Niagara (Fusion Band)
Niagara was a multinational fusion project led by Klaus Weiss that existed between 1971 and 1973 and began as a percussion band.
history
The drummer, composer and arranger Klaus Weiss had the idea in 1971 to put together a band that completely dispensed with melody instruments and instead used all imaginable percussion and percussion instruments. Since "the large reservoir of drummers in and around Munich made it easy to find suitable players" (according to Weiss), he brought together seven other percussionists in the Munich Union Studio: the bebop legend Joe Harris and Cotch Blackmon ( Between , Sinto) and George Greene (Veit Marvos, Haboob) from the USA, the British Keith Forsey ( Klaus Doldingers Motherhood, Amon Düül II ), the Venezuelan Juan Romero and the Germans Udo Lindenberg (Motherhood, Passport , Free Orbit , Emergency) and Daniel Fichelscher ( Gila , Amon Düül II, Popol Vuh ). “African rhythms and a slightly voodoo- like mood” characterize the first work, which was published by Liberty / United Artists .
After good record sales, Weiss was able to go back to the studio in February 1972, but this time with a different conception - with melody instruments ( Ack van Rooyen on trumpet, Ferdinand Povel on tenor saxophone and flute, Christian Schulze on keyboard, Paul Vincent on guitar and Gary Unwin on bass) and thinned out percussion (besides him there were only Lindenberg on second drums and percussionists Daniel Fichelscher and Joe Harris). In addition to him, Schulze and Unwin also contributed to the repertoire with compositions: "Psychedelic krautrock , funk, swing and bebop can now be heard from the speakers at the same time."
For the third album, which was released in 1973, a different concept was chosen: the drummers and percussionists Weiss, George Brown, Sabu Rex and Norman Tolbert were contrasted with bassist Dave King alone , in order to perform exclusively pieces by Weiss again, as with the first record . This studio ensemble did not perform live.
meaning
“The musical meaning of the Niagara songs cannot be overestimated in terms of music history.” According to laut.de, the band combined “in equal parts a kind of catchy Miles Davis variant with powerful Sly Stone - funk and boisterous psy rock Teutonic character. "
Discography
- Niagara (1971)
- SUB (1972)
- Afire (1972)
Web links
- portrait
- Niagara on the baby blue pages