Koinonia (band)
Encyclopedia
In the 1970s and 80’s, a fusion in jazz music occurred giving birth to a new, more electrified and diverse genre called jazz-funk
. Some notable pioneers in this genre were: The Crusaders
, Weather Report
, Herbie Hancock
, Alphonse Mouzon
, Chick Corea
, Lee Ritenour
, Azymuth
, Eumir Deodato
, Jeff Lorber
, Seawind
, and Koinonia.
Though less known in the United States, Koinonia established themselves as a huge sensation in Scandinavia and Western Europe, performing to sell-out crowds from 1982 to 1991 in Norway, Denmark, Holland, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Switzerland and France. Their Latin-infused rhythms and upbeat melodies gave them a distinct and cultured sound. Taken from a Greek word used in the Bible to mean “intimate fellowship
” Koinonia was notably one of the first Christian, though primarily instrumental, jazz bands.
on electric bass guitar, child-prodigy drummer Bill Maxwell, Dean Parks
on guitar, Alex Acuña
on percussion and drums, John Phillips on woodwinds, Hadley Hockensmith on guitar, and Harlan Rogers on keyboards. In 1981 the saxophone/clarinet & flute virtuoso Justo Almario, replaced John Phillips. Dean Parks also left at that time because he did not want to travel. Chester Thompson
joined one tour in Europe in 1987, replacing Alex, but he was never a member of the band. In 1988, Lou Pardini
joined the band on keyboards and vocals, and then, Koinonia disbanded in 1991.
, Justo Almario, 8-time Grammy Award
winning Bill Maxwell, with the addition of long-time arranger/composer/sessionman, Greg Mathieson, are the quartet known as Open Hands, based in Los Angeles. Hadley Hockensmith has been Neil Diamond
’s guitarist for 25 years. Dean Parks
is still one the top studio guitarists in Los Angeles
, and Alex Acuña
is one of the major LA studio film percussionists and tours with his own band. Harlan Rogers lives in Nashville and has retired from music. Lou Pardini
has recorded several of his own albums, composing a Grammy-award winning song for Smokey Robinson
as well.John Phillips has been out of contact.
It should also be noted that early on, Koinonia set the standard for excellence in music for the Christian Music
/Gospel Music
genres of music which was still, at that time, relatively young to the commercial music scene. The standard set by Koinonia, arguably, has never been reached since.
Jazz-funk
Jazz-funk is a sub-genre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat , electrified sounds, and often, the presence of the first electronic analog synthesizers...
. Some notable pioneers in this genre were: The Crusaders
The Crusaders
The Crusaders are an American music group popular in the early 1970s known for their amalgamated jazz, pop and soul sound. Since 1961, more than forty albums have been credited to the group , 19 of which were recorded under the name "The Jazz Crusaders" .-History:In 1960, following the demise of a...
, Weather Report
Weather Report
Weather Report was an American jazz-rock band of the 1970s and early 1980s. The band was co-led by the Austrian-born keyboard player Joe Zawinul and the American saxophonist Wayne Shorter...
, Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
, Alphonse Mouzon
Alphonse Mouzon
Alphonse Mouzon is a well-known jazz-fusion drummer and percussionist, and the Chairman/CEO of Tenacious Records. He also composes, arranges and produces, as well as acts...
, Chick Corea
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
, Lee Ritenour
Lee Ritenour
Lee Mack Ritenour is an American jazz guitarist who has recorded over 42 albums, appeared on over 3000 sessions, and has charted over 30 instrumental and vocal contemporary jazz hits since 1976. One of his most popular songs was the smash hit, “Is It You” in 1981. Ritenour is considered to be a...
, Azymuth
Azymuth
Azymuth is a three-piece electric funk jazz group from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Formed in 1972, the members are Jose Roberto Bertrami , Alex Malheiros , and Ivan Conti .-History:...
, Eumir Deodato
Eumir Deodato
Eumir Deodato is a Brazilian pianist, composer, record producer and arranger, primarily based in the jazz realm but who historically has been known for eclectic melding of big band and combo jazz with varied elements of rock/pop, R&B/funk, Brazilian/Latin, and symphonic or orchestral music.Mainly,...
, Jeff Lorber
Jeff Lorber
Jeff Lorber is an American Grammy Award-nominated keyboardist, composer, and record producer.After leading his own group, The Jeff Lorber Fusion, he went on to pioneer the smooth jazz genre....
, Seawind
Seawind (band)
Seawind was a jazz fusion group from Hawaii, featuring lead singer Pauline Wilson. They recorded two albums for CTI Records, one for A&M Records and one for A&M subsidiary Horizon Records...
, and Koinonia.
Though less known in the United States, Koinonia established themselves as a huge sensation in Scandinavia and Western Europe, performing to sell-out crowds from 1982 to 1991 in Norway, Denmark, Holland, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Switzerland and France. Their Latin-infused rhythms and upbeat melodies gave them a distinct and cultured sound. Taken from a Greek word used in the Bible to mean “intimate fellowship
Koinonia
Koinonia is the anglicisation of a Greek word that means communion by intimate participation. The word is used frequently in the New Testament of the Bible to describe the relationship within the Early Christian church as well as the act of breaking bread in the manner which Christ prescribed...
” Koinonia was notably one of the first Christian, though primarily instrumental, jazz bands.
Original Members
The original members of the band, which formed in 1980, were: (leader) classically trained guitarist, Abraham LaborielAbraham Laboriel
Abraham Laboriel, Sr. is a Mexican bassist of Garifuna descent who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. Guitar Player Magazine described him as "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the father of drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. and of producer, songwriter, and...
on electric bass guitar, child-prodigy drummer Bill Maxwell, Dean Parks
Dean Parks
Dean Parks is an American session guitarist and record producer from Ft. Worth, TX.-Albums:Dean was member of The North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los Angeles to work with Sonny and Cher in 1970. Dean is best-known through his many contributions to albums by Steely Dan...
on guitar, Alex Acuña
Alex Acuña
Alejandro Neciosup Acuña aka Alex Acuña is a Peruvian drummer and percussionist, in the Afro-Cuban jazz style.Born in Pativilca, Peru, Acuña played in local bands from the age of ten, and moved to Lima as a teenager. At the age of eighteen he joined the band of Perez Prado, and in 1967 he moved...
on percussion and drums, John Phillips on woodwinds, Hadley Hockensmith on guitar, and Harlan Rogers on keyboards. In 1981 the saxophone/clarinet & flute virtuoso Justo Almario, replaced John Phillips. Dean Parks also left at that time because he did not want to travel. Chester Thompson
Chester Thompson
Chester Cortez Thompson is an American drummer and session musician.-Biography:Thompson made his name as a session drummer, going on to play in Frank Zappa's touring band and with Weather Report...
joined one tour in Europe in 1987, replacing Alex, but he was never a member of the band. In 1988, Lou Pardini
Lou Pardini
Lou Pardini is an American Grammy-nominated keyboardist, songwriter, and vocalist. He has worked with notable musicians such as Stevie Wonder and Santana, and, as of August 2009, has replaced Bill Champlin in the band Chicago. He has also written songs for artists such as Smokey Robinson, Patti...
joined the band on keyboards and vocals, and then, Koinonia disbanded in 1991.
After Koinonia
Each member has gone on to be successful individual and/or studio and session musicians working with many giants of the music industry. Currently Abraham LaborielAbraham Laboriel
Abraham Laboriel, Sr. is a Mexican bassist of Garifuna descent who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. Guitar Player Magazine described him as "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the father of drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. and of producer, songwriter, and...
, Justo Almario, 8-time Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
winning Bill Maxwell, with the addition of long-time arranger/composer/sessionman, Greg Mathieson, are the quartet known as Open Hands, based in Los Angeles. Hadley Hockensmith has been Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
’s guitarist for 25 years. Dean Parks
Dean Parks
Dean Parks is an American session guitarist and record producer from Ft. Worth, TX.-Albums:Dean was member of The North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los Angeles to work with Sonny and Cher in 1970. Dean is best-known through his many contributions to albums by Steely Dan...
is still one the top studio guitarists in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, and Alex Acuña
Alex Acuña
Alejandro Neciosup Acuña aka Alex Acuña is a Peruvian drummer and percussionist, in the Afro-Cuban jazz style.Born in Pativilca, Peru, Acuña played in local bands from the age of ten, and moved to Lima as a teenager. At the age of eighteen he joined the band of Perez Prado, and in 1967 he moved...
is one of the major LA studio film percussionists and tours with his own band. Harlan Rogers lives in Nashville and has retired from music. Lou Pardini
Lou Pardini
Lou Pardini is an American Grammy-nominated keyboardist, songwriter, and vocalist. He has worked with notable musicians such as Stevie Wonder and Santana, and, as of August 2009, has replaced Bill Champlin in the band Chicago. He has also written songs for artists such as Smokey Robinson, Patti...
has recorded several of his own albums, composing a Grammy-award winning song for Smokey Robinson
Smokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...
as well.John Phillips has been out of contact.
It should also be noted that early on, Koinonia set the standard for excellence in music for the Christian Music
Christian music
Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely across the world....
/Gospel Music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
genres of music which was still, at that time, relatively young to the commercial music scene. The standard set by Koinonia, arguably, has never been reached since.
Discography
Koinonia's albums include:- More than a Feelin' (1982)
- Celebration (1984)
- Frontline (1986)
- Koinonia (1989)
- Compact Favorites (1989 - collection)
- Pilgrim’s Progression - Best of Koinonia (1992 - compilation)
- Celebrate In Gothenburg (2005 DVD of live concert in 1983)