James Dallas

Compact private smooth jazz affair from Milwaukee’s answer to Weather Report. Tracked in 1982 at Mauer Brothers’ studio, Life Forms is the debut album from multi-instrumentalist James Dallas, who cut his teeth with the Dynamic Exploits show band. Backed by Heavy Weather—Kevin Whitehead on bass, Myron McClain on drums, Christopher Dallas on a brand new Crumar Stratus keyboard, Dallas’ silky soprano sax is made whole with a crack team of Wisconsin medium-weights, including Nolan Clark on drums, Terry Sims on synthesizer, Jake Simmons on bass, Earl Thompson on percussion, and guitarists Robert Walls Jr. and Rick Lacey. The six song LP is a heady mix of funk, fusion, and synth (the Roland Vocoder, Arp Odyssey, and Jupiter 6 all make appearances), and an excellent starting point for the budding smooth jazz underground enthusiast.