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Defunkt is an American musical group founded by the trombonist and singer Joseph Bowie in 1978 in New York City.cite-ref-larkin80-1-0[1] Their music touches on elements of punk rock, funk, and jazz.cite-ref-harris-2-0[2]

• Career

• Musical style

• Discography

• Members

• Current

• Former

• References

• External links

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,cite-ref-0-3-0[3] founded Defunkt in 1978 with members of a band that had backed James Chance.cite-ref-1-4-0[4] The new group's original focus was on danceable jazz music.cite-ref-harris-2-1[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.cite-ref-0-3-1[3]

The first incarnation of the group was active in New York City's "No Wave" radical underground music scene,cite-ref-harris-2-2[2]cite-ref-0-3-2[3] which also included fusion-oriented groups like Material and Sonic Youth.cite-ref-2-5-0[5] Joseph's saxophonist brother Bryon,cite-ref-6[6] bassist Melvin Gibbscite-ref-7[7] and future Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reidcite-ref-2-5-1[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.cite-ref-8[8] That album was particularly popular in Eastern Europe and Japan.cite-ref-0-3-3[3] Their second album Thermonuclear Sweat followed in 1982.cite-ref-9[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.cite-ref-0-3-4[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.cite-ref-harris-2-3[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.cite-ref-10[10] Their latest album, Mastervolt, was released in 2015.cite-ref-0-3-5[3]

AllMusic described the Defunkt's music as "some of the most adventurous sounds of the last quarter of the 20th century."cite-ref-harris-2-4[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."cite-ref-1-4-1[4]

• 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)cite-ref-larkin80-1-1[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)

• Joseph Bowie – trombone, vocals

• Kim Clarke – bass

• Bill Bickford – guitar

• John Mulkerin – trumpet

• Kenny Martin – drums

• 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

cite-note-larkin80-11. ↑ citerefcolin-larkin2003Colin Larkin, ed. (2003). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music (Third ed.). Virgin Books. p. 152. ISBN 1-85227-969-9.

cite-note-harris-22. ↑ citerefharrisHarris, Craig. "Defunkt | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved December 3, 2019.

cite-note-0-33. ↑ "All That Jazz and Then Some: An Interview with Defunkt's Joseph Bowie". PopMatters. May 5, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.

cite-note-1-44. ↑ "Defunkt". Trouser Press. Retrieved November 18, 2020.

cite-note-2-55. ↑ citereffricke2015Fricke, David (June 12, 2015). "Vernon Reid on Ornette Coleman: He Set a Lot of People Free". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 18, 2020.

cite-note-66. ↑ "Defunkt: Defunkt + / Thermonuclear Sweat +". PopMatters. November 7, 2005. Retrieved November 18, 2020.

cite-note-77. ↑ citerefcohan2019Cohan, Brad (April 27, 2019). "Melvin Gibbs Isn't Looking Back". JazzTimes. Retrieved November 18, 2020.

cite-note-88. ↑ Defunkt – Defunkt | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved November 18, 2020

cite-note-99. ↑ Thermonuclear Sweat – Defunkt | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved November 18, 2020

cite-note-1010. ↑ In America – Defunkt | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved November 18, 2020

• Official website

• Squat Theatre

• Defunkt at AllMusic