Brian Albert Gordon Auger (born 18 July 1939) is an English jazz rock and rock music keyboardist who specialises in the

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 ...

. Auger has worked with

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

, Tony Williams,

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

John McLaughlin John or Jon McLaughlin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John McLaughlin (musician) (born 1942), English jazz fusion guitarist, member of Mahavishnu Orchestra * Jon McLaughlin (musician) (born 1982), American singer-songwriter * John McLaug ...

, Sonny Boy Williamson, and

Eric Burdon Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer. He was previously the lead vocalist of R&B and rock band the Animals and funk band War. He is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, powe ...

. He incorporated jazz, early British pop, R&B,

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became po ...

, and rock into his sound. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award.

Career

In 1965, Auger played on "

For Your Love "For Your Love" is a rock song written by Graham Gouldman and recorded by English group the Yardbirds. Released in March 1965, it was their first top ten hit in both the UK and the US. The song was a departure from the group's blues roots in ...

" by

The Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band's core lineup featured vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist and later bassist Chris Dreja and bassist/producer Paul Samwell ...

as a session musician. That same year, Auger formed the group

The Steampacket Steampacket (sometimes shown as Steam Packet) was a British blues band formed in 1965 by Long John Baldry with Rod Stewart, Julie Driscoll, and organist Brian Auger. History A musical revue rather than a single group, Steampacket was formed i ...

with

Long John Baldry John William "Long John" Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005) was an English musician and actor. In the 1960s, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including t ...

Julie Driscoll Julie Driscoll Tippetts (born 8 June 1947) is an English singer and actress. Career Driscoll is known for her 1960s versions of Bob Dylan and Rick Danko's "This Wheel's on Fire", and Donovan's " Season of the Witch", both with Brian Auger an ...

Vic Briggs Victor Harvey Briggs III (14 February 1945 – 30 June 2021) was a British blues and rock musician, best known as the lead guitarist with Eric Burdon and The Animals during the 1966–1968 period. Briggs, a convert to Sikhism, later played ...

, and

. Due to contractual problems there were no official recordings made by the band; nevertheless, nine tracks were laid down for promotional use in late 1965 and released as an LP in 1970 in France on the BYG label. They were released on a CD by Repertoire Records in 1990 (licensed from

Charly Records Charly Records is a British record label that specialises in reissued material. Among the labels whose original releases are reissued by Charly are Vee-Jay, Sun, Immediate, BYG, Tomato, and Fania. History Charly Records was founded in Franc ...

) as well as 12 live tracks from ''Live at the Birmingham Town Hall, February 2, 1964''. Stewart left in early 1966 and soon thereafter the band broke up. With Driscoll and the band

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

, he went on to record a cover version of

David Ackles David Thomas Ackles (February 20, 1937 – March 2, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, pianist, and child actor. He recorded four albums between 1968 and 1973. Describing Ackles' style in 2003, critic Colin McElligatt wrote, "An unlikely ...

' "Road to Cairo" and Bob Dylan's "

This Wheel's on Fire "This Wheel's on Fire" is a song written by Bob Dylan and Rick Danko. It was originally recorded by Dylan and the Band during their 1967 sessions, portions of which (including this song) comprised the 1975 album, '' The Basement Tapes''. The B ...

", which appeared on ''Dylan Covered''. The latter track was a number 5 pop hit in the UK. In 1969 Auger, Driscoll, and Trinity performed in the United States on the NBC special ''

33⅓ Revolutions Per Monkee '' Revolutions per Monkee'' is a television special, starring the Monkees, which aired on NBC on April 14, 1969. The musical guests on the show included Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Little Richard, the Clara Ward Singers, the Buddy Miles Expre ...

''. In 1970, he formed the

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

ensemble Brian Auger's Oblivion Express shortly after abandoning the abortive "Wassenaar Arrangement" jazz rock commune in a small suburb of The Hague. Oblivion Express cultivated the talents of several notable musicians, including

Average White Band The Average White Band (also known as AWB) are a Scottish funk and R&B band that had a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980. They are best known for their million-selling instrumental track " Pick Up the Pieces", and their album ...

drummers

Robbie McIntosh Robbie McIntosh (born 25 October 1957) is an English guitarist. McIntosh is well known as a session guitarist and member of The Pretenders from 1982 until 1987. In 1988 he began doing session guitar work for Paul McCartney joining his band fu ...

and

Steve Ferrone Steve Ferrone (born 25 April 1950) is an English drummer. He is known as a member of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from 1994 to 2017, replacing original drummer Stan Lynch, and as part of the "classic lineup" of the Average Whi ...

, as well as guitarist

Jim Mullen Jim Mullen (born 26 November 1945) is a Scottish, Glasgow-born jazz guitarist with a distinctive style, like Wes Montgomery before him, picking with the thumb rather than a plectrum. Biography Jim Mullen was guitarist with Pete Brown & Piblok ...

. In 1971 Auger produced and appeared on

Mogul Thrash Mogul Thrash were an English progressive rock band, active in the early 1970s. Biography British jazz-rock band Mogul Thrash evolved from James Litherland's Brotherhood, which in addition to guitarist Litherland (an alumnus of Colosseum who ...

's only album, ''

''. Two members of that band, Roger Ball and Malcolm Duncan, would go on to form the

. Auger toured with Kim Simmonds, Gregg Errico, and

Tim Bogert John Voorhis "Tim" Bogert III (August 27, 1944 – January 13, 2021) was an American multi-instrumentalist, musician. He graduated in 1963 from Ridgefield Memorial High School in his hometown of Ridgefield, New Jersey. As a bass guitarist an ...

in the mid-1980s in a band they called Maestro. No album resulted from this collaboration and tour. In 1986, he played keyboards for the Italian singer

Mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

on the album ''

Odissea ''Odissea'' is the fifth studio album released by Mango, in 1986. The album contains some of his most known songs - "Lei verrà" and "Oro" - and two songs in English language - "Love is just a melody" and "Modern love" co-written with Simon Marsh ...

''.

In 1989, Auger was musical director for the thirteen-part film retrospective series ''Villa Fantastica'' made for German television. A live recording of the series, '' Super Jam'' (1990), features Auger on piano,

Pete York Peter York (born 15 August 1942 in Redcar, Yorkshire, England) is a British rock drummer who has been performing since the 1960s. Biography Born in Redcar, he attended the Nottingham High School and learnt to play the trumpet and snare drum ...

on drums,

Dick Morrissey Richard Edwin Morrissey (9 May 1940 – 8 November 2000) was a British jazz musician and composer. He played the tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone and flute. Biography Background He was born in Horley, Surrey, England. Dick Morrissey emerg ...

on tenor saxophone, Roy Williams on trombone, Harvey Weston on bass guitar, and singers

Zoot Money George Bruno Money (born 17 July 1942) is an English vocalist, keyboardist and bandleader. He is best known for his playing of the Hammond organ and association with his Big Roll Band. Inspired by Jerry Lee Lewis and Ray Charles, he was drawn ...

and

Maria Muldaur Maria Muldaur (born Maria Grazia Rosa Domenica D'Amato; September 12, 1942) is an American folk and blues singer who was part of the American folk music revival in the early 1960s. She recorded the 1973 hit song "Midnight at the Oasis" and has ...

. Auger toured with

in the early 1990s and recorded the live album '' Access All Areas'' with him in 1993. Oblivion Express was revived in 2005 with recording and touring. The group featured Brian Auger, his son Karma Auger on drums, his daughter Savannah Auger on vocals, and Derek Frank on bass. In 2012, Auger released ''Language of the Heart'', one of the few solo albums of his career, produced by Tea. It features

Jeff "Skunk" Baxter Jeffrey Allen "Skunk" Baxter (born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, known for his stints in the rock bands Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers during the 1970s and Spirit in the 1980s. More recently, he has worked as a defense consu ...

and

Julian Coryell Julian Coryell (born 1973) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer. Biography Coryell was born in Pennsylvania in 1973 to famed jazz guitarist Larry CoryellAnderman, Joan (February 20, 2004). "Look how they've grown: Two childr ...

on guitars. In 2014, Auger was invited by producer Gerry Gallagher to record with

El Chicano El Chicano was an American brown-eyed soul group from Los Angeles, California, whose style incorporated various modern music genres including rock, funk, soul, blues, jazz, and salsa. The group's name was from Chicano, a term for United States ...

as well as

Alphonse Mouzon Alphonse Lee Mouzon (November 21, 1948 – December 25, 2016) was an American jazz fusion drummer and the owner of Tenacious Records, a label that primarily released Mouzon's recordings. He was a composer, arranger, producer, and actor. He ga ...

David Paich David Frank Paich (born June 25, 1954) is an American musician, best known as the co-founder, principal songwriter, keyboardist and singer of the rock band Toto since 1977. He wrote or co-wrote much of Toto's original material, including the ba ...

Alex Ligertwood Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple *Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple peo ...

Ray Parker Jr. Ray Erskine Parker Jr. (born May 1, 1954) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. As a solo performer, he wrote and performed the theme song to the 1984 film '' Ghostbusters''. Previously, Parker achieved a US top-10 h ...

, Lenny Castro,

Vikki Carr Florencia Vicenta de Casillas-Martínez Cardona (born July 19, 1940), known by her stage name Vikki Carr, is an American vocalist. She has a singing career that spans more than four decades. Born in El Paso, Texas, to Mexican parents, she has pe ...

Pete Escovedo Peter Michael Escovedo (born July 13, 1935 in Pittsburg, California) is an American percussionist. "Pete Escovedo Biography & Awards" With his two brothers, Pete formed Escovedo Bros Latin Jazz Sextet, before Carlos Santana hired Pete and Coke ...

Peter Michael Escovedo Peter Michael Escovedo III (born July 7, 1961) is an American percussionist and musical director. Early life Escovedo was born in Alameda County, California, and is a member of a musical family, the son and namesake of percussionist Pete Escove ...

Salvador Santana Salvador Santana (born May 22, 1983 in Marin County, California, part of the San Francisco Bay Area) is a singer, spoken word artist, songwriter, and composer. His main instruments are the electronic keyboard and piano. He is the son of ten-time ...

Jessy J Jessica Arellano (born December 20, 1982) known professionally as Jessy J, is an American saxophonist. Biography Jessy J was born Jessica Arellano on December 20, 1982 in Portland, Oregon and raised in Hemet, California. Of Mexican-Americ ...

Marcos J. Reyes Marcos Reyes ~ Marcos J. Reyes, born in 1960 in Bakersfield, California to parents from Chihuahua, Mexico, has been the Latin percussionist for the American progressive soul band War (American band), War since 1998. Career Beginning by practicin ...

Siedah Garrett Deborah Christine "Siedah" Garrett (born June 24, 1960) is an American singer and songwriter who has written songs and performed backing vocals for many recording artists in the music industry, such as Michael Jackson, the Pointer Sisters, Brand N ...

Walfredo Reyes Jr. Walfredo Reyes Jr. (born Walfredo de los Reyes Palau IV; December 18, 1955) is a Cuban American musician who is an expert in drum set and auxiliary percussion, a music educator, and a clinician. He has performed with many jazz, Latin, World musi ...

, and

Spencer Davis Spencer Davis (born Spencer David Nelson Davies; 17 July 193919 October 2020) was a Welsh singer and musician. He founded The Spencer Davis Group, a band that had several hits in the 1960s including "Keep On Running", "Gimme Some Lovin'", and ...

. In the same year, Brian Auger and Oblivion Express played at the KJAZZ festival in Los Angeles, and toured in Japan and Europe with Karma Auger on drums, daughter Ali Auger on vocals,

on vocals, Yarone Levy on guitar, Les King on bass, and Travis Carlton on bass.

Discography

With Steampacket

* ''Rock Generation, Volume 6: The Steampacket (Or the First Supergroup)'' (BYG 529.706, 1970)

As leader

* ''Open'' with

(Marmalade/Atco, 1967) * ''Definitely What!'' (Marmalade/Atco, 1968) * ''

Streetnoise ''Streetnoise'' is a 1969 album by Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger and the Trinity, originally released as a double LP. It includes cover versions of The Doors’ "Light My Fire", Nina Simone’s "Take Me To The Water", Laura Nyro’s "Save the Co ...

'' with Julie Driscoll (Marmalade/Atco, 1969) * ''Jools & Brian'' with Julie Driscoll ompilation of early singles(Capitol, 1969) * ''Befour'' (RCA Victor, 1970) * ''The Best of Brian Auger'' ompilation(RCA Victor, 1977; later expanded/released as a 2-CD set by One Way) * ''Encore'' with Julie Tippetts (Warner Bros., 1978) * ''Search Party'' (Headfirst, 1981) * ''Here and Now'' (Polydor, 1982

984 Year 984 ( CMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – German boy-king Otto III (4-years old) is seized by the deposed Henry II ...

* ''Access All Areas Live'' with

(SPV Records, 1993) * ''Auger Rhythms: Brian Auger's Musical History'' ompilation(Ghostown, 2003) * ''Live at the Baked Potato'' (Ghostown, 2005) * ''Mod Party'' featuring Savannah Grace (Ghostown, 2011 013 * ''Language of the Heart'' (Ghostown, 2012) * ''Train Keeps A-Rolling'' with

Jeff Golub Jeff Golub (April 15, 1955 – January 1, 2015) was an American jazz guitarist who had a solo career and who led the band Avenue Blue. He worked as a sideman for a number of rock and pop musicians. He was arguably best known for his work with Rod ...

(E1/eOne Music, 2013) * ''Back to the Beginning: The Brian Auger Anthology'' (Soul Bank Music, 9/2015) * ''Back to the Beginning... Again: The Brian Auger Anthology, Volume 2'' (Soul Bank Music, 9/2016) * ''Full Circle: Live at Bogies'' (Freestyle, 2018) * ''Introspection'' ompilation(Sunset Blvd, 2020) * ''Auger Incorporated'' ompilation(Soul Bank Music, 2/2022) * ''Search Party'' eissue(Soul Bank Music, 4/2022) * ''Far Horizons – The Trinity Box Set'' (5-LP box set) inyl reissues of ''Open'', ''Definitely What!'', ''Streetnoise'', and ''Befour''(Soul Bank Music, 9/2022)

With the Oblivion Express

* ''Brian Auger's Oblivion Express'' (RCA Victor, 1970

971 Year 971 ( CMLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Battle of Dorostolon: A Byzantine expeditionary army (possibly 30–40,000 men) ...

* ''A Better Land'' (RCA Victor, 1971) * ''Second Wind'' (RCA Victor, 1972) * ''Closer to It!'' (RCA Victor, 1973) * ''Straight Ahead'' (RCA Victor, 1973

974 Year 974 ( CMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Battle of Danevirke: Emperor Otto II defeats the rebel forces of King Harald I, who ha ...

* ''Live Oblivion, Vol. 1'' (RCA Victor, 1974) * ''Live Oblivion, Vol. 2'' (RCA Victor, 1974

976 Year 976 ( CMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * January 10 – Emperor John I Tzimiskes dies at Constantinople, after re ...

* ''Reinforcements'' (RCA Victor, 1975) * ''Happiness Heartaches'' (Warner Bros., 1977) * ''Keys to the Heart'' (One Way, 1987

996 Year 996 ( CMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * February - Chotoku Incident: Fujiwara no Korechika and Takaie shoot an arrow at Retired Em ...

* ''Voices of Other Times'' (Sanctuary, 1999) * ''Looking in the Eye of the World'' (Ghostown, 2005) * ''Live at the Baked Potato'' (Ghostown, 2005) * ''Live in Los Angeles (featuring

)'' (Soul Bank Music, 10/2015) * ''Looking in the Eye Of The World'' eissue(Soul Bank Music, 4/2022) * ''Voices of Other Times'' eissue(Soul Bank Music, 5/2022) * ''Keys to the Heart'' eissue(Soul Bank Music, 5/2022) * ''Brian Auger's Oblivion Express Play the Trinity Hits'' featuring Savannah Grace (Soul Bank Music, 7/2022)

With CAB (
Tony MacAlpine Tony MacAlpine (born August 29, 1960) is an American musician and composer. In a career spanning four decades, he has released twelve studio albums. MacAlpine is best known as an instrumental rock and heavy metal solo guitarist, although he has ...
/
Bunny Brunel Bernard "Bunny" Brunel is a French-American bass guitarist who has played with Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, and Wayne Shorter. He is a founding member of the jazz fusion band CAB and is involved in musical instrument design and film and tel ...
/
Dennis Chambers Dennis Milton Chambers (born May 9, 1959) is an American drummer. He was inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2001. Early life Chambers was born on May 9, 1959. He began drumming at the age of four years, and was gigging in Bal ...
)

* '' CAB'' (Tone Center, 2000) * ''

CAB 2 ''CAB 2'' is the second studio album by the rock/jazz fusion band CAB, released on February 20, 2001 through Tone Center Records.Astarita, Glenn"CAB 2 - Tony MacAlpine" ''AllMusic''. All Media Network. Retrieved 2014-08-26. The album was nomina ...

'' (Tone Center, 2001) * ''

CAB 4 ''CAB 4'' is the third studio album by the instrumental rock/jazz fusion band CAB, released on September 23, 2003 through Favored Nations.

'' (Favored Nations, 2003)

Filmography

*1969 – ''

'' *1972 – ''Brian Auger The Oblivion Express'' (dir. Tomas Dillen, 31 min.) *2005 – ''Brian Auger: Insights of the Keyboard Master'' *2005 – ''Live at the Baked Potato''

References

Other sources

* Daddone, Peter
"Brian Auger In Conversation "
''Jazz Review'', 29 March 2012.

''Get Ready to Rock'', November 2006. *Staczek, Jason

''Jelly Music Magazine''