John Blair (November 8, 1943 – June 3, 2006) – I'm A Wizard (1977)

This phenomenal funk jam was the only track written by the unsung jazz-funk violinist on his We Belong Together LP, produced by Creed Taylor for CTI Records.

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John Blair was an unsung but very talented violinist and guitarist who released several jazz-funk solo albums in the 1970s before dropping off the radar.

Born in Toledo, Ohio, John Franklin “Ellington” Blair was raised in California and took violin lessons starting at a young age. He graduated from high school in San Diego in 1961. He then completed degrees from both the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

Blair’s first recorded composition was “Black Boy” (1970), the stellar closing cut to Gene McDaniels’ Outlaw LP, his first on Atlantic Records. It was produced by Joel Dorn and featured Ron Carter on bass.

He next released his debut solo album Mystical Soul (1971) on the New York-based label A&R Records. It featured Blair playing the vitar, a cross between a violin and a guitar that was manufactured by the Exinde/Xinde Corporation. Blair used it on most, if not all of his recordings throughout the seventies and became probably its most well known player. The B-side to the LP’s only single was the powerful Black unity anthem “Hey Root People,” which Blair wrote.

The album’s other best tracks were also written by Blair, including the mellow love song “Sometimes a Man” and the stellar jazz-funk jam “I Don't Know Why.”

Around this time Blair supposedly was romantically involved with Roberta Flack, who sang at his sparsely attended funeral years later. He was also a martial arts instructor. As former NYC resident Joseph Felix recalled in 2017:

“(Blair) even taught Karate with a Jazzy improvisational style allowing his students to experiment and invent their own styles and Katas. I had the privilege of visiting his Dojo and sparring with his students on 6th St. near Avenue D NYC (Manhattan) Lower East Side. He was very proficient in his martial arts and a true gentleman. This was around 1971.”

In 1977, Blair released his third solo album We Belong Together on CTI Records, produced by label owner Creed Taylor. Highlights included a stellar cover of “Feather Lite & Honey Smooth” (which Parker McGee wrote for his own debut LP the previous year) and the funky, late 70s era Grateful Dead-flavored jam “Don't Feel Like That Way No More,” written by Danny Seals of England Dan & John Ford Coley fame. Its beautiful title track was a duet with Blair and Googie Coppola and was issued as the LP’s single.

Its B-side was the only cut on the album written by Blair, the phenomenal funk jam “I’m A Wizard.” One of the backing vocalists on this track was Irene Cara. Like the rest of the album, it also featured Steve Gadd on drums.

In the early eighties, Blair and Roy Ayers recorded two socially conscious jazz-funk rap tracks together. An acetate of “Respect” b/w “Trust” was released by Circle Records, Ltd on December 14, 1982, with both tracks billed as featuring Ayers. The only copy currently for sale on Discogs will set you back $850. When a more polished version of “Respect” was released commercially in 1983 on 3C Records, Ayers was no longer listed as a featured vocalist, but still credited as an associate producer, with Blair arranging and producing both the vocal version and its instrumental on the B-side.

Blair stopped recording during the eighties. He continued to reside in New York City, where by the early oughts he was living with a girlfriend in the Bronx until she kicked him out of the apartment they shared. This led to his becoming homeless for the period of time leading up to his death from heart failure, gone too soon at age 62.

Rest in Power, John Blair.

Further info:

“John Blair Displays Talents As Jazz Violinist and Singer,” The New York Times, October 29, 1970.

“The Legend of John Blair,” by Blossom Benedict.

“A Mysterious Homeless Violinist,” OurTownNY.com, February 26, 2015.

#soul #jazz #funk #GeneMcDaniels #RoyAyers #JohnBlair