Air was an American
jazz rock band mainly active in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
History
The band's self-titled debut album was released in 1971 by
Embryo Records
Embryo Records was a jazz and rock record label founded by Herbie Mann as a division of Atlantic Records, itself distributed by the Atlantic subsidiary Cotillion Records
Cotillion Records was a subsidiary of Atlantic Records (from 1971 part ...
, which had been founded by
Herbie Mann in 1969.
The four core band members were
Tom Coppola
Thomas Wilkinson Coppola (born June 6, 1945) is a pianist and arranger, known for being a principal member of the group Air. He also formed Evans and Coppola with vocalist Lucianne Evans and performs with the Tom Coppola Trio.
Tom Coppola began w ...
(
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...
,
Allen organ
The Allen Organ Company builds church organs, home organs, and theatre organs. Its factory is located in Macungie, Pennsylvania. The Allen International Sales Headquarters also includes the Jerome Markowitz Memorial Center, a museum. It displ ...
, piano), John Siegler (bass), Mark Rosengarden (drums), and Googie Coppola (piano, vocals). The album also featured
Randy Brecker on trumpet,
Michael Brecker on saxophone,
Barry Rogers on trombone,
David Earle Johnson
David Earle Johnson (April 10, 1938 - December 22, 1998) was a percussionist, composer and music producer. The son of Earle H. Johnson and Lottie Ruth Troutman Johnson of Florence, SC.
He appeared on Billy Cobhams’ Total Eclipse and Voyage ...
on congas and timbales, Robert Kogel on guitar, Bob Rosengarden on vibes, plus
Jan Hammer
Jan Hammer () (born 17 April 1948) is a Czech-American musician, composer, and record producer. He first gained his most visible audience while playing keyboards with the Mahavishnu Orchestra during the early 1970s, as well as his film scores fo ...
and Herbie Mann on percussion. Herbie Mann was also the producer.
Tom and Googie Coppola were both influenced by jazz and fusion, including
time signature changes. They answered an advert in ''
The Village Voice'' placed by
Moogy Klingman
Mark "Moogy" Klingman (September 7, 1950 – November 15, 2011)
– accessed November 17, 2011
, who introduced them to Siegler and Rosengarden. The group rehearsed in
Great Neck, Long Island, working on songs written by Googie. The group was spotted by Mann at a gig in the
Village Gate, who wanted them to be his backing band. By the time their debut album was released in 1971, family commitments led to the group splitting up. Thereafter Tom and Googie Coppola played a few times at the
Montreux Jazz Festival with the
Atlantic All-Stars.
According to its writer, Moogy Klingman, the song "Sister Bessie" is about "...a nun, who took
LSD after falling in love with a
hippie
A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...
, and then made love to him, deciding she would leave the church and the convent. Apparently, the hippie had different ideas and left town quickly. This song is about what he might say to her about his hasty exit, if he said anything at all.”
A limited gatefold
heavyweight vinyl album, in a
die-cut sleeve, was released on August 11, 2016, on the Be With label.
["Googie and Tom Coppola: Shine the Light of Love"]
''Spectrum Culture'', Pat Padua, September 8, 2016
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Air (jazz rock band)
American rock music groups
American jazz ensembles
American jazz-rock groups