Stuff (band)
Encyclopedia
Stuff was a New York-based jazz funk band active in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The members were Gordon Edwards (bass), Richard Tee
(keyboards), Eric Gale
(guitar), Cornell Dupree
(guitar), Chris Parker (drums), and later Steve Gadd
(drums). (Gadd has confirmed on a recent DVD that Chris Parker was in the lineup first.)
After parting ways with Esther the band returned to play there every week.
Stuff developed a danceable R’n’B and Funk sound, the likes of which had not been heard since the days of the Harlem Swing Bands of the 40s and 50s. Individually and collectively the members of Stuff became some of the most sought after session musicians of that era, playing with a stellar array of artists from Aretha Franklin
to John Lennon
to Paul Simon
to name but three; they backed Joe Cocker
during his world tour to promote his Stingray
album, performing with Cocker on NBC's Saturday Night Live
in its second season. The band released five albums between 1975 and 1980, all of which went Gold; More Stuff earned a Grammy Nomination. Stuff's first album was produced by Herb Lovelle in 1976 and went platinum in Japan.
Stuff was closely associated with the New York jazz club Mikell's
, where the city's top session musicians would meet up for jam sessions with visiting soul, jazz and funk stars.
Richard Tee
Richard Tee was a pianist, studio musician, singer and arranger.Tee graduated from the High School of Music and Art and attended the Manhattan School of Music. Though better known as a studio and session musician, Tee led a jazz ensemble, the Richard Tee Committee, and was a founding member of the...
(keyboards), Eric Gale
Eric Gale
Eric J. Gale was a leading American jazz and session guitarist.Born in Brooklyn, New York, Gale began playing guitar at the age of 12. Although he majored in chemistry at Niagara University, Gale was determined to pursue a musical career, and began contributing to accompaniments for such stars as...
(guitar), Cornell Dupree
Cornell Dupree
Cornell Luther Dupree was an American jazz and R&B guitarist. He worked at various times with Bill Withers, Donny Hathaway, King Curtis and Steve Gadd, appeared on David Letterman, and wrote a book on soul and blues guitar: Rhythm and Blues Guitar ISBN 0-634-00149-3...
(guitar), Chris Parker (drums), and later Steve Gadd
Steve Gadd
Steve Gadd is an American session and studio drummer, notable for his work with popular musicians from a wide range of genres.-Biography:...
(drums). (Gadd has confirmed on a recent DVD that Chris Parker was in the lineup first.)
History
Initially called The Encyclopedia of Soul, in his liner notes for the 2008 Eagle Rock release Stuff - Live in Montreux 1976 Edwards describes how the band was founded:I was contracting and playing studio sessions, and hired Cornell for many of the dates – so we started recruiting for the band. One day at Rudy Van GelderRudy Van GelderRudy Van Gelder is an American recording engineer specializing in jazz.Often regarded as one of the most important recording engineers in music history, Van Gelder has recorded several thousand jazz sessions, including many widely recognized as classics, in a career spanning more than half a century...
’s – I remember it was a hell of a job; it was for Esther Marrow, Queen Esther, great singer. George BensonGeorge BensonGeorge Benson is a ten Grammy Award winning American musician, whose production career began at the age of twenty-one as a jazz guitarist....
was on the job, Bernard PurdieBernard PurdieBernard Lee "Pretty" Purdie is an American session drummer, and is considered an influential and innovative exponent of funk...
, and Richard Tee on keyboards. Esther asked me if she could use the band for a club date she had lined up – a club called Mikell’s, (on the corner of 97th and Columbus Avenue) in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.) We did play there, and Richard Tee stopped by one time and he started coming every night. We only worked Monday through Thursday, and Mikell’s was packed, wall to wall, round the block.
After parting ways with Esther the band returned to play there every week.
Steve Gadd came by one night to sit in with us, as did Eric Gale, and they both became a part of the band. We were rolling heavy, and one night I was approached by Michael Lang, the gentleman who put on Woodstock, who said he was sure he could get us a record deal – were we interested. Sure enough Warner Bros. flew in from California to hear us live. They liked us, but we couldn’t use the name The Encyclopedia of Soul – it was too long. I remember we were in a diner that was on the corner by Atlantic RecordsAtlantic RecordsAtlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
one day; there was me, Michael LangMichael LangMichael Lang is a musical concert promoter, producer and artistic manager who is best known as the co-creator of the Woodstock Music & Art Festival in 1969.-Early life:...
, Cornell Dupree and Erma Dupree and we were trying to decide what we would call the band. It was Erma who said, “You know Gordon, you always call everybody stuff, I don’t care who it is. You should call the band STUFF.
Stuff developed a danceable R’n’B and Funk sound, the likes of which had not been heard since the days of the Harlem Swing Bands of the 40s and 50s. Individually and collectively the members of Stuff became some of the most sought after session musicians of that era, playing with a stellar array of artists from Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
to John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
to Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
to name but three; they backed Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
during his world tour to promote his Stingray
Stingray (album)
Stingray is the sixth studio album by Joe Cocker, released in 1976 .-Track listing:#"The Jealous Kind" - 3:51#"I Broke Down" - 3:29#"You Came Along" - 3:50...
album, performing with Cocker on NBC's Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
in its second season. The band released five albums between 1975 and 1980, all of which went Gold; More Stuff earned a Grammy Nomination. Stuff's first album was produced by Herb Lovelle in 1976 and went platinum in Japan.
Stuff was closely associated with the New York jazz club Mikell's
Mikell's
Mikell's was a jazz club on the corner of 97th Street and Columbus Avenue, New York.Run by Mike Mikell and Pat Mikell, from 1969 to 1991 it was a regular venue for New York's top studio and session musicians who would turn up for jam sessions with major soul, funk and jazz artists visiting the...
, where the city's top session musicians would meet up for jam sessions with visiting soul, jazz and funk stars.
Studio albums
- Stuff (1976) (Warner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
) - More Stuff (1977) (WEA/Warner Bros.)
- Stuff It (1978) (Warner Bros.)
Live albums
- Live Stuff (1978)
- Live in New York (1980)
- Live East (1981) (Japanese Bootleg)
- Live at Montreux 1976 On DVD and CD ( Japanese release, 2007), (US and European release, 2008)