Defunkt

American band

Defunkt

Defunkt in 1981

Background information
Origin| New York City, U.S.
Genres|

* Jazz fusion
* punk jazz
* dance-punk
* avant-funk
* experimental

Years active| 1978–present
Members| Joseph Bowie
Kim Clarke
Ronnie Drayton
Bill Bickford
John Mulkerin
Kenny Martin
Past members| See below
Website| josephbowie.com

Defunkt is an American musical group founded by the trombonist and singer Joseph Bowie in 1978 in New York City.[1] Their music touches on elements of punk rock, funk, and jazz.[2]

## Career

[edit]

Joseph Bowie is the brother of big band musician Byron Bowie and Art Ensemble of Chicago co-founder Lester Bowie. Joseph, who had previously worked as a sideman for various 1970s jazz musicians,[3] founded Defunkt in 1978 with members of a band that had backed James Chance.[4] The new group's original focus was on danceable jazz music.[2] Joseph Bowie remains the only consistent member of the group over its history; he has been noted for displaying the influence of far-ranging musicians like Ornette Coleman, James Brown, and Joe Strummer.[3]

The first incarnation of the group was active in New York City's "No Wave" radical underground music scene,[2][3] which also included fusion-oriented groups like Material and Sonic Youth.[5] Joseph's saxophonist brother Bryon,[6] bassist Melvin Gibbs[7] and future Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid[5] were early contributors. The group's debut self-titled album was released in 1980 and combined the band's original jazz focus with soul, funk, rock, and blues.[8] That album was particularly popular in Eastern Europe and Japan.[3] Their second album Thermonuclear Sweat followed in 1982.[9]

Bowie disbanded the group in 1983 due to a lack of mainstream success, and retired to the island of St. Croix for a few years.[3] He returned to New York in 1986 and assembled a new Defunkt lineup, with the addition of multiple singers and a large horn section to pursue a new focus on combining 1930s big band and swing music with 1970s funk.[2] This incarnation of the group, with many lineup changes under Bowie's leadership, has released several additional studio albums, starting with In America in 1988.[10] Their latest album, Mastervolt, was released in 2015.[3]

## Musical style

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AllMusic described the Defunkt's music as "some of the most adventurous sounds of the last quarter of the 20th century."[2] Trouser Press has praised the group's later works for "a dynamic rock-funk-jazz concoction of popping bass, neck-melting guitar [...] and Bowie's inventive trombone figures and up-close-and-personable vocals."[4]

## Discography

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* Defunkt (1980)
* The Razor's Edge (12"-Maxi-Single, 1981)
* Thermonuclear Sweat (1982)
* In America (1988)
* Avoid the Funk: a Defunkt Anthology (Compilation, 1988)
* Heroes (1990)
* Live at the Knitting Factory (Live, 1991)
* Crisis (1992)
* Cum Funky (1993)
* Live and Reunified (Live, 1993)
* A Blues Tribute to Muddy Waters and Jimi Hendrix (1994)
* One World (1995)[1]
* Defunkt live in Stuttgart (Live, 1996)
* The Legend of Defunkt, Volume 1 (Compilation, 2001)
* Defunkt – The Legend Continues (2001)
* Defunkt Live in Europe (Live-Doppelalbum, 2002)
* Journey (2004)
* Defunkt + Thermonuclear Sweat (2005)
* Mastervolt (2015)
* Live at Channel Zero (2016)

## Members

[edit]

### Current

[edit]

Kelvyn Bell Byron Bowie

* Joseph Bowie – trombone, vocals
* Kim Clarke – bass
* Bill Bickford – guitar
* John Mulkerin – trumpet
* Kenny Martin – drums

### Former

[edit]

* Ronny Drayton – guitar
* Kelvyn Bell – guitar
* Ayodele Maakheru (Martin Aubert) – guitar
* Vernon Reid – guitar
* Richard Martin – guitar
* Rocco Zifarelli - guitar
* Melvin Gibbs – bass
* Ron Mac Jenkins – bass
* Reggie Washington – bass
* Ted Daniels – trumpet
* Byron Bowie – saxophone
* Luther Thomas – saxophone
* Charles Green – saxophone
* Alex Harding – baritone saxophone
* Ronnie Burrage – drums
* Rishard Lampese – guitar
* Skoota Warner – drums
* Tobias Ralph – drums
* Kahil El'Zabar – percussion
* Kelli Sae – vocals
* Martin Fischer – keyboards
* Marcus Persiani – keyboards
* Kevin Bents – keyboards
* Bahnamous Bowie – keyboards
* Adam Klipple – keyboards
* Cliff Branch – keyboards

## References

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1. ^ a b Colin Larkin, ed. (2003). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music (Third ed.). Virgin Books. p. 152\. ISBN 1-85227-969-9.
2. ^ a b c d e Harris, Craig. "Defunkt | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
3. ^ a b c d e f "All That Jazz and Then Some: An Interview with Defunkt's Joseph Bowie". PopMatters. May 5, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
4. ^ a b "Defunkt". Trouser Press. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
5. ^ a b Fricke, David (June 12, 2015). "Vernon Reid on Ornette Coleman: He Set a Lot of People Free". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
6. ^ "Defunkt: Defunkt + / Thermonuclear Sweat +". PopMatters. November 7, 2005. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
7. ^ Cohan, Brad (April 27, 2019). "Melvin Gibbs Isn't Looking Back". JazzTimes. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
8. ^ Defunkt – Defunkt | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved November 18, 2020
9. ^ Thermonuclear Sweat – Defunkt | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved November 18, 2020
10. ^ In America – Defunkt | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved November 18, 2020

## External links

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* Official website
* Squat Theatre
* Defunkt at AllMusic

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Spain

Artists|

* MusicBrainz

Other|

* Yale LUX