Chris Jasper and The Isley Brothers to Receive Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
CHRIS JASPER & THE ISLEY BROTHERS Receive Grammy’s Lifetime
Achievement Award
Legendary songwriter, producer, keyboardist and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee CHRIS JASPER, an integral member of the legendary “3 + 3 era” ISLEY BROTHERS, will be awarded a GRAMMY LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD this January along with the rest of the Isley Brothers, Ernie Isley, Marvin Isley (posthumously), O’Kelly Isley (posthumously), Ronald Isley, and his brother-in-law Rudolph Isley.
CHRIS JASPER was an integral member of THE ISLEY BROTHERS during the 1970s and 1980s—their gold and platinum years—from the “3 + 3” to “Between the Sheets” albums. It was during this time that CHRIS JASPER, along with younger Isley Brothers, ERNIE ISLEY and MARVIN ISLEY, added the composition and musical component to the older Isley Brothers’ vocal trio (Rudolph, O’Kelly & Ronald Isley), making the “3+3 era” ISLEY BROTHERS a self-produced, self-contained R&B/funk band.
CHRIS JASPER was primarily responsible for writing and arranging the majority of the Isley Brothers’ music during this time including such beautiful love songs as “For The Love of You”, “Don’t Say Goodnight” and “Between the Sheets” and uptempo funk such as “Fight the Power”, “Live It Up”, “The Pride”, and “Showdown” and the list goes on and on. His arrangements and instrumentation as a classically-trained musician, and his expertise on the keyboards and synthesizers, have been called the foundation of the unique and legendary “Isley Brothers Sound” of the “3 + 3 era”
CHRIS JASPER, MARVIN ISLEY and ERNIE ISLEY subsequently formed the spin-off group ISLEY-JASPER-ISLEY (IJI) and CHRIS penned and sang lead vocals on the #1 R&B hit “Caravan of Love”, a song that was covered by English recording group, the Housemartins, and became an international #1 pop hit.
“Brother to Brother” is another notable track written and sung by CHRIS JASPER during the IJI years in support of the anti-apartheid struggle at that time, which was recently heard around the world in a tribute to the great NELSON MANDELA following his recent passing.
CHRIS JASPER continues to bring his “unique sound” to his own solo projects, releasing 10 solo albums for his independent record label GOLD CITY RECORDS. His recently released CD, “Inspired…By Love, By Life, By the Spirit” has received critical acclaim.
Source: Nestor