Fifth Avenue Band
The Fifth Avenue Band was an American rock band that set accents in the late 1960s with a mixture of rock , folk rock , country rock and jazz elements . She was part of the West Village music scene in Greenwich Village , New York City , USA , alongside groups like The Lovin 'Spoonful and The Blues Magoos .
The band
Kenny Altman (vocals, bass guitar), Jerry Burnham (vocals, guitar), and Peter Gallway (vocals, guitar) met when they were high school students in New York City. In 1965 they formed the band The Strangers and recorded Land Of Music / I Need Your Love Inside Me, a single that was barely known. In the late 1960s they found themselves in the Fifth Avenue Band , along with drummer Pete Heywood, singer Jon Lind and keyboardist Murray Weinstock .
In 1969 they were able to sign a record deal with Reprise Records and record an album of the same name, which, thanks to their relationship with The Lovin 'Spoonful, was produced by former members Jerry Yester and Zal Yanovsky and by Erik Jacobsen . The songs were mostly written by Altman and Gallway and spanned a stylistic spectrum from down-to-earth rock and country rock (Gallway) to jazz-influenced rhythms and harmonies (Altman).
The band that u. a. appeared in the Night Owl Cafe in New York, broke up in 1970, but found again in 1990, without Burnham, for the reunion album Really , which was released on a Japanese label. Among the performing musicians were Jeff Pevar (later at CPR with David Crosby and his son James Raymond ) and Hamish Stuart ( Paul McCartney Band).
Solo careers since 1971
Kenny Altman formed the backing band of John Sebastian in 1971, together with Paul Harris (keyboards) and Dallas Taylor (drummer on the albums Crosby, Stills & Nash , 1969, and Déjà Vu by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young , 1970) . While Harris and Taylor soon became members of Stephen Stills ' band Manassas , Altman remained a close friend and musical companion of Sebastian until 1976 and played on Sebastian's albums The Four Of Us, Tarzana Kid and Welcome Back .
He continued to write songs, including a. Feelin 'Blue , recorded by Earth, Wind & Fire and worked as a session musician, among others. a. at performances of the musical Hair on Broadway. Until 1993 he worked as a singer, guitarist and bassist on numerous recordings, including a. by Steven Fromholz , Jules & The Polar Bears , Peter Gallway , Mark Sebastian , David Batteau and Whitehorse . Altman has been working as a restaurateur since 1993.
Peter Gallway founded the Ohio Knox group in 1971 and then started a solo career. He lives in Santa Barbara, California, USA, where he works on various projects, including a. with Mark Sebastian and Jon Lind. In 2008 he gave several concerts with Jeff Pevar.
Jon Lind founded the trio Howdy Moon with Valerie Carter and Richard Hovey in 1974 and recorded an album of the same name. In 1976 he sang on John Sebastian LP Welcome Back and produced 1989 album Heart Of Stone from Cher . Together with Phil Galdston and Wendy Waldman , he has been working as a composer team since the 1990s and has numerous chart hits , including a. Written for Madonna ( Crazy For You ), Celine Dion ( Sleep Tight ) and Earth, Wind & Fire ( Boogie Wonderland ), including Save The Best For Last , Vanessa Lynn Williams' biggest success (# 1 on Billboard Top 100 singles and ASCAP Song Of The Year 1992).
Murray Weinstock is still active as a musician. He is also committed to a better life for dogs and in 2006 recorded the blues and jazz album Tales Of The City , with songs from the perspective of dogs with contributions from the pen of John Sebastian, Dr. John and Phoebe Snow , including his own composition The Dachs Song .
Jerry Burnham was bass player in James Taylor's backing band called The Flying Machine as early as 1966 . The then recorded album James Taylor and the Original Flying Machine was re-released in 1971. Also in 1971 Burnham recorded The Quinames Band, their first LP of the same name. Other musicians on the album were Dave Palmer (vocals), Danny Kortchmar (guitar) and Allan "Jake" Jacobs (guitar). In 1973 he played the flute on Steve Goodman 's album Somebody Else's Troubles .
Pete Heywood had worked as a drum teacher since 1961 and is still in the profession today. His students included Bobby Rondenelli from Black Sabbath and John Miceli from Meat Loaf . By 2009 he published three textbooks for drumming and several articles in Creative Drummer Magazine .
music
In terms of musical style, two directions met in the repertoire of the Fifth Avenue Band in 1969. While Peter Gallway oriented himself towards the new tendency towards simpler structures and arrangements in the styles of rock and country rock, Kenny Altman wrote songs with well thought-out choral arrangements, swinging rhythms and jazzy harmonies, similar to the Association and Lovin 'Spoonful ( You Didn't Have To Be So Nice ). The musicians were unable to merge both styles into a uniform concept. As an example of what this might have sounded like, the Eagles song Take It Easy may be cited. While Gallway was able to continue with his, then more modern, direction to this day, Altman's diverse, atmospherically sunny-looking style had no future in the long run. The last time he recorded in 1976, together with Jon Lind and John Sebastian, a similar piece with Sebastian's song Welcome Back (title song of the TV series Welcome Back, Kotter ).
The Fifth Avenue Band's second album is written, arranged and orchestrated entirely in the styles of pop music of the 1980s and is indistinguishable from other productions of the time.
Discography
- The Fifth Avenue Band (1972)
- Really (1990)