Brass Fever

Formed in Los Angeles in 1975, Brass Fever was a short-lived group of session players that recorded two instrumental jazz-funk albums for ABC: 1975's Brass Fever and 1976's Time Is Running Out. Brass Fever was an appropriate name for the group, which employed no less than five trombonists on its first album and four on its second. Brass Fever wasn't a full-time gig for any of the participants, who included guitarist Lee Ritenour, trombonist George Bohanon, and trumpeter Oscar Brashear — it was merely a side project for them. One of the things that most of the participants had in common was the fact that they could handle jazz and R&B equally well; they were the sort of versatile guys who would have been capable of improvising with Chick Corea one minute and backing Aretha Franklin the next. They weren't bop snobs, and they were heavily influenced by the Crusaders (as opposed to the Jazz Crusaders). Although full of busy, well-known musicians, Brass Fever itself was quite obscure. Brass Fever and Time Is Running Out received very little attention, and in 1976, the band called it quits.