Jazz Musicians who were working members of rock bands

[Pete C]

Not necessarily a top 10, but I'm interested in the musicians with serious jazz careers who were regular members of touring/recording rock bands (not special guests). Among the ones I can think of:

Randy Brecker - Blood, Sweat & Tears
Lew Soloff - Blood, Sweat & Tears
Dannie Richmond - Mark-Almond Band
Elton Dean - Soft Machine
Hugh Hopper - Soft Machine
Keith Tippett - King Crimson
Leon Thomas - Santana

[Jesse]

Originally Posted by Pete C

Not necessarily a top 10, but I'm interested in the musicians with serious jazz careers who were regular members of touring/recording rock bands (not special guests). Among the ones I can think of:

Randy Brecker - Blood, Sweat & Tears
Lew Soloff - Blood, Sweat & Tears
Dannie Richmond - Mark-Almond Band
Elton Dean - Soft Machine
Hugh Hopper - Soft Machine
Keith Tippett - King Crimson
Leon Thomas - Santana

Pete:
This doesn't slot into the "rock" genre, but I had the nutty,serendipity experience of hearing trumpeter Michael Ray, around '85/'86, play w/Sun Ra and Kool & the Gang! Ray toured w/both for awhile.
Van Morrison's Astral Weeks has those MJQ guys, but that's not "regular members", so I digress....
Jesse

[Squaredancecalling Steve]

Chico Freeman -- Earth, Wind and Fire/ The Temptations/ The Eurythmics/ The Four Tops

[jaka]

Bill Bruford - Yes, King Crimson

[Bill Barton]

Larry Willis was a regular member of Blood, Sweat & Tears too.

[Deke]

Dave Quincy, Dick Morrissey and Terry Smith - If.
Jim Mullen - Piblokto!

[Uli]

Thurman Barker w. Barry Manilow, Bette Midler etc

[Dan G]

Larry Stabbins - Working Week

I also think you will find that a lot of the Brits, some already mentioned like Dean and Tippett, and others like Marc Charig, Nick Evans, Mike Ratledge (soft Machine), even Robert Wyatt, did a lot of cross-over stuff that straddled both jazz and rock. Same with some of the South Africans who moved to England: Harry Miller (supposedly played in Manfred Mann), Dudu Pukwana, etc.

And didn't Lol Coxhill tour with the Damned once?

[Squaredancecalling Steve]

Chris Barber and several others from his jazz band made up the original Lonnie Donegan's Skiffle Band, which wasn't exactly rock but was a key precursor of it.

[Lois Gilbert]

Here's one of the best

Steve Turre played bass with Van Morrison. That's right I said... There's a picture of him with Van in his photo gallery

http://steveturre.com

[jaka]

Pat Metheny, Lyle Mays, Jaco Pastorius, Michael Brecker & Don Alias toured with Joni Mitchell in 1979/80. Documented on Shadows and Light.

Not really working members, but a great band.

[Pete C]

I think Sq.dance Steve is a paid lobbyist for the skiffle association.

[Squaredancecalling Steve]

Originally Posted by Pete C

I think Sq.dance Steve is a paid lobbyist for the skiffle association.

BIG bucks!

[groover]

Alphonso Johnson and Billy Cobham were members of Bob Weir's 'Bobby and the Midnites'. They recorded a studio album and did at least one tour.

Alphonso and Billy also recorded and performed with Jazz is Dead, along with T. Lavitz of the Dixie Dregs. T. Lavitz was moved to form the instrumental group Jazz is Dead with Jimmy Herring after he was rejected by the dead as a replacement keyboardist because of his lack of vocal ability.

Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce have both said they somewhat viewed Cream as a heavy jazz trio, though they didn't want to disillusion Eric Clapton, who thought it was an electric blues band.

Similarly, John Densmore and Ray Manzarek were huge jazz and blues fans, and tried to inject as much of that feeling into the Doors music as they could, without upsetting Jim Morrison's rock-star aspirations. And a lot of Morrison's delivery seems inspired by Beat poet and bop-lover Jack Kerouac.

Charlie Watts studied jazz before he joined the Rolling Stones, and he still considers himself primarily a jazz drummer, as evidenced by the big band work he's done in the past few years.

Stanley Clarke worked with Stewart Copeland in the experimental pop band Animal Logic.

[graypencil]

George Duke, Vinnie Coliauta ..Zappa

Gregg Bissonnette ..David Lee Roth

Stuff, the Brecker Bros, ...Paul Simon

Vinnie Coliauta, Omar Hakim, Branford M ... Sting

[Chris D]

Blue Mitchell was in John Mayall's band for a while.

[Alastair]

Originally Posted by groover

T. Lavitz was moved to form the instrumental group Jazz is Dead with Jimmy Herring after he was rejected by the dead as a replacement keyboardist because of his lack of vocal ability.

Surely a lack of vocal ability is a prerequisite for being the Dead's keyboardist?

Keith Godchaux, I'm lookin' at you.

[GodSpeliZed]

Jaco Pastorius, Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock are on the Joni Mitchell's album "Mingus", a tribute to the great Charles.
Lester Bowie played trumpet in David Bowie "Black Tie White Noise"
Another jazz player working with the White Duke (on his album "Outside") was Joey Baron.
Mark Ribot played guitar on three albums by Tom Waits (Raindogs, Frank's Wild Years and Big Time), and also on the first track of Tricky's "Angels with Dirty Faces".

[Jonathan Sutton]

Larry Stabbins -- Working Week (poppish, in the (British) charts, if not rock; I am sure I heard their records once, but I recall nothing)

[SilentKnowledge]

Originally Posted by Dan G

I also think you will find that a lot of the Brits, some already mentioned like Dean and Tippett, and others like Marc Charig, Nick Evans, Mike Ratledge (soft Machine), even Robert Wyatt, did a lot of cross-over stuff that straddled both jazz and rock. Same with some of the South Africans who moved to England: Harry Miller (supposedly played in Manfred Mann), Dudu Pukwana, etc.

And didn't Lol Coxhill tour with the Damned once?

I'll go with the aboved meantioned as well as good ole' Hugh Hopper.

As for Lol, yes he has performed with The Damned,collaboerated with Kevin Ayers & with a short lived rock group called Delivery.

[Fred K]

Nels Cline is currently on tour with Wilco.

Marc Ribot has recorded with singer Sarah Jane Morris and has occasionally played live with her. I saw them together 2 years ago in Montreal.

[Jeff Albert]

Originally Posted by Lois Gilbert

Here's one of the best

Steve Turre played bass with Van Morrison. That's right I said... There's a picture of him with Van in his photo gallery

http://steveturre.com

Yeah, but he's playing trombone.

[Jeff Albert]

Originally Posted by Jesse

Pete:
This doesn't slot into the "rock" genre, but I had the nutty,serendipity experience of hearing trumpeter Michael Ray, around '85/'86, play w/Sun Ra and Kool & the Gang! Ray toured w/both for awhile.

Michael still is doing both. More Kool stuff, but he does Arkestra gigs when he can.

[SinginSumo]

Formerly with Cream:


Drummer for the Rolling Stones:


Former percussionist for Basia:

[Samuel]

This was, I think, the lineup for the first album by "DREAMS" circa 1970:

John Abercrombie - Lead Guitar
Michael Brecker - Horn
Don Grolnick - Keyboards
Randy Brecker - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Billy Cobham - Drums
Doug Lubahn - Bass
Jeff Kent - Guitar, Vocals
Barry Rogers - Trombone

------

. . . and don't forget that tenor player who toured with The Rolling Stones for a while. His name was Sonny Rollins . . . .

[Root Doctor]

Originally Posted by Samuel

. . . and don't forget that tenor player who toured with The Rolling Stones for a while. His name was Sonny Rollins . . . .

Ernie Watts toured with the Stones, in lieu of Sonny.

[Gary Sisco]

Joe Henderson was also in Blood, Sweat & Tears.

[Gary Sisco]

Keith Rowe and Fennesz both, I have it direct from the horses' mouths, played guitar in reggae bands.

[Gary Sisco]

Ginger Baker played in Cream.

[Gary Sisco]

Blue Mitchell was a Bluesbreaker.