Dennis
Chambers started drum-lessons at the age of 4. By his 16-th birthday, he had become a
professional musician. At 18, the prodigious percussionist and self-taught funkateer
caught the gig with the one-in-a-million funk-phenomenon that was Parliament/Funkadelic! (…Time
we caught our breath perhaps, dear reader?…) Well. After the period of active
service, from 1978-85, on George Clinton’s Mothership – and on its kindred
space-shuttles like The Brides of Funkenstein and Bootsy’s Rubber Band –,
Chambers’ spectacular career next took a distinctly jazzier turn. Memberships of the
fusion group Special EFX, of David Sanborn’s, John Scofield’s, and Mike
Stern’s bands beckoned. Engagements with the Brecker Brothers, Bill Evans, Michal
Urbaniak, George Duke, Stanley Clarke, Steve Khan, Leni Stern and Steely Dan followed. At
present perceived by many as an original combination of Tony Williams’s polyrhythmic
touch and Billy Cobham’s expressiveness, Dennis Chambers’ percussive powers
sound virtually inexhaustible.
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