Stemziel "Stemsy" Hunter is a saxophonist and vocalist. During the 1960s, he was a member of The Electric Flag. He has also played on recordings by Buddy Miles, as well as being a member of Miles's band. Other artists to whose recordings he has contributed are by Crackin' and Gil Scott-Heron. He is also the owner of the Olive Branch Records label, and a record producer.

Background

Hunter ⁠— like Buddy Miles and Herbie Rich ⁠— hails from

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County, Nebraska, Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. List of ...

Career

1960s

As a young man, he was a member of the group led by Andrew Lewis called Andre Lewis & the New Breed.Ugly Radio Rebellio
Andre Lewis, Personal and Professional Resume' of Andre Lewis, The European Connection:
/ref> Hunter, who was a friend of Buddy Miles was brought into the Electric Flag in 1968 when the band were encountering some problems. Members

Marcus Doubleday Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to: * Marcus (name), a masculine given name * Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name Places * Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44 * Mărcuş, a village in Dobârl� ...

and Peter Strazza were on the verge of getting fired. saxophonist Herbie Rich was doubling on sax and organ as

Mike Fonfara Michael Fonfara (11 August 1946 – 8 January 2021) was a Canadian keyboard player who was most notable for his work as a member of The Electric Flag and Rhinoceros in the 1960s, Rough Trade and Lou Reed's backing band in the 1970s and The Downch ...

who was on organ had just left. Possibly as a result of the drug issues involving some other members of the band, Hunter and Herbie Rich were tied up and robbed by drug dealers and taken Peter Strazza hostage with Buddy Miles and Mike Bloomfield in another room sleeping through the whole event.Mike Bloomfield websit
Discography 1968-1981
/ref> While with the band, he played at venues such as the Carousel Ballroom in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for "Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

1970s

During the 1970s Hunter played contributed to recordings by various artists. He played on recordings by the group Maxayn. Along with Maxayn Lewis, Andre Lewis,

Marlo Henderson Marlo Henderson was an American guitarist and saxophonist, who played in mainly blues and R&B genres. As a session musician he played on albums such as ''Off the Wall'' by Michael Jackson, '' Them Changes'' by Buddy Miles, '' Face to Face'' by ...

, Emry Thomas and Hank Redd, he co-composed the track "Jam For Jack", which appeared on the 1972 self-titled LP by Maxayn. In the last quarter of 1973, Hunter joined a group called The Fabulous Rhinestones, which also included Kal David,

Marty Grebb Marty may refer to: Names * Marty (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters, also includes stage names * Marty (surname), a list of people Places in the United States * Marty, California, a former settlement * Marty, Min ...

, Jack Sarangella and Harvey Brooks.

1980s and 1990s

In 1989, Hunter along with Ken Wright co-produced the ''On The Rampage'' album for Guitar Shorty. He was also the credited producer for the "On The Rampage" single. He teamed up with his childhood friends, Buddy Miles, Andre Lewis, Billy Rich, and

in the group Buddy Miles and the Mighty Rhythm Tribe for the ''Tribe Vibe'' album that was released in 1993. He played alto sax on the ''Red Hot & Blues'' album by

Jimmy "Preacher" Ellis James "Jimmy" Ellis (August 17, 1934 – September 16, 2022) Death He died in Dallas, Texas, on September 16, 2022, at the age of 88. Singles Albums Appears on References {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Jimmy 1934 births 2022 deaths Afr ...

which was released in 1996.

2000s

Since the 2000s, Hunters work has included his solo act which covers styles from R&B and Jazz to some country music. He has also worked on Norwegian Cruise Lines as a performer for at least 7 years. In 2018, Hunter was playing in a group called Curly Martin & Friends.''The Reader'', February 1, 2018
Jazz Comes Home by B.J. Huchtemann
/ref>

Appearances / session work

References

External links

All Music credits
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Stemsy Musicians from Omaha, Nebraska African-American saxophonists Record producers from Nebraska American rock saxophonists American funk saxophonists American male saxophonists American jazz saxophonists The Electric Flag members Jazz musicians from Nebraska American male jazz musicians