Vagabond Synth Nerd’s Journal Vol. 230 - Fender Rhodes Electric Piano Masters: Overseas Edition Part VI

Robin Lumley, the leader of jazz-based crossover music

In this Part VI of “Fender Rhodes Electric Piano Masters”, let’s make a slight change of pace and feature Robin Lumley, keyboardist for the British jazz fusion band, Brand X.

Not many people are familiar with Brand X, as it is not a major band.
Brand X is an electric jazz band formed in 1974 in London, England. Nowadays, the band is categorized as jazz fusion, but at that time, the term “fusion” was not used and the band was called a “crossover”.

From the late 1960s to the early 1970s, highly progressive jazz musicians such as Miles Davis worked on electricized jazz, or what’s now called new jazz. This was the advent of the “creation of a new electric jazz” boom of the era, in which acoustic instruments were not used and electric instruments were aggressively introduced.

What was needed for electrified jazz was not an acoustic bass but an electric bass, and not an acoustic piano but an electric piano. The Rhodes piano started to be used in this trend. You start to see this In Miles' band with Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett playing the Rhodes piano.

The trend toward electric jazz spread not only to the United States but also to Brazil and the United Kingdom. It was during these times that Brand X was born.

Brand X developed a distinctive music based on American jazz-rock, but with the addition of a dark, high-humidity identity that’s particular to the British. The band also made extensive use of odd time signatures, a paradoxical aspect that became even more difficult when odd time signatures were mixed in with difficult songs.

The members of Brand X were Robin Lumley on keyboards, John Goodsall on guitar, Percy Jones on bass, and drummer Phil Collins. Phil Collins was the drummer for the British progressive rock stalwarts Genesis and was also the drummer for Brand X.

Robin Lumley produced the third album of Isotope, a British jazz-prog rock band released in 1975, before Brand X was formed. In that sense, Robin Lumley was also a producer in the band.

Robin Lumley was a player and keyboardist with a strong technical jazz instrumental orientation and a good overview of the band's music.

Robin's playing is percussive and technical with a mixture of detailed passages. There is not much of an American blues influence in his playing. During live performances, he plays a one-and-only style with a mini-moog synthesizer on top of a Rhodes piano and a Solina synth on the left hand side of the piano.

■ Recommended album: Brand X Moroccan Roll (1977)

The second masterpiece album by Brand X, released in 1977.
The core player of Brand X, along with Robin Lumley, is bassist Percy Jones, whose fretless bass performance in the late 1970s deserves special mention. The most famous fretless bass player of the time was Jaco Pastorius. I am convinced that Percy Jones is the only player who can compare to Jaco Pastorius. When John Goodsall's fast phrases overlap and Robin Lumley's keys cover the entire song, the world of Brand X appears. Although this is the second album, Brand X's band sound is already complete.

I have one more comment to make about Brand X. It’s the record jacket.
The record jacket of Brand X was designed by the British record jacket production group Hypnosis. Hypnosis has produced a number of masterpieces, but if you look at Pink Floyd's series of works such as Madness, Flame, Meddle, Mystery, and Animals, you will understand how they work.
Hypnosis has been in charge of the artwork for Brand X since the first album.
Their unique world view is the best match as if the Brand X jacket is a part of the music.

Recommended song: “Malaga Virgen”

Percy Jones' bass roars on this extremely difficult song. Only Percy could play a bass like this.
At the time, this bass playing was quite a topic of conversation among music people.
Robin Lumley's Rhodes piano playing, which can be heard in the middle section when the solos of each instrument are exchanged, is superb. The sharp, pointillistic Rhodes piano playing develops almost without stepping on the sustain pedal.
Robin, who excels at fast, detailed passages with good rhythmic sharpness, plays the mini-moog synthesizer with almost zero envelope release time, just as he does on the Rhodes piano. He prefers a tone with a strong attack and no sustain.
Robin's playing is also reflected in the thrilling, technical, and detail-intensive music of Brand X as a whole.

■ Recommended album: Brand X Livestock (1977)

A masterpiece live album by Brand X. The album cover was also by Hypnosis.
The first song on the album is “Nightmare Patrol”, and it matches with the cover beautifully.
The thrilling and highly technical performance is the essence of Brand X. Such songs were lined up.
In Genesis, the charismatic vocalist Peter Gabriel's departure from the band caused a ruckus, and Phil Collins subsequently broke out as the vocalist.
Filling Phil's void is Kenwood Dennard, drummer for jazz guitarist Pat Martino. Kenwood Dennard later played drums for the Gil Evans Orchestra, so he must have had no problem with Brand X, which requires a high level of technical skill.
I heard the Gil Evans Orchestra in 1989, and their technique was quite good.

Recommended song: “Nightmare Patrol”

The song's theme begins, developing from a mini-moog fast phrase of square waves, with arpeggios by Gutthall and bass harmonics by Percy Jones coloring the space. Immediately after the theme ends, a rapid-fire solo on a Rhodes piano played by Lumley can be heard. The sound of the Rhodes piano goes very well with this kind of music, which has a strong nighttime mood.
This piece was not played by Phil Collins, but by Kenwood Dennard. Kenwood Dennard's beats are more tame than Phil Collins' beats, which makes the whole song sound less harsh.
The nightmare image is amplified by the diminishing chime phrases that Robert Fripp (King Crimson) is known for.

Musicians, albums, and recommendations featured in this issue

• Artists: Robin Lumley, Phil Collins, Kenwood Dennard, Percy Jones
• Albums: Moroccan Roll and Livestock
• Recommended songs: “Malaga Virgen”, “Nightmare Patrol”

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