Ginger Baker's Air Force was a

jazz-rock 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 improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and keyb ...

supergroup led by drummer

Ginger Baker Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker (19 August 1939 – 6 October 2019) was an English drummer. His work in the 1960s and 1970s earned him the reputation of "rock's first superstar drummer", for a style that melded jazz and Music of Africa, Africa ...

History

The band formed in late 1969 upon the disbandment of

Blind Faith Blind Faith were an English supergroup featuring Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Ric Grech. They were eagerly anticipated by the music press following on the success of each of the member's former bands, including Clapton a ...

. The original lineup consisted of

on drums,

Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a keyboard player and vocalist prominent for his disti ...

on organ and vocals,

Ric Grech Richard Roman Grechko (1 November 1945 – 17 March 1990), better known as Ric Grech, was a British rock musician. He is best known for playing bass guitar and violin with rock band Family as well as in the supergroups Blind Faith and Traff ...

on violin and bass, Jeanette Jacobs on vocals,

Denny Laine Denny Laine (born Brian Frederick Hines, 29 October 1944) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter, known as a founder of two major rock bands: the Moody Blues, with whom he played from 1964 to 1966, and Wings, with whom he played from 1 ...

on guitar and vocals,

Phil Seamen Philip William Seamen (28 August 1926 – 13 October 1972) was an English jazz drummer. With a background in big band music, Seamen played and recorded in a wide range of musical contexts with virtually every key figure of 1950s and 1960s Brit ...

on drums, Alan White on drums, Chris Wood on tenor sax and flute,

Graham Bond Graham John Clifton Bond (28 October 1937 – 8 May 1974) was an English rock/blues musician and vocalist, considered a founding father of the English rhythm and blues boom of the 1960s. Bond was an innovator, described as "an important, und ...

on alto sax,

Harold McNair Harold McNair (5 November 1931 – 7 March 1971) was a Jamaican-born saxophonist and flautist. Early life McNair was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He attended the Alpha Boys School under the tutelage of Vincent Tulloch, while playing with Jo ...

on tenor sax and flute, and

Remi Kabaka Remi Kabaka (born 27 March 1945) is an Afro-rock avant-garde drummer. He worked with John Martyn, Hugh Masekela, on '' Rhythm of the Saints'' by Paul Simon, and '' Short Cut Draw Blood'' by Jim Capaldi. He was also an important figure in the 1970 ...

on percussion. Their first live shows, at Birmingham Town Hall in 1969 and the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

, in 1970, also included

Eleanor Barooshian Eleanor Barooshian (April 2, 1950 – August 30, 2016), also known as Eleanor Baruchian and as Chelsea Lee, was a member of the band the Cake (formed in New York in 1966). In 1967, Barooshian appeared in ''You Are What You Eat'', a documentary fil ...

(both Jacobs and Barooshian were former members of girl group

The Cake The Cake was a 1960s girl group consisting of Jeanette Jacobs, Barbara Morillo and Eleanor Barooshian. They were managed and produced by Charles Greene and Brian Stone, two Sunset Strip impresarios who also managed Sonny & Cher, Buffalo S ...

). The band released two albums, both in 1970: ''Ginger Baker's Air Force'' and ''Ginger Baker's Air Force 2''. The second album involved substantially different personnel from the first, with Ginger Baker and Graham Bond being the primary constants between albums. Ginger Baker's Air Force also played a set at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

(original) on 19 April 1970, during the start of the World Cup Rally, which went from London to Mexico City. In late 2015 Baker announced he would be touring in 2016 with a new version of Ginger Baker's Air Force. The band booked a world tour under the name Ginger Baker's Air Force 3. Baker's blog said the band would be "showcasing new talent and collaborating with old friends." The band played one show in London on 26 January 2015; the performance was shortened and Baker had to take many breaks due to an injury he had previously sustained. In late February 2016 the entire tour was cancelled due to doctors having diagnosed Baker with "serious heart problems". Baker died in October 2019.

Band members

Members

– drums, percussion, vocals *

– guitar, piano, vocals *

– bass, violin *

– saxophone, flute * Chris Wood – saxophone, flute *

– saxophone, organ, piano, vocals *

– drums, percussion *

– organ, bass, vocals * Jeanette Jacobs – vocals *

– percussion, drums * Alan White – drums, piano * Colin Gibson – saxophone, bass *Diane Stewart – vocals *

– vocals *

Rocky Dzidzornu Kwasi Dzidzornu (1935 – March 13, 1993), also known as Rocky Dijon, was a Ghanaian percussionist known for his playing on recordings by The Rolling Stones, Nick Drake, Ginger Baker, Stevie Wonder, Billy Preston and Joe Walsh. During the 1970s h ...

– percussion, congas * Catherine James – vocals * Ken Craddock – guitar, organ, piano, vocals * Steve Gregory – saxophone, flute *Bud Beadle – saxophone *Aliki Ashman – vocals *Neemoi "Speedy" Acquaye – congas, percussion, drums *

Gasper Lawal Gasper Lawal (born 23 September 1948 in Ijebu Ode, Nigeria) is a Nigerian drummer, griot, and composer who has publicized traditional African percussive languages in the West. As a performer, his "Afriki" sound created a fusion of Nigerian percussi ...

– congas *Johnny Haastrup – vocals

Timeline

Discography

Albums

*''

Ginger Baker's Air Force Ginger Baker's Air Force was a jazz-rock fusion supergroup led by drummer Ginger Baker. History The band formed in late 1969 upon the disbandment of Blind Faith. The original lineup consisted of Ginger Baker on drums, Steve Winwood on orga ...

'' (Recorded Live at The Royal Albert Hall, London, 1970) LP X 2 Polydor – 2662 001 (1970) (UK) *'' Ginger Baker's Air Force 2'' (Recorded at Trident Studios, London, May and October 1970 and at Olympic Studios, London, September 1970) LP X 1 Polydor – 2383 029 (1970) (UK, USA, Italy)(Germany, France, Spain, Australia, New Zealand : different track listing) *''Live in Offenbach, Germany 1970'' (Recorded Live in the Stadthalle, Offenbach Germany 1970) CD X 2 Voiceprint – VPTMQ055CD (2010) (UK) *''Do What You Like'' (Recorded Live at the Lyceum, London (UK) on 1 February 1971 and live at the City Hall, Sheffield (UK) on 7 December 1970 + studio outtakes, October 1970) CD X 1 ITM Archives ITM 920016 (2015) (UK)

Compilations

*''Free Kings'' LP x1 Karussell – 2499 018 (1971) (Germany) *''Once Upon A Time'' LP X 2 RSO – 2658 138 (1972) (Germany) *''Pop Giants'' LP X 1 Brunswick – 2911 522 (1973) (Germany) *''Pop History'' LP X 2 Polydor – 2478 016/2478 017 (1974) (Germany)

Single

*''Man of Constant Sorrow / Doin' It'' Polydor – 56380 (1970) (UK)

DVD

*''Live 1970'' (Filmed in 1970 for German television) DVD x 1, Stereo, NTSC, Gonzo Multimedia – HST035DVD (2010) (UK)

References

External links

*
Ginger Baker's Official Website
{{Authority control English jazz-rock groups Musical groups disestablished in 1970 Atco Records artists Musical groups from London