Ginger Baker's Air Force was a
jazz-rock fusion
Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...
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 rock supergroup that consisted of Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Ric Grech. They followed the success of each of the member's former bands, including Clapton and Baker's former group Cream and ...
. The original lineup consisted of
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 ...
on drums,
Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a guitarist, keyboard player, and vocalist prominent for his dis ...
on organ and vocals,
Ric Grech on violin and bass,
Jeanette Jacobs on vocals,
Denny Laine
Brian Frederick Hines (29 October 1944 – 5 December 2023), known professionally as Denny Laine, was an English musician who co-founded two major rock bands: the Moody Blues and Wings. Laine played guitar in the Moody Blues from 1964 to 1966 ...
on guitar and vocals,
Phil Seamen on drums,
Alan White on drums,
Chris Wood on tenor sax and flute,
Graham Bond 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 Joe ...
on tenor sax and flute, and
Remi Kabaka on percussion. Their first live shows, at
Birmingham Town Hall
Birmingham Town Hall is a concert hall and venue for popular assemblies opened in 1834 and situated in Victoria Square, Birmingham, England. It is a Grade I listed building.
The hall underwent a major renovation between 2002 and 2007. It no ...
in 1969 and the
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272.
Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
, in 1970, also included
Eleanor Barooshian (both Jacobs and Barooshian were former members of girl group
The Cake).
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, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
(original) on 19 April 1970, during the start of the
World Cup Rally, which went from London to Mexico City. They also played at the Hollywood Music Festival held at Leycett (near Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England), on 24 May 1970.
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
*
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 ...
– drums, percussion, vocals
*
Denny Laine
Brian Frederick Hines (29 October 1944 – 5 December 2023), known professionally as Denny Laine, was an English musician who co-founded two major rock bands: the Moody Blues and Wings. Laine played guitar in the Moody Blues from 1964 to 1966 ...
– guitar, piano, vocals
*
Ric Grech – bass, violin
*
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 Joe ...
– saxophone, flute
*
Chris Wood – saxophone, flute
*
Graham Bond – saxophone, organ, piano, vocals
*
Phil Seamen – drums, percussion
*
Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a guitarist, keyboard player, and vocalist prominent for his dis ...
– organ, bass, vocals
*
Jeanette Jacobs – vocals
*
Remi Kabaka – percussion, drums
*
Alan White – drums, piano
*
Colin Gibson – saxophone, bass
*Diane Stewart – vocals
*
Eleanor Barooshian – vocals
*
Rocky Dzidzornu
Kwasi "Rocky" Dzidzornu, also known as Rocky Dijon, was a Ghanaian-born percussionist known for his 1960s and 1970s work with rock and R&B artists.
Biography
Dzidzornu was born in the British Gold Coast colony (later Ghana), on 28 February 1932 ...
– 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 – congas
*Johnny Haastrup – vocals
Timeline
Discography
Albums
*''
Ginger Baker's Air Force'' (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
Rock music groups from London