One of the most high-profile projects of the endlessly prolific bassist and producer
Bill Laswell,
Material pioneered a groundbreaking fusion of jazz, funk, and punk that also incorporated elements of hip-hop and world music well before either's entrance into the mass cultural consciousness. Formed in 1979, the first
Material lineup consisted of
Laswell, multi-instrumentalist
Michael Beinhorn, and drummer
Fred Maher, all three staples of the downtown New York City underground music scene. The group, plus
Kramer and a few others backed
Gong's
Daevid Allen during his New York visit, resulting in the album
About Time by
New York Gong. After
Material's debut LP under their own name,
Temporary Music, the group's ranks swelled to include figures ranging from
Sonny Sharrock to
Henry Threadgill to
Fred Frith, additions which yielded 1981's superb Memory Serves. A guest list running the gamut from
Nile Rodgers to a then-unknown
Whitney Houston distinguished the avant funk of 1982's
One Down, the final
Material LP before a nearly decade-long hiatus;
Laswell finally reassembled the troops in 1989 to record the atmospheric Seven Souls, which spotlighted the spoken word performances of the legendary
William S. Burroughs. 1991's
The Third Power brought the group back to its soulful roots, with guests including
Herbie Hancock,
Sly & Robbie,
Maceo Parker, and
the Jungle Brothers; after 1994's
Hallucination Engine, another four-year hiatus preceded the release of the remix collection
The Road to the Western Lands.
Intonarumori followed in 1999. ~ Jason Ankeny