* En anglais uniquement
Having played straightforward hard rock with
Mr. Big since the tail end of the '80s, bass virtuoso
Billy Sheehan formed Niacin as an outlet for his jazz fusion and prog rock inclinations during the mid-'90s. The trio also featured keyboardist
John Novello and drummer
Dennis Chambers, both musicians who had crossed frequently between the worlds of jazz and rock during their careers. With Niacin, Novello devoted himself especially to the Hammond B-3 organ, a longtime mainstay of both jazz and prog rock. The band recorded a self-titled debut album in 1996, following it up in 1998 with
High Bias. An import-only concert recording, Live!: Blood, Sweat and Beers, surfaced later that year as well. For their next album, Niacin moved from Stretch to Magna Carta, the label that became virtually synonymous with technique-oriented neo-prog rock at the turn of the millennium.
Deep was released in 2000 and featured the group's first vocal track, courtesy of special guest
Glenn Hughes (
Deep Purple), as well as
Toto guitarist and session ace
Steve Lukather. ~ Steve Huey