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James Mtume, Reggie Lucas, Tawatha Agee, Basil Fearington, Hubert Eaves and Howard King were the members of Mtume. Bandleader James Mtume is the son of jazz saxophonist James Heath and he started playing percussion professionally in the ’70s with his father, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard and Joe Henderson. In the early ’70s he formed the group of his namesake and they recorded 8 albums. The general public know the band because of the famously sampled “Juicy Fruit” from their 1983 album of the same name. However, fans of the group have an appreciation for all of their releases because of Mtume’s uncompromising artistry that never catered to corporate politics and their star musicians. James Mtume met guitar player Reggie Lucas when they both played for Davis and together they would write notable songs for Mtume and other artists including Stephanie Mills, Roberta Flack and Phyllis Hyman. “Love Lock” comes from the 1978 project Kiss This World Goodbye. This album also contains the original version of “The Closer I Get To You” done with the mighty vocals of Tawatha Agee but made famous when covered by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway later that year.“Prime Time,” “C.O.D. (I’ll Deliver,)” “Tie Me Up,” “You, Me & He,” “You Are My Sunshine,” “So You Wanna Be A Star” and “Breathless” are a sample of the pith they brought to R&B. Mtume has also worked as a producer and writer for Lou Rawls, Roy Ayers, The Spinners, Gladys Knight, D’Angelo, LeVert, Chante Moore, Tawatha, Mavis Staples, The Last Poets, Joe, Nu Romance Crew, Tyrone Brunson and Marc Sadane. Other career highlights of his post-Mtume days include scoring the films ‘Sarafina’ and ‘Native Son.’ In addition to his film he was the musical director of the popular ’90’s TV show New York Undercover. In recent times James Mtume has worked as an on-air personality for New York radio. He can be heard every Sunday on WKRS from 10-12 co-hosting the OPEN LINE show with Bob Slade and Bob Pickett.
