrow at Retired Emperor Kazan. * 2 March: Emperor ...

* ''Voices of Other Times'' (Sanctuary, 1999) * ''Looking in the Eye of the World'' (Ghostown, 2005) * ''Live at the Baked Potato'' (Ghostown, 2005) * ''Live in Los Angeles (featuring

)'' (Soul Bank Music, 10/2015) * ''Looking in the Eye Of The World'' eissue(Soul Bank Music, 4/2022) * ''Voices of Other Times'' eissue(Soul Bank Music, 5/2022) * ''Keys to the Heart'' eissue(Soul Bank Music, 5/2022) * ''Brian Auger's Oblivion Express Play the Trinity Hits'' featuring Savannah Grace (Soul Bank Music, 7/2022)

With CAB (
Tony MacAlpine Tony MacAlpine (born August 29, 1960) is an American musician and composer. In a career spanning four decades, he has released twelve studio albums. MacAlpine is best known as an instrumental rock and heavy metal solo guitarist, although he has ...
/ Bunny Brunel/
Dennis Chambers Dennis Milton Chambers (born May 9, 1959) is an American jazz fusion and funk drummer. He was inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2001. Early life Chambers was born on May 9, 1959, in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. He began drumming ...
)

* '' CAB'' (Tone Center, 2000) * '' CAB 2'' (Tone Center, 2001) * '' CAB 4'' (Favored Nations, 2003)

Filmography

*1969 – ''

'' *1972 – ''Brian Auger The Oblivion Express'' (dir. Tomas Dillen, 31 min.) *2005 – ''Brian Auger: Insights of the Keyboard Master'' *2005 – ''Live at the Baked Potato''

References

Other sources

* Daddone, Peter
"Brian Auger In Conversation "
''Jazz Review'', 29 March 2012.

''Get Ready to Rock'', November 2006. *Staczek, Jason

''Jelly Music Magazine''