On CD
Movin' & Changin' the best of Brass Construction - EMI 1993
With their cosmopolitan mix of hard funk, big band
jazz, Latin salsa and delicate Caribbean upbeats, Brass Construction had
a profound effect on the music of the 1970's. Coupling dance floor cool
with commercial savy, "BC" masterminded a brand of sophisticated pop that,
mixed with mainstream jazz and African folk, extended the historical concerns
of black popular music into the rhytmic world of urban America.
Led by keyboards player and singer Randy Muller
(b. Guyana), Brass Construction was a leading group in the disco movement
of the 70s. Muller originally formed the band in Brooklyn, New York, as
Dynamic Soul, mixing funk, salsa and reggae rhythms with a more orthodox
jazz line-up to create a highly danceable sound. Renamed Brass Construction,
the nine-piece group was signed by United Artists in 1975. The members
included Michael Grudge (b. Jamaica) and Jesse Ward Jnr. saxophones), Wayne
Parris (b. Jamaica) and Morris Price (trumpets), Joseph Arthur Wong (b.Trinidad;
guitar), Wade Williamson (bass), Larry Payton (drums) and percussionist
Sandy Billups.With infectious polyrhythms and minimal, chanted vocals,
the group's first release, 'Movin'', topped the R&B charts and was
a pop Top 20 hit. It was followed by 'Changin'', 'Ha Cha Cha' and 'L-O-V-E-U',
which were all bestsellers. Later singles were less successful, although
successive
Brass Construction albums rode the disco boom. Muller also wrote for
and produced New York disco group Skyy and B.T. Express. The
group's popularity dwindled in the 80s, although the remix crazebrought
numerous versions of their early hits into the clubs in 1988, including
'Ha Cha Cha (Acieed Mix)'.
Changin' by Brass Construction 1976 -