The Free Spirits was an American band credited as the first

jazz-rock 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 ...

group. The band also incorporated elements of pop and

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

. Their first album ''Out of Sight and Sound'' was recorded in 1966 and released in 1967.

History

The band formed in New York as a

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 ...

group. Every member except Chip Baker had a background in jazz. According to drummer

Bob Moses Robert Moses (1888–1981) was an American city planner. Robert Moses may also refer to: * Bob Moses (activist) (1935–2021), American educator and civil rights activist * Bob Moses, American football player in the 1962 Cotton Bowl Classic * Bob M ...

, guitarist Larry Coryell turned the group to more rock-oriented music. The band played several times in a New York club called The Scene but made little money from the shows, getting paid only ten dollars as a group per night. The band also performed with

Mitch Ryder Mitch Ryder (born William Sherille Levise, Jr.; February 26, 1945) is an American musician who has recorded more than 25 albums over more than four decades. Career Ryder formed his first band, Tempest, when he was at Warren High School, and th ...

and

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. By 1967, Coryell left the band to play with

Gary Burton Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American jazz vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused him to be he ...

. Moses also joined Burton because he "knew that it wasn't going to be the same without Coryell". Pepper, Hills, and Baker formed the band Everything is Everything with Lee Reinoehl on Hammond C-3 organ and both John Waller and Jim Zitro on drums.

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released their self-titled album, which included Pepper's composition "Witchi Tai To". Moses later recorded with Jack DeJohnette,

Steve Swallow Steve Swallow (born October 4, 1940) is an American jazz bassist and composer, known for his collaborations with Jimmy Giuffre, Gary Burton, and Carla Bley. He was one of the first jazz double bassists to switch entirely to electric bass guitar. ...

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progre ...

Jaco Pastorius John Francis Anthony "Jaco" Pastorius III (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987) was an American jazz bassist, composer and producer. He recorded albums as a solo artist and band leader and was a member of Weather Report from 1976 to 1981. ...

, and Coryell.

Personnel

* Larry Coryell – lead guitar, sitar, lead vocals * Columbus "Chip" Baker – rhythm guitar, backing vocals *

Jim Pepper Jim Gilbert Pepper II (June 18, 1941 – February 10, 1992) was a jazz saxophonist, composer and singer of Kaw and Muscogee Creek Native American heritage. He moved to New York City in 1964, where he came to prominence in the late 1960s as a mem ...

– tenor sax, flute * Chris Hills – bass guitar *

– drums

Discography

* ''Out of Sight and Sound'' (ABC, 1967) * ''Live at the Scene'' (Sunbeam, 2011)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Free Spirits, The American jazz-rock groups Rock music groups from New York (state)