Ray Erskine Parker Jr. is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. As a solo performer, he wrote and performed the theme song for the 1984 film Ghostbusters. Previously, Parker achieved a US top-5 hit in 1982 with "The Other Woman". He also performed with his band, Raydio, and with Barry White in the Love Unlimited Orchestra.
Secrets is a jazz-funk fusion album by keyboard player Herbie Hancock. It is also Hancock's seventeenth album overall. Participating musicians include saxophonist Bennie Maupin and guitarist Wah Wah Watson.
Alphonse Lee Mouzon was an American musician and vocalist, most prominently known as a jazz fusion drummer. He was also a composer, arranger, producer, and actor. Mouzon gained popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was the owner of Tenacious Records, a label that primarily released Mouzon's recordings.
Kevin Kraig Toney was an American jazz pianist and composer who was a member of The Blackbyrds.
Salvador Santana is a singer, spoken word artist, songwriter, and composer. His main instruments are the electronic keyboard and piano. He is the son of ten-time Grammy winning guitarist Carlos Santana and poet/author/activist Deborah Santana. His maternal grandfather, Saunders King, is an icon of American blues and his paternal grandfather, Jose Santana, is a violinist and mariachi bandleader.
The Quintet is an album by V.S.O.P. It was compiled from two concert performances: one at the Greek Theatre, University of California, Berkeley, on July 16, 1977; the other at the San Diego Civic Theatre on July 18, 1977. The quintet were keyboardist Herbie Hancock, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, drummer Tony Williams, bassist Ron Carter and saxophonist Wayne Shorter. The album was originally released in October 1977 as a 2-disc LP by Columbia Records.
Lite Me Up is a pop album with a strong disco-funk feel by Herbie Hancock. It was Hancock's first release without producer David Rubinson since 1969. On this album, Hancock was influenced by his long-time friend, producer Quincy Jones and sessions included many musicians associated with Jones including Steve Lukather and Jeff Porcaro of Toto. The album was the first on which Hancock played the Synclavier, a digital polyphonic synthesizer.
Mr. Hands is the twenty-fourth album by Herbie Hancock. Unlike the preceding album, Monster, which was conceptualized as a dance album, Mr. Hands is a collection of different musical styles with distinct groups. It features bass guitarist Jaco Pastorius on the track "4 A.M.," plus multiple guests including Bennie Maupin, Sheila E. and Ron Carter, plus an all-synthesizer track ("Textures") performed entirely by Hancock. "Shiftless Shuffle" was recorded by the members of the Headhunters quintet in 1973 during the sessions for the album Head Hunters. This album was the first on which Hancock used a computer, this time an Apple II. He would continue his relationship with Apple Computer for many years.
That's a Plenty is the second studio album by the American female vocal group The Pointer Sisters. It was released in 1974 on Blue Thumb Records.
Feets, Don't Fail Me Now is the twenty-seventh album by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock. The record was released in February 1979 by Columbia Records.
Sunlight is an album by keyboardist Herbie Hancock. It features Hancock's vocals through a Sennheiser VSM-201 vocoder, as well as performances by drummer Tony Williams and bassist Jaco Pastorius on “Good Question”.
Monster is the 29th album by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock. As a follow-up to the album Feets, Don't Fail Me Now (1979), it continued the trend of disco songs. The album features vocals on each track, this time without vocoder processing. The album also includes an appearance by Carlos Santana on the opening track "Saturday Night"; this track was the first of many eventual collaborations with Santana, including the 1980 album The Swing of Delight. The track "Stars In Your Eyes" was issued as an extended 12" single.
V.S.O.P. is a 1977 double live album by keyboardist Herbie Hancock, featuring acoustic jazz performances by the V.S.O.P. Quintet, jazz fusion/ jazz-funk performances by the ‘Mwandishi’ band and The Headhunters.
Directstep is the twenty-fourth studio album by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock. The record was released exclusively in Japan on January 21, 1979, via the Japanese CBS/Sony label. Participating musicians include saxophonist Bennie Maupin, keyboardist Webster Lewis, bass guitarist Paul Jackson, guitarist Ray Obiedo, percussionist Bill Summers, and drummer Alphonse Mouzon.
CoreaHancock is an acoustic live album by Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock. It was recorded over the course of several live performances in February 1978 and released in 1979. Corea has top billing on this album, as Hancock did for An Evening with Herbie Hancock & Chick Corea: In Concert, another recording of the same tour released on Hancock's label. The CD version heavily edits what was released on the final side of the vinyl version.
Death Wish: Original Soundtrack Recording is a soundtrack album by Herbie Hancock featuring music composed for Dino De Laurentiis' film Death Wish released on October 11, 1974, on Columbia Records.
Tasty is the second solo album released by recording artist Patti LaBelle, her second solo album with Epic Records. Compared to the success of her debut album, released the previous year, the album performed only modestly well but featured the popular tunes "Eyes in the Back of My Head", which became a club hit, the Latin soul flavored "Teach Me Tonight ", the David Lasley composition "I See Home" and the ballad "Little Girls". "Eyes in the Back of My Head" became an international hit reaching the top five of the Italian singles chart. The album also featured covers of songs by Boz Scaggs, The Drifters and Roy Hamilton in addition to a couple songs co-written by LaBelle herself, including "Teach Me Tonight" and "Quiet Time".
Peter Michael Escovedo III is an American percussionist and musical director.
The Automatt was a sound recording studio in San Francisco, California, promoted for its early mix automation system. During its eight active years, 1976 to 1984, it was one of the top recording studios in the region. The Automatt was founded by producer David Rubinson and opened in an existing studio subleased from Columbia Records, who continued to record in the same building for a few years; thus it was sometimes referred to as CBS/Automatt. Rubinson leased the whole building in 1978 and from that point, operated three rooms for recording and mixing, a mastering room, a rehearsal room, and offices. The studio complex was known for its top-notch equipment, for the hit records it produced, and for the famous artists who recorded there. Under Rubinson and chief engineer Fred Catero it served as the training ground for respected recording engineers such as Leslie Ann Jones and producers such as Scott Mathews.
Butterfly is a studio album by Kimiko Kasai with Herbie Hancock, originally released only in Japan in 1979. This is the only vocal collection album of Hancock's compositions, including six tracks, with accompaniment by Hancock's regular group. The title track "Butterfly" makes an appearance following the original album Thrust (1974), and this is also a vocal version. In 2018, this album was reissued in the UK from Be With Records.
