Biography

Stratus is a jazz fusion

Jazz fusion

Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...

 band that formed in Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

 in the early 1980s.

The band's original members were Dave Nichols (musician)

Dave Nichols (musician)

- Biography :Dave Nichols was a prominent musician in Houston, Texas particularly on the jazz scene between the years 1982 and 1996. Nichols was a freelance bassist and recording engineer/producer for many different artists in the Houston area. Nichols creative energy was expressed most...

 (bass), Brian Hull (drums), Ted Wenglinski (keyboards), and Paul Chester (guitar). This lineup is represented on the band's first CD, "Hyperbole", released in 1990 and also on the 1999 CD "Ice Nine" that contained recordings from the band's early years between 1983 and 1989.

By the release of the band's 1995 CD "Iconoclast" Todd Harrison was on drums and the band had added David Caceres on sax. This is also the lineup on the most recent CD, "Anabolic, Live at the Ale House" released in 1997.

Stratus' founding bass player and producer Dave Nichols died in 1996 at 33 after battling cancer. A CD of Nichols' original material titled "Waltz of Hope" was recorded by a group of his friends and musician peers including the other members of Stratus just before he died.

Stratus continued to play on in Nichols' honor with Anthony Sapp taking on the bass mantle. Other drummers playing Stratus' live shows have included Tim Solook and Joel Fulgham.

Following a several year hiatus while the members worked on other projects the band reunited in 2009 and began recording new material.

See list of jazz fusion musicians.

Discography

- Hyperbole (1990)

- Iconoclast (1995)

- Ice Nine (recordings from 1983–1989)

- Anabolic Live at the Ale House (1997)