Cold Blood is a long-standing R&B horn funk band founded by Larry Field in 1968, and was originally based in the East Bay region of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. The band has also performed and recorded under the name Lydia Pense and Cold Blood, due to the popularity of their lead singer,

Lydia Pense Lydia Pense (born Lydia Jane Pense in San Francisco, California on December 14, 1947) is an American rock-soul-jazz singer who, since 1969, has performed with the band Cold Blood. Critics have compared her style to powerful singers including ...

History

The band first came to prominence in 1969 when rock

impresario An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer. Hist ...

Bill Graham signed them after an audition, and they played the

Fillmore West The Fillmore West was a historic rock and roll music venue in San Francisco, California, US which became famous under the direction of concert promoter Bill Graham from 1968 to 1971. Named after The Fillmore at the intersection of Fillmore Str ...

in San Francisco. Pense has been compared to

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and musician. One of the most successful and widely known Rock music, rock stars of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and "electric" stage ...

, and it was Joplin who recommended the audition to Graham. The term "East Bay Grease" has been used to describe the San Francisco Bay Area's brass horn heavy funk-rock sound of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s; Cold Blood was one of the pioneer bands of this sound. Another was

Tower of Power Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. There have been a number of lead vocalists, the best-known being Lenny Williams, who fronted the b ...

. The Tower of Power horn players have performed with Cold Blood on a regular basis since the early 1970s. Skip Mesquite and

Mic Gillette Mic Gillette (May 7, 1951 – January 17, 2016) was an American brass player, born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area's East Bay. He is best known for being a member of the bands; Tower of Power, Cold Blood, and The Sons of Champlin. He pl ...

have been members of both Tower of Power and Cold Blood. The band disbanded in the late 1970s. Pense suspended her music career in the early 1980s to raise her daughter Danielle, before re-forming the group in 1988. The band stabilized with its current membership in the 1990s. Cold Blood continues to record and perform today, and some former band members such as Raul Matute (and some from Tower of Power) appear on the band's most recent album. Cold Blood were featured playing "You Got Me Hummin'" live in '' Fillmore: The Last Days'', a documentary of the last concerts at the

auditorium during July 1971.

Personnel

Original band members were founder Larry Field (lead guitar),

(vocals), Danny Hull (tenor saxophone and songwriter), Larry Jonutz (trumpet; born March 15, 1947), Pat O'Hara (trombone; born May 25, 1946 (?), died August 1977 of an overdose), Raul Matute (Hammond organ, piano, arranger and songwriter, born February 19, 1946), Jerry Jonutz (baritone, alto and tenor saxophone; born March 15, 1947), David Padron (trumpet; born May 4, 1946), Rod Ellicott (bass), and Frank Davis, who was replaced on drums by Sandy McKee (real name Cecil James Stoltie, born July 12, 1945, died October 15, 1995) during the ''Sisyphus'' sessions. Current personnel are Pense (vocals), Steve Salinas (keyboards), Steve Dunne (guitar), Mike Morgan (percussion), Evan Palmerston (bass), Rich Armstrong (trumpet, cornet, percussion), Rob Zuckerman (alto, tenor, baritone saxes, and flute) and

Donny Baldwin Donald Baldwin (born June 22, 1950/1951) is an American drummer best known as a member of Jefferson Starship (1982–1984; 2008–present) and its continuation Starship (1984–1989). Early life Baldwin was raised in Palo Alto, California. He at ...

(drums).

Current members

- vocals *Steve Salinas - keyboards *Steve Dunne - guitar and vocals *Evan Palmerston - bass and vocals *Rich Armstrong - trumpet, percussion *Rob Zuckerman - saxophone *Dana Moret – vocals

Additional personnel

*Max Haskett - vocals, trumpet *Bill Atwood - trumpet * Stevie "Keys" Roseman - Hammond B-3 organ *Jim Preston - drums *Michael Sasaki - guitar *Jeff Tamelier - guitar *Tom Poole - horns * Bill Slais - saxophone *Michael White - bass *T Moran - Drums

Former members

Over the years there have been various incarnations of the band, including singer/trumpet player Max Haskett (born 7 March 1947, died 15 September 1999, ex-

Rubicon The Rubicon ( la, Rubico; it, Rubicone ; rgn, Rubicôn ) is a shallow river in northeastern Italy, just north of Rimini. It was known as Fiumicino until 1933, when it was identified with the ancient river Rubicon, famously crossed by Julius Ca ...

); Tower of Power horn player

;

Journey Journey or journeying may refer to: * Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations ** Day's journey, a measurement of distance ** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road Animals * Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...

keyboardist Stevie "Keys" Roseman on Hammond B-3 organ;

Sons of Champlin The Sons of Champlin are an American rock band, from Marin County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area, formed in 1965. They are fronted by vocalist-keyboardist-guitarist Bill Champlin, who later joined rock band Chicago, from 1981 to 20 ...

drummer, Jim Preston;

Starship A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 188 ...

drummer T. Moran; guitar player Michael Sasaki (born June 24, 1951); Tower of Power guitarist Jeff Tamelier;

Boz Scaggs William Royce "Boz" Scaggs (born June 8, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. An early bandmate of Steve Miller in The Ardells and the Steve Miller Band, he began his solo career in 1969, though he lacked a major hit until h ...

horn player Tom Poole; Elvin Bishop sax player Bill Slais; bass player Michael White and others. * Michael Sasaki - lead guitar * Peter Welker - lead trumpet *

- horns *

Danny Hull Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to the male name Daniel. It may refer to: People * Danny Altmann, British immunologist *Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer *Danny Baker (born 1957), English journali ...

- tenor saxophone and songwriter * Larry Jonutz - trumpet *Pat O'Hara - trombone * Raul Matute - Hammond organ, piano, arranger and songwriter * Jerry Jonutz - saxophone * David Padron - trumpet * Rod Ellicott - bass *Frank Davis - drums *

Sandy McKee Sandy may refer to: People and fictional characters *Sandy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Sandy (surname), a list of people *Sandy (singer), Brazilian singer and actress Sandy Leah Lima (born 1983) *(Sandy) A ...

- drums * Alex Sarmiento - bass *

Skip Mesquite Skip or Skips may refer to: Acronyms * SKIP (Skeletal muscle and kidney enriched inositol phosphatase), a human gene * Simple Key-Management for Internet Protocol * SKIP of New York (Sick Kids need Involved People), a non-profit agency aiding ...

- tenor sax and vocals * Michael Andreas - tenor sax *

Gaylord Birch Gaylord G. Birch (March 10, 1946 – April 14, 1996) was a drummer for the bands Santana, Graham Central Station, Cold Blood, Pointer Sisters & Herbie Hancock. History Birch was the drummer for the Pointer Sisters during 1974 and perfor ...

- drums * Eric Dunan - trumpet * T Moran - Drums * Rob Moitoza - Bass

Discography

Their initial four albums, ''Cold Blood'' (produced by

David Rubinson David Rubinson (born August 7, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York)Internet Movie DatabaseMini-Biography of David Rubinson Retrieved 2012-06-05.as of 2017 it's 1962? is an American recording engineer and music producer, who was particularly involved in music ...

), ''Sisyphus'' (produced by

Fred Catero Fred Catero (February 4, 1933 – October 6, 2022) was an American record producer and engineer. Catero was originally from New York City, where he worked for CBS Records/Columbia, recording artists such as Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears. Invit ...

), ''First Taste of Sin'' (produced by

Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, and arranger whom ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto", "This Christmas ...

), and ''Thriller'' (produced by David Rubinson), remain their best-known work.

Albums

*'' Cold Blood'' (1969) *''Sisyphus'' (1970) *''

First Taste of Sin ''First Taste of Sin'' is the third album by the Oakland, California band Cold Blood. This album is noted for being produced by soul singer/musician Donny Hathaway. It also includes the original version of Hathaway's "Valdez in the Country", ...

'' (1972) *'' Thriller'' (1973) *''Lydia'' (1974) *''The Best of Cold Blood'' (1975) *''Lydia Pense and Cold Blood'' (1976), the last album before the band's hiatus *''Vintage Blood: Live! 1973'' (live album, 2001) *''Transfusion'' (2005) *''Lydia Pense & Cold Blood: Live Blood'' (live album, 2008) *''Lydia Pense & Cold Blood, "The River City Sessions"'' (2011) *''Lydia Pense & Cold Blood, "Soul of the Gypsy"'' (2015)

Chart singles

*"You Got Me Hummin'" (1970, No. 52 Pop) *"Too Many People" (1970, No. 107 'Bubbling Under' chart) *"I'm a Good Woman" (1970, No. 125 'Bubbling Under' chart)

References

External links

Official site for Lydia Pense and Cold Blood
* {{Authority control American funk musical groups Musical groups from Oakland, California