Search - Artist/Band: Yellowjackets

• Band Name: Yellowjackets
• Formed: 1981
• Decades Active: 1980,1990
• Genre: Jazz
• Styles: Crossover Jazz, Fusion, Smooth Jazz
• Moods: Reserved, Happy, Laid-Back/Mellow, Sophisticated, Cerebral, Freewheeling, Refined/Mannered

Title	Release
Lifecycle W	05/20/2008
Mirage a Trois/Club Nocturne	08/08/2006
Twenty Five	05/23/2006
20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of the Yellowjackets WA	03/21/2006
Altered State WA	03/22/2005
Time Squared	05/27/2003
Peace Round: A Christmas Celebration WA	2003
The Best of Yellowjackets WA	12/14/1999
Club Nocturne	09/22/1998
Priceless Jazz	02/10/1998
Blue Hats WA	1997
Collection	1995
Dreamland	1995
Run for Your Life	1993
Like a River	04/1992
Live Wires	1992
Greenhouse	1990
The Spin	1989
Politics	1988
Four Corners WA	1987
Shades	1986
Mirage a Trois	1985
Samurai Samba WA	1985
Yellowjackets	1981

Although sometimes grouped with Spyro Gyra, Yellowjackets are actually one of the most creative regular groups in the "rhythm & jazz" genre. Founded in 1981 as an r&b-oriented band that starred guitarist Robben Ford, the group took a giant step forward when, after Ford's departure, altoist Marc Russo took his place. With original members Russell Ferrante on keyboards and electric bassist Jimmy Haslip, in addition to drummer William Kennedy, the band found its own r&b-ish sound, sometimes playing original compositions that sounded like Joe Zawinul at his most melodic. Starting out on Warner Bros. in the early '80s, Yellowjackets moved to MCA/GRP in 1986, where they released a string of well-received albums. In the '90s, Russo chose to go out on his own, and his replacement, Bob Mintzer (on tenor and bass clarinet), added more jazz credibility to the group's music. They moved back to Warner Brothers in 1995 for several albums before moving the Heads Up label for the live two-CD set Mint Jam in 2002. Their first studio album in five years, Time Squared, was released in 2003. Three years later, the band celebrated its 25th anniversary as an ensemble with the release of the live album Twenty Five. The studio album Lifecycle followed in 2008. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide