The Graham Bond Organisation
The Graham Bond Organisation were a British jazz/rhythm and blues group of the early 1960s in which Graham Bond was lead singer, keyboardist and alto-saxophonist, Jack Bruce was bassist, Ginger Baker was drummer, Dick Heckstall-Smith was tenor and soprano saxophonist and John McLaughlin was guitarist. They recorded several albums and further recordings were issued when the group's members achieved fame in progressive rock and jazz fusion. The spelling of the band's original name varied between releases,[1][2] and was often formatted as ORGANisation or ORGANization.
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[edit] History
At the start of the British rhythm and blues boom the Graham Bond Organisation earned a reputation for playing aggressive R & B with prominent jazz and blues. Bond was the primary songwriter but encouraged the other musicians to contribute material, including Dick Heckstall-Smith's "Dick's Instrumental" and Ginger Baker's "Camels and Elephants", in which the drummer explored ideas he eventually developed into his signature piece "Toad." Jack Bruce's harmonica-driven version of Peter Chatham's "Train Time" would become a staple in Cream's live performances. Their best-known single, "Tammy" (Jay Livingston/Ray Evans)b/w "Wade In The Water" (Trad. arr. Group) was recorded on January 4 1965 at Olympic Sound Studios, London in the UK on EMI Columbia DB 7471, January 29 1965 and on the album Sound of 65.
The group was plagued with problems because of substance abuse and Baker's ongoing feud with Bruce. Retrospectives of Cream indicate that Bond deputised Baker to fire Bruce, who joined Manfred Mann for a short time until, in July 1966, Baker and Bruce were both asked by Eric Clapton to re-unite in Cream. The group recorded "St James' Infirmary" without Bruce on January 10 1966, which was released in the United States on the Ascot label and received indifferently. Another sideman was Mike Falana (trumpet).[3]
Bond reformed the Organisation with Jon Hiseman on drums. Hiseman and Heckstall-Smith would leave to join John Mayall's Blues Breakers for Bare Wires (recorded April 1968) [4] before forming Colosseum with Tony Reeves. As a trio, Bond, Heckstall-Smith and Hiseman recorded "You’ve Gotta Have Love Babe" b/w "I Love You" (both by Graham Bond) on January 18 1967 for Page One records.[5] Bond left for the USA, releasing two albums there in 1969 with well-known session players.[6]
The Graham Bond Organisation's influence lack of commercial success and internal struggles brought an end to the group in 1967 but its importance was soon recognised with the vogue for blues and progressive rock and the increased sales of albums. The double album "Solid Bond" was released in 1970, Graham Bond returned to play with Ginger Baker's Air Force and soon signed a contract with Vertigo Records but died beneath an underground train shortly afterwards.
[edit] Discography
- 1965 The Sound of 65
- 1965 There's a Bond Between Us
- 1970 Solid Bond
- Live at Klooks Kleek 1964 (archival release)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- http://www.grahambond.org
- http://www.mossiehigh.com/GBO/ discography
- The Graham Bond Organization discography at Discogs
