The Jazz Passengers - Broken Night Red Light (1987)

Bass – Brad Jones, Tony Garnier;Guitar, Trumpet – Marc Ribot; Percussion, Drums – E.J. Rodriguez; Saxophone [Tenor, Alto, Soprano], Clarinet – Roy Nathanson; Vibraphone [Vibes] – Bill Ware; Violin – Jim Nolet; Vocals, Trombone – Curtis Fowlkes.

The JAZZ PASSENGERS are a fantastical fusion of post-bop and musical comedy, once called a “perverse mainstream … hard-bop group as imagined by Frank Zappa.” (Bob Blumenthal, Boston Globe, 1989). Their name, a take-off on Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, reveals the musicians’ wild ride along the eccentric currents in modern American music. Saxophonist Roy Nathanson and trombonist Curtis Fowlkes, who found strong affinity in their Brooklyn roots while together in the band of the Big Apple Circus and John Lurie’s seminal band, The Lounge Lizards, founded the band in 1987. They first broke out on the New York City avant-garde scene centering around the Knitting Factory with a hybrid of Mingus-influenced dance rhythms and original tunes complete with lyrics and/or entertaining stories. Besides Nathanson and Fowlkes the original band members included Bill Ware on vibraphone, E.J. Rodriguez on percussion, Brad Jones on bass, Jim Nolet on violin and Marc Ribot on guitar. They are now a six-piece band without guitar and with Sam Bardfeld on violin.

The Jazz Passengers have toured and continue to tour extensively since the 1990s, traversing the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia and having played at major festivals and in clubs and concerts across the globe.