Pieces of a Dream is an American R&B and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

fusion group.

Overview

The group was formed in Philadelphia during 1976 by bassist Cedric Napoleon, drummer Curtis Harmon, and keyboardist James Lloyd who were all teenagers at the time. The group based their name on " Pieces of Dreams", a

Michel Legrand Michel Jean Legrand (; 24 February 1932 – 26 January 2019) was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and jazz pianist. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to many son ...

tune recorded by

Stanley Turrentine Stanley William Turrentine (April 5, 1934 – September 12, 2000) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He began his career playing R&B for Earl Bostic and later soul jazz recording for the Blue Note label from 1960, touched on jazz fusion dur ...

that they regularly performed. During 1981 Pieces of a Dream had a minor soul hit with 'Warm Weather' (vocals by singer Barbara Walker and synthesizer by

Dexter Wansel Dexter Gilman Wansel (born August 22, 1950) is an American R&B/jazz fusion singer, arranger, musician, composer, conductor, synthesist and A&R director. Early life Dexter Wansel began as an errand boy backstage at the Uptown Theater in Philade ...

) which was recorded on Elektra Records and co-produced by

. In late 1983, the group had their most successful single, "Fo-Fi-Fo", which peaked at No. 13 on the US soul chart. The single "What Can I Do", from the album Bout Dat Time'', with Norwood on the lead vocals, peaked at No. 17 on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot R&B Singles chart in February 1990. Tracy Hamlin, was the group's lead vocalist from 2002 to 2005 and sings on two of their albums, ''Love Silhouette'' and ''No Assembly Required''.No Assembly Required
/ref> David Dyson has been the core bassist with the group from 2001 to the present and has also been a composer on "No Assembly Required", "Soul Intent", "In The Moment", "Just Funkin' Around", and "Fired Up". Gerald Veasley and Scott Ambush have shared the bass chair intermittently as well.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial site of David Dyson
{{Authority control Jazz fusion ensembles Musical groups established in 1976 Musical groups from Philadelphia Musical groups from Pennsylvania American rhythm and blues musical groups Smooth jazz ensembles Heads Up International artists Elektra Records artists