Brass Construction was an American

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

formed in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, United States, in 1968. They were originally known as Dynamic Soul, and went on to record a string of hit singles and

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

s through to 1985.

Career

Signed in 1975 by Sid Maurer, and former

United Artists Records United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1959, ...

promotion man Fred Frank, they scored two US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 entries in 1976 - the most successful being "Movin'," which hit #14. They had much more success on the US

Hot Dance Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

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, with nine chart entries, including " Movin'", which reached #1. Singer, pianist, flautist and

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

Randy Muller went on to score a number of R&B hits with Skyy and B. T. Express. Over the years, Brass Construction members have included Wade Williamston (bass), Sandy Billups (percussion), Morris Price (trumpet), Larry Payton (drums), Jesse Ward Jr. (saxophone), Michael "Micky" Grudge (saxophone), Wayne Parris (trumpet), Alvin Haskin (original Trombone player on Movin), Duane Cahill (trombone), Joseph Arthur-Wong (guitar), and Randy Muller (lead vocals), later joined by Lee Evans on keyboards. Brass Construction reunited for a

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...

on November 28, 2005, at the Bataclan Arena in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

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. Joseph Arthur-Wong died in 1998. Jesse Ward Jr. died in 2016. Drummer Larry Payton died on March 21, 2016.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

*''Golden Classics'' (1991,

Collectables A collectable (collectible or collector's item) is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector. Collectable items are not necessarily monetarily valuable or uncommon. There are numerous types of collectables and terms t ...

) *''The Best of Brass Construction: Movin' & Changin (1993,

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

) *''Get Up to Get Down: Brass Construction's Funky Feeling'' (1997,

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

) *''Classic Masters'' (2002, EMI/Capitol) *''Something for the Weekend: 10 Extended Soul Weekender Classics'' (2006, Stateside)

Singles

Band members

*Randy Muller – Keyboards/ Lead vocals *Wade Williamston – Bass *Joseph Arthur-Wong (d.1998) – Guitar *Larry Payton (1955 – March 21, 2016) – Drums *Jesse Ward Jr. (d.2016) – Saxophone *Michael "Micky" Grudge – Saxophone *Wayne Parris – Trumpet *Morris Price – Trumpet *Sandy Billups – Percussion

References

External links

Official website
*
Randy Muller's official websiteBBC.co.uk review
{{Authority control American funk musical groups American dance music groups American soul musical groups