Dreams was one of the original prominent jazz rock bands in the period of the late 1960s and early 1970s, and recorded for Columbia Records. Dreams was formed by Jeff Kent and Doug Lubahn, who together wrote and arranged all their original songs. The band began as a trio and evolved into a horn-based band over time. They were later joined by others such as Will Lee, Don Grolnick, Bob Mann, and Eddie Vernon.
Dreams selected as their producer, composer and sound engineer, Fred Weinberg, whose work included albums for Eddie Palmieri, Tito Puente, La Lupe, Mongo Santamaria, Celia Cruz, Illustration (Alan Lorber's group), Little Anthony and many others. Phil Ramone, another highly respected producer and studio owner, for whom Weinberg worked at the time at a studio named A & R in New York City, gave his blessings to Weinberg to record and mix the Dreams LP with former Atlantic A-1 engineer Jim Reeves at CBS Studios in New York City. The album received a full page ad[1] and a favorable review in Billboard Magazine.[2]
Dreams' second and final album Imagine My Surprise was produced in Memphis by Steve Cropper. Cropper wanted to "help the audience to better understand the group" so in his production he put "funkier, more commercial rhythms behind [the band]" while trying to "keep jazz up front at the same time."[3]
While Dreams did not achieve the commercial success of either Chicago or Blood Sweat & Tears, they did serve as a launchpad for eventually prominent jazz fusion artists Billy Cobham, Don Grolnick, and Randy & Michael Brecker (later known as the Brecker Brothers). Other prominent band members included guitarist John Abercrombie, trombonist Barry Rogers, guitarist Bob Mann (who later joined Mountain) and bassist Will Lee.
One of the principal differences between Dreams and most other brass-infused bands was Dream's emphasis on spontaneity. The horn section would "work up spontaneous arrangements by jamming, always leaving them wide open to interpretations from night to night."[4] Their first album Dreams was
Dreams contributed to the soundtrack of the cult 1974 film, The Groove Tube, with their theme for the "Dealers" skit.
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