The band
L.A. Express was one of the original supergroups of the jazz-rock fusion era in the mid-70s. Under the initial leadership of saxophonist
Tom Scott, the first versions of the ensemble produced two albums for
Lou Adler's Ode label. That band initially featured
Scott, the veteran jazz bassist
Max Bennett, who switched to electric bass guitar, legendary Los Angeles studio drummer
John Guerin, keyboardist
Joe Sample, and electric guitarist
Larry Carlton. They collectively produced the LP
Tom Scott & the L.A. Express, featuring the crossover hit "Sneakin' In The Back," as well as an interpretation of a
John Coltrane composition, and some of the first contemporary jazz music to feature Middle Eastern rhythms and melodies. The second recording,
Tom Cat, had
Scott,
Bennett,
Guerin, guitarist
Robben Ford, and keyboardists Larry Ford and Larry Marsh. But by 1976,
Scott was pursuing a solo career, and the band retained the name and carried on without him, releasing two more LP's --
L.A. Express and
Shadow Play -- for the Caribou subsidiary of the Epic/Columbia family of labels. David Luell took over
Scott's chair as lead saxophonist while
Bennett and
Guerin ostensibly co-led the group, retaining Ford, replaced by
Peter Maunu, recruited keyboardist
Victor Feldman, and for the
Shadow Play album, vocalist
Paulette McWilliams. During this time, members of the
L.A. Express performed with
Joni Mitchell on her albums
The Hissing of Summer Lawns and
Miles of Aisles, and
Mitchell returned the favor on
Tom Cat. In 1999
Tom Scott revived the
L.A. Express with none of the original members. Assembling a hodgepodge group of West Coast players, the CD
Smokin' Section was produced. Some of the better known bandmates included
Alex Acuña,
Harvey Mason,
Ralph MacDonald,
Vinnie Colaiuta,
Lenny Castro,
George Bohannon,
Pete Christlieb,
Robbie Nevil, Melvin "Wah Wah" Watson,
Patty Smyth,
Paul Jackson, Jr.,
Chuck Berghofer, Mitchell Foreman, Phil Perry, and
Lynne Scott. The
Tom Scott & the L.A. Express LP was reissued on CD in 1996, and the
L.A. Express album by Wounded Bird records in 2008. ~ Michael G. Nastos