The Jazz/Rock Fusion And Burning Soul Of Brian Auger (A Conversation)

I've previously mentioned my prior involvement with the highly progressive jazz fusion station of the 1970's, KRE in Berkeley, California. More than a just a commercial jazz outlet, KRE simulcast its evocative programming on both the AM and FM bands with a heady mix of modern jazz, third stream and the burgeoning rock/funk/fusion of the period. Added to this was a liberal dose of reggae, salsa, r & b, soul and blues, a package of sounds that today is only possible on non-commercial radio, if even found there. To hear quality jazz in stereo on the FM side was a delight to be sure, but to hear the exact same mix streaming over the AM band 24/7 was nothing short of a marvel! KRE was a uniquely original station in it's time for both its focus and approach to jazz which naturally made its studios a mecca for the musicians whose music was prominently featured. Aided by its close proximity to the very active Fantasy Record recording studios just a few blocks away, KRE practically became a second home for the purveyors of the art, looking for camaraderie and a bit of promotion, of course. Impromptu visits from musicians in town for a record date, passing through on the road to L.A. or Japan, or merely dropping by for the welcoming atmosphere were frequent occurrences. The stations clout allowed the air staff to met, hangout and spin records with many wonderful players throughout its lifetime. With the departure of a key member of our team, I took over the production chores for a program called 'The Sound Of The Bay' which featured in-depth interviews with musicians of the San Francisco Bay Area exclusively. At the time, the list was plentiful --- Joe Henderson, Herbie Hancock, Denny Zeitlin, Carlos Santana, George Duke, Tony Williams and Cal Tjader --- to name a few of the more highly visible. One other musician who called 'The Bay' their home at the time was English expatriate, Brian Auger who was a solid supporter of KRE and often sang its praises. Of course KRE was also one of the few commercial radio stations where his music could be actually heard outside of a few adventurous rock stations, but Brian genuinely loved what we did and was always a welcomed guest, and he is also the subject of this week's music mix here at Birds With Broken Wings.

Brian, one of the founding fathers of jazz fusion, began his professional career in earnest as a session player for The Yardbirds, supplying the instantly recognizable harpsichord strains on the beginning of their hit single, 'For Your Love.' From there, Auger was recruited by Long John Baldry for an ad hoc revue christened, Steampacket, whose life was brief but illustrious with guitarist Vic Briggs, drummer Mickey Waller and additional vocalists Rod Stewart and Julie Driscoll. With its demise, Auger kept Driscoll in tow and set out to form the first true jazz/rock band in history, 'Brian Auger & The Trinity,' playing a "combination of Jimmy Smith, blues, Motown and Blakey's Messengers." Julie Driscoll's vocal depth belied her youth and certainly lent an attractive 'face' to the band which headlined the 1968 Montreux Jazz Festival. Several strong and endearing albums followed, but due to shoddy management, The Trinity were forced to call it a day after returning from a tour of the States to find themselves broke and in debt. In an effort then to recoup his loses and further expand his concept of mixing rock, funk and soul with elements of jazz, Auger formed his most triumphant endeavor, the cutting edge, Oblivion Express. Set up to reflect the 'school of music' approach employed by the likes of Betty Carter and Art Blakey, Oblivion Express became a revolving door of talented musicians. Several editions came and went within its first years as Brian struggled to find the sound he envisioned, but he finally hit his stride with the release of the aptly titled, 'Closer To It' in 1973 with a band consisting of Jack Mills, Barry Dean, Godfrey MacLean and Lennox Laington. Not quite rock, not quite jazz, not quite funk, Oblivion Express was truly a 'cross-pollination,' a cohesive amalgamation of all three neatly wrapped into a sound that was rich with rhythm and harmonics, and held together by a solid underpinning of groove. Auger's keyboard virtuosity and burning Hammond organ merely put the icing on the cake, as the band revolved around a diplomatic approach --- a collective unit in which no one person was the star. Not as progressive as McLaughlin's 'Mahavishnu,' nor mathematical as Corea's 'Return To Forever,' and certainly not as bombastic as 'Tony Williams' Lifetime,' Brian Auger's Oblivion Express managed to actually swing in the jazz tradition while simultaneously laying down some very serious and slippery grooves! With the occasional vocal added to the mix, the band found a greater acceptance among mixed audiences than their contemporaries, allowing them to appeal equally to rockers, funksters and jazzheads without losing their integrity. Between 1973 and 1977, the roster of musicians who had passed through the band at one point or another was staggering --- Robbie Macintosh of AWB, Clive Chapman of The Jeff Beck Group, Steve Ferrone of Clapton, Chaka Kahn and others. Add to this, Alex Ligertwood of The Santana Band, Paul Jackson and Mike Clark of The Headhunters, and finally, Lenny White fresh from Return To Forever. These names alone should give one a clue as to the sound, direction and power of Oblivion Express.

When the Express pulled into the station for the last time, Auger redirected his attention to family life and higher learning, studying viola at the College of Marin and casually assembling the core of his next musical endeavor, Search Party, a short-lived band who released only one recording in their lifetime entitled 'Planet Earth Calling.' It was around this time that I extended an invitation to Brian to appear as my guest on 'TSOTB' program. With the madness of the road behind him, he was remarkably more relaxed and gregarious than on previous visits, although always a warm, entertaining, gracious and very spiritual man. Into the mix below I've incorporated excerpts of that and previous conversations* we've had to provide insight into his personality as well as his thoughts regarding his own transformation, progression and contributions to the canon.

Today, Auger works with a revamped version of Oblivion Express that features his own extremely talented children who easily hold there own with their father's skill. The band is currently on tour and information regarding the current line-up and Auger's history can be found on his website. Surprisingly, there is also a fair amount of archival video available on YouTube --- although I'm constantly amazed at the scope of what can be found there --- including one particularly bizarre clip from a Monkees television special in which the band is dressed like something out of Harry Potter's 'Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!'

The Auger mix begins chronologically with The Trinity in a Wes Montgomery-like groove called 'Isola Natale,' followed by 'Tramp,' a soul number popularized by Otis Redding and Carla Thomas. A demonstration of their quest to fuse jazz and rock is provided in 'Tropic of Capricorn,' and 'Indian Rope Man' shows their knack for putting a jazz spin on an unlikely song written by singer, Richie Havens. Several examples of Oblivion Express follow in which you can hear the ultimate blending of Auger's many influences into the cohesive whole that he originally envisioned. 'It Burns Me Up' is the sound of a new generation carrying the torch and lastly, a trilogy of three more songs from The Trinity and Oblivion Express, the former (along with 'Tramp' and 'Indian Rope Man') showcasing the extraordinary vocal talents of Julie Driscoll.

1) Isola Natale/Brian Auger & The Trinity

2) Tramp/Brian Auger & The Trinity with Julie Driscoll
3) Tropic Of Capricorn/Brian Auger & The Trinity
4) Conversation
5) Indian Rope Man/Brian Auger & The Trinity with Julie Driscoll
6) Happiness Is Just Around The Bend/Brian Auger's Oblivion Express
7) Whenever You're Ready/Brian Auger's Oblivion Express
8) Brain Damage/Brian Auger's Oblivion Express
9) Thoughts From Afar/Brian Auger's Oblivion Express
10) Conversation
11) Sea Of Tranquility/Search Party
12) It Burns Me Up/Oblivion Express
13) Conversation
14) Ellis Island/Brian Auger & The Trinity
15) Beginning Again/Brian Auger's Oblivion Express
16) I've Got Life/Brian Auger & The Trinity with Julie Driscoll

To download, click here and enjoy!

*The interview segments included are just one of many that I had the foresight to save from my tenure at KRE. I would like to present others in the future but admittedly, transferring the original reel-to-reel tapes into a digital format without a proper studio is a real pain in the ass. The Brian Auger conversation was already at hand because when speaking with him last year, he was reminded of my archive and asked if I could provide him with a copy for his own historical annals. I complied and therefore had a digital copy prepared, therefore its inclusion here was a cinch. As for featuring more down the road, it remains a question mark. If you are genuinely interested in hearing others, please let me know so that I can evaluate whether the interest is worth the effort involved to convert them. Thanks.