Cold Sweat

Within an interview with Musician magazine, trombonist Craig Harris remarked that rock and roll musicians hired jazz musicians “because that is where the very best players are, 100 % pure and simple.” An admirer from the psychological directness of R&B and rock and roll, Harris thought “why can’t we take up a pop music group and hire ourselves?” The effect was Cold Perspiration, a music group that could play funky R&B and combine it with jazz’s cerebral improvisation. Along with Harris, Chilly Perspiration included likeminded mavericks and M-Base affiliates who ignored the guidelines of styles. Clyde Criner performed keyboards, Eddie E.J. Allen performed trumpet, Kweyao Agyapon was on percussion, and Alonzo Gardner manned the bass. People like Arthur Blythe, Olu Dara, Fred Wells, and Andy Bey lowered in every once in awhile. In 1989, JMT released their debut, Chilly Sweat Takes on J.B., an recording almost entirely made of James Brown tracks. The follow-up, 4-Play, arrived two years later on. In 2003, the wintertime & Winter season label reissued both from the band’s albums.