Yellowjackets are a group of jazz fusion musicians whose current line-up features Russell Ferrante on keyboards, Bob Mintzer on saxophone and clarinet, Will Kennedy on drums and Dane Alderson on bass. Since the early 1980s the band's mix of R&B and jazz has brought international acclaim with more than two dozen albums released since their self-titled debut in 1981, many of them top 20 hits on the Billboard Jazz Albums Chart along with hit singles and two Grammy Awards. The band formed originally as the Robben Ford Group in 1977 in Los Angeles when guitarist Ford gathered veteran session players including keyboard player Russell, bass player Jimmy Haslip and drummer Ricky Lawson to play on his album 'The Inside Story'. After a name-change, the self-titled debut album by the Yellowjackets was released in 1981 with a good reception.
The line-up changed and their second album 'Mirage a Trois' was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance in 1983. 'Samurai Samba' (1985) was followed by 'Shades' (1986) with a single 'And You Know That' that won a Grammy Award as Best R&B Instrumental Performance. They were nominated again for Best Jazz Fusion Performance for 'Four Corners' (1987) and won in that category for 'Politics' in 1988. 'The Spin' (1989) earned them a nomination as Best Jazz Instrumental Performance and they had further nominations for Best Contemporary Jazz Performance for 'Greenhouse' in 1991, 'Like a River' in 1993 and 'Run for Your Life' in 1994.
'A Rise in the Road' (2013) peaked at number six on the Jazz Chart and produced two hit singles, 'Madrugada', which went to number 12 on the Smooth Jazz Songs Chart and 'Can't We Elope', which hit number three. Their 2016 release 'Cohearance' reached number three and the single 'Eddie's in the House' went to number 23. Their 2018 dates kicked off in January at the Grandel Theater in St. Louis, Missouri.
