page_title: List of John Mayall band members
section_title: 1968–1981: Early solo career
hierarchical_section_title: List of John Mayall band members / History / 1968–1981: Early solo career
caption_attribution_description: English: John Mayall with Sugarcane Harris and bassist Larry Taylor, Musikhalle Hamburg, 1971 besucht auch meine Homepage:
context_page_description: John Mayall is an English blues rock musician. Originally from Macclesfield, he began his career in 1963 when he moved to London and formed John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. The band's original lineup included Mayall on vocals, keyboards and harmonica, guitarist Bernie Watson, bassist John McVie and drummer Peter Ward. After changing personnel numerous times, the group disbanded in 1968 when Mayall relocated to the United States and continued his career using his own name. The current lineup of Mayall's solo band includes bassist Greg Rzab, drummer Jay Davenport and guitarist Carolyn Wonderland.
context_section_description: Upon disbanding the Bluesbreakers and moving to the US, Mayall and Taylor recorded Blues from Laurel Canyon with bassist Steve Thompson and drummer Colin Allen. This lineup remained active for almost a year, until Taylor left to replace Brian Jones in The Rolling Stones on 5 June 1969. After the guitarist's departure, Mayall restructured his band to focus on more acoustic music; he replaced Taylor with Jon Mark, dropped Allen from the group, and added saxophonist Johnny Almond. Early the next year, he replaced Thompson with Alex Dmochowski and added Duster Bennett on harmonica. In August, Mark and Almond left to form the eponymous group Mark-Almond, and Mayall put together another lineup which included former Canned Heat members Harvey Mandel (guitar) and Larry Taylor (bass), as well as violinist Don "Sugarcane" Harris. From November 1970 to January 1971, Mayall recorded Back to the Roots with new drummer Paul Lagos and a range of former bandmates.
  Following the release of Back to the Roots, Mayall downsized to a lineup of just him, bassist Taylor and new guitarist Jerry McGee, with their only effort Memories released before the end of the year. By the end of the year, the group had been restructured again to reflect a much more jazz-heavy direction, with Mayall enlisting guitarist Freddie Robinson, drummer Ron Selico, saxophonist Clifford Solomon and trumpeter Richard "Blue" Mitchell to record the live album Jazz Blues Fusion. Patrick "Putter" Smith was added as a second bassist in early 1972, before Victor Gaskin took over a few months later. Former drummer Hartley returned to replace Selico in June, The group briefly added three more saxophonists – Charles Owens, Fred Jackson and Ernie Watts – for the live album Moving On, before all four were replaced by James "Red" Holloway. This lineup released the album Ten Years Are Gone in September 1973, which marked Mayall's ten-year anniversary as a professional musician.
  In early 1974, after recovering from a broken leg, Mayall restructured his band again for a planned European tour, retaining only Holloway and adding guitarist Jesse Ed Davis, returning bassist Larry Taylor and drummer Soko Richardson. Davis was soon replaced by Randy Resnick and Hightide Harris, however. After releasing The Latest Edition, the band's lineup changed again as Mayall, Taylor and Richardson added returning violinist Don "Sugarcane" Harris and new members Rick Vito on guitar, Jay Spell on keyboards and Dee McKinnie on vocals. In 1976, Mayall collaborated with a wide range of his former bandmates for a second time on A Banquet in Blues, released in August. After the album's release, he toured with Taylor, Spell, Holloway, guitarist Gary Rowles and drummer Frank Wilson, plus touring percussionist Warren Bryant, saxophonists Jimmy Roberts, Ann Patterson and David Majal Li, trumpeter Nolan Smith, trombonist Bill Lamb, and vocalists Pepper Watkins and Patti Smith.
  Mayall downsized again in 1977, bringing back Thompson and Richardson, and adding guitarist James Quill Smith. This lineup released A Hard Core Package in 1977 and The Last of the British Blues in 1978. After releasing Bottom Line in 1979, an album recorded with various session musicians, Mayall reunited with Mandel, who brought his backing band with him: bassist Angus Thomas, drummer Ruben Alvarez and vocalist Maggie Parker. Mandel pulled out of the tour early on, however, and Smith returned. No More Interviews was released at the end of the year, which also featured former guitarist Vito, keyboardist Chris Cameron and saxophonist Chris Mostert. In 1980, Road Show Blues was recorded with returning drummer Richardson and new bassist Kevin McCormick, as well as Parker and Smith.
caption: Larry Taylor had one of the longest tenures in Mayall's band in the 1970s.
exif: {}