James Mtume, the jazz and funk musician who fronted the group Mtume and produced numerous US chart hits for different artists, has died aged 75.
His household confirmed the information to music web site Pitchfork. Lisa Lucas, the daughter of considered one of Mtume’s collaborators, mentioned: “A lot loss. A lot grief. Relaxation in energy to Uncle Mtume.”
James Mtume was born James Forman in Philadelphia in 1946, and adjusted his identify – Mtume means messenger in Swahili – after spending time with the black nationalist group US Group within the mid to late Nineteen Sixties, whereas learning in Pasadena in California.
A pianist and percussionist since his teenagers, Mtume was quickly drawn into the orbit of main mid-century jazz gamers, starting along with his uncle Albert “Tootie” Heath’s album Kawaida in 1969, which featured Mtume compositions performed by a bunch together with Herbie Hancock, Don Cherry and Mtume’s father Jimmy Heath.
Mtume moved to New York, and performed alongside Miles Davis for his funk fusion album On the Nook and numerous different early Nineteen Seventies recordings comparable to Darkish Magus; additional classes in these years got here with Lonnie Liston Smith, Gato Barbieri, McCoy Tyner and extra.
Becoming a member of forces with one other member of Davis’s electric-era band, guitarist Reggie Lucas, the pair toured with Roberta Flack and shaped their very own group, Mtume, securing a significant label deal in 1978. With James Mtume taking part in keys and percussion, and singing alongside vocalist Tawatha Agee, the group recorded two albums of joyous, driving funk earlier than their finest identified document, Juicy Fruit (1983). Its title observe topped the R&B chart and crossed over into the High 50 of the pop charts, and its beat and vocal later shaped the backing for the Infamous BIG’s Juicy.
Mtume and Lucas additionally turned a manufacturing and songwriting duo, creating hits for Stephanie Mills, whose sweeping disco tune By no means Knew Love Like This Earlier than reached No 6 within the US in 1980 and gained a Grammy for finest R&B efficiency; and Flack and Donny Hathaway’s ballad duet The Nearer I Get to You (later lined by Beyoncé and Luther Vandross) which reached No 2. They'd a minor hit with one other duet, Two Hearts by Mills and Teddy Pendergrass.
Mtume continued to work as a producer, incomes credit on albums by Mary J Blige, R Kelly and Okay-Ci & JoJo, and was additionally a DJ for New York station Kiss.
Mills was amongst these paying tribute, saying: “He was so good and an incredible music thoughts. The work chemistry we had was second to none. I'll proceed to raise you up by our music.” DJ Premier described Mtume as an icon, saying: “Thx in your unimaginable contributions to music.”
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