Yellowjackets (band)

Yellowjackets
Yellowjackets
	Leverkusener Jazztage, 2015
Background information
Origin	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Jazz fusion
Years active	1977–present
Labels	MCA, GRP, Heads Up, Mack Avenue Records, Warner Bros.
Members	Russell Ferrante; Bob Mintzer; Will Kennedy; Dane Alderson
Past members	Robben Ford; Jimmy Haslip; Ricky Lawson; Michael Landau; Mike Miller; Marc Russo; Peter Erskine; Terri Lyne Carrington; Marcus Baylor; Felix Pastorius;
Website	yellowjackets.com

Yellowjackets is an American jazz fusion band founded in 1977 in Los Angeles, California.

History

In 1977, guitarist Robben Ford, for his first solo album, recruited keyboardist Russell Ferrante, electric bassist Jimmy Haslip and drummer Ricky Lawson.^[1] They decided to continue as a group and were signed to Warner Bros. Records by producer Tommy LiPuma, who chose the name "Yellowjackets" from a list of potential group names the band had compiled.^[2]^[3]

In 1984, the band's second album, Mirage a Trois, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Fusion Performance.^[3] Ford only played on half this album, and after he departed the group, saxophonist Marc Russo was hired in his place.^[1] The next album, Shades, reached No. 4 on the Billboard magazine jazz album chart, while the single "And You Know That" won a Grammy for Best R&B Instrumental Performance. Lawson left and was replaced by Will Kennedy in 1987. Their next three albums, Four Corners, Politics, and The Spin all received Grammy nominations for Best Jazz Fusion Performance. With Russo leaving the band in 1990, Bob Mintzer replaced him for the album Greenhouse, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Album chart. Mintzer has remained a band member.

The Yellowjackets celebrated their 30th anniversary in 2011 with the album Timeline for Mack Avenue. When Haslip took an extended hiatus, he was replaced by Felix Pastorius (son of bassist Jaco Pastorius.)^[3] The band released A Rise in the Road with Pastorius. On some of the songs, Pastorius played the fretless bass guitar made famous by his father.^[4]

In addition to their studio albums, the Yellowjackets contributed two tracks to the soundtrack of the film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home in 1986.^[5]

Awards and honors

Grammy Awards

R&B Instrumental Performance: "And You Know That" (1987)
Jazz Fusion Performance: Politics (1989)

Grammy nominations

Jazz Fusion Performance: Mirage a Trois (1984), Four Corners (1987)
Contemporary Jazz Performance: Greenhouse (1992), Like a River (1994), Run for Your Life (1995), Dreamland (1996), Club Nocturne (1999)
Contemporary Jazz Album: Mint Jam (2003), Time Squared (2004), Lifecycle (2009)
Jazz Instrumental Performance: The Spin (1990)
Instrumental Composition: "Claire's Closet", Russell Ferrante (2009), "Civil War", Bob Mintzer (2014)
Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album: Jackets XL with the WDR Big Band (2022)

Members

Current members

Russell Ferrante – keyboards, synthesizers (1977–present)
William Kennedy – drums, percussion (1987–1999, 2010–present)
Bob Mintzer – saxophones, bass clarinet, EWI (1991–present)
Dane Alderson – bass (2015–present)

Former members

Jimmy Haslip – bass (1977–2012)
Ricky Lawson – drums (1977–1987; died 2013)
Robben Ford – guitar (1977–1983)
Mike Miller – guitar (1983)
Michael Landau – guitar (1985)
Marc Russo – saxophones (1985–1989)
Peter Erskine – drums (1999–2000)
Terri Lyne Carrington – drums (2000)
Marcus Baylor – drums (2000–2010)
Felix Pastorius – bass (2012–2015)

Timeline

<timeline> ImageSize = width:1100 height:380 PlotArea = left:120 bottom:80 top:0 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1981 till:01/01/2023 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy

Colors =

 id:Guitar              value:green       legend:Guitar
 id:Saxophone           value:tan2  legend:Saxophone
 id:Keyboard            value:purple      legend:Keyboard
 id:Bass                value:blue        legend:Bass
 id:Drums               value:orange      legend:Drums
 id:Lines               value:black      legend:Studio releases
 id:Lines2              value:yellow       legend:Live album recordings (opt. also video)

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 bar:ford text:"Robben Ford"
 bar:miller text:"Mike Miller"
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 bar:mintzer text:"Bob Mintzer"
 bar:ferrante text:"Russell Ferrante"
 bar:haslip text:"Jimmy Haslip"
 bar:pastorius text:"Felix Pastorius"
 bar:alderson text:"Dane Alderson"
 bar:lawson text:"Ricky Lawson"
 bar:kennedy text:"William Kennedy"
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 bar:baylor text:"Marcus Baylor"

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 bar:haslip from:01/01/1981 till:01/01/2012 color:Bass
 bar:pastorius from:01/01/2012 till:01/01/2015 color:Bass
 bar:alderson from:01/01/2015 till:end color:Bass
 bar:lawson from:01/01/1981 till:01/01/1987 color:Drums
 bar:kennedy from:01/01/1987 till:01/01/1999 color:Drums
 bar:kennedy from:01/01/2010 till:end color:Drums
 bar:erskine from:01/01/1999 till:01/01/2000 color:Drums
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 bar:mintzer from:01/01/1991 till:end color:Saxophone

</timeline>

Discography

1981: Yellowjackets (Warner Bros.)
1983: Mirage a Trois (Warner Bros.)
1985: Samurai Samba (Warner Bros.)
1986: Shades (GRP)
1987: Four Corners (MCA)
1988: Politics (MCA)
1989: The Spin (MCA)
1991: Greenhouse (MCA)
1992: Live Wires (GRP)
1993: Like a River (GRP)
1994: Run for Your Life (GRP)
1995: Dreamland (Warner Bros.)
1995: Bobby McFerrin's Bang!Zoom (Blue Note)
1997: Blue Hats (Warner Bros.)
1998: Club Nocturne (Warner Bros.)
2001: Mint Jam (Heads Up)
2003: Time Squared (Heads Up)
2003: Peace Round: A Christmas Celebration (Heads Up)
2005: Altered State (Heads Up)
2006: Twenty-Five (Heads Up)
2008: Lifecycle (Heads Up)
2011: Timeline (Mack Avenue)
2013: A Rise in the Road (Mack Avenue)
2016: Cohearence (Mack Avenue)
2018: Raising Our Voice (Mack Avenue)^[6]
2020: Jackets XL (Mack Avenue)
2022: Parallel Motion (Mack Avenue)

References

^ ^1.0 ^1.1 Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. p. 1284. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
^ Milkowski, Bill (June 1, 2006). "Yellowjackets: Looking Back and Moving Forward". JazzTimes. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
^ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Collar, Matt. "Yellowjackets". AllMusic. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
^ "Felix Pastorius' emotional struggle using father Jaco's bass on new Yellowjackets album". Nydailynews.com. July 10, 2013. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
^ "Star Trek IV: Original Motion Picture Score". Discogs. Retrieved May 26, 2020..
^ "Yellowjackets | Album Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved January 18, 2019.

External links

Official site

[Larkin-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. p. 1284. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.

[Milkowski-2] Milkowski, Bill (June 1, 2006). "Yellowjackets: Looking Back and Moving Forward". JazzTimes. Retrieved June 5, 2017.

[Collar-3] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Collar, Matt. "Yellowjackets". AllMusic. Retrieved January 18, 2019.

[4] "Felix Pastorius' emotional struggle using father Jaco's bass on new Yellowjackets album". Nydailynews.com. July 10, 2013. Retrieved July 16, 2013.

[5] "Star Trek IV: Original Motion Picture Score". Discogs. Retrieved May 26, 2020..

[AM_discog-6] "Yellowjackets | Album Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved January 18, 2019.

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v t e Yellowjackets
Russell Ferrante William Kennedy Bob Mintzer Dane Alderson Robben Ford Jimmy Haslip Ricky Lawson Marc Russo Marcus Baylor Peter Erskine Terri Lyne Carrington Felix Pastorius
Studio albums	Yellowjackets Mirage a Trois Samurai Samba Shades Four Corners Politics The Spin Greenhouse Like a River Run for Your Life Dreamland Blue Hats Club Nocturne Time Squared Peace Round Altered State Lifecycle Timeline A Rise in the Road Cohearance Raising Our Voice
Live albums	Live Wires Mint Jam Twenty Five

v t e Robben Ford
Studio albums	Schizophonic (1976) The Inside Story (1979) Talk to Your Daughter (1988) Mystic Mile (1993) Blues Connotation (1997) Tiger Walk (1997) Truth (2007) Into the Sun (2015)
Live albums	Sunrise (1999) Soul on Ten (2008)
Related articles	L.A. Express Yellowjackets

v t e Terri Lyne Carrington
Years given are for the recording(s), not first release, unless stated otherwise.
Studio albums	Jazz Is a Spirit (2001) Structure (with Adam Rogers, Jimmy Haslip, and Greg Osby, 2003) The Mosaic Project (2011) Money Jungle: Provocative in Blue (2013) Perfection (with David Murray and Geri Allen, 2015)
Live albums	Live at the Detroit Jazz Festival (with Wayne Shorter, Esperanza Spalding, and Leo Genovese, 2017)
Related articles	Yellowjackets