There was a recording session with Prince, Andre Cymone and Steve Fontana that produced 3 unreleased (and perhaps uncirculating) tracks: E-Pluribous Funk, Bump This and Shine Your Light/Red Zone. I thought it was odd that this came about during the recording of his debut album and that he used an outside musician. Were these tracks or ideas used on "For You" or was this for a different project entirely? And who is Steve Fontana?

alphachannel said:

http://www.stevefontana.com/

uncirculating, by the way.

databank said:

his bio fails to mention his work with prince in '77.

i'm betting there's leopard print tights pictures of
him out there.

alphachannel said:

Hey Alphachannel, I really don´t know. Never heard of those sessions before but I´ve just sent an e-mail to Steve Fontana.....maybe he knows a bit more.

Here´s my message to him:


The E-Pluribous Funk Session (11/4/77)

Dear Mr. Fontana,



I am a big fan of American Funk and Soul music. Even though I was born and raised in Germany as a son of Turkish immigrants, I could not help but develop a huge fondness of Funk music.

While doing some research on the internet about some jam sessions of the American artist Prince ( born Prince Rogers Nelson) I stumbled across your name and saw that you were involved in some of the early sessions with Prince before he even signed his first record deal with Warner Brothers Records in Burbank, California.



Even those those recording sessions with you, Prince and Andre Cymone are not circulating among fans, they are still very well known due to word of mouth.



Now my question is: why did you leave the band ? Was it because of your career in politics, or because Prince replaced you with Gayle Chapman?



Do you think that Dr.Fink was the most badass keyboard player in Prince´s band?

Is it possible to obtain the tracks Shine Your Light, The Red Zone and A Pluribus Funk?

What happened to the song "Bump This?"



Were any of those early demos later used for Prince´s debut album? Did you ever think about sueing him for not mentioning you in the album credits?

Do you still enjoy Funk music? How do you feel about Larry Graham?



Here´s a little snippet from Prince.org, a website dedicated to Prince and his music, where fans discuss your early contributions to the body of work of one of America´s greatest artists.



The E-Pluribous Funk Session (11/4/77)

There was a recording session with Prince, Andre Cymone and Steve Fontana that produced 3 unreleased (and perhaps uncirculating) tracks: E-Pluribous Funk, Bump This and Shine Your Light/Red Zone. I thought it was odd that this came about during the recording of his debut album and that he used an outside musician. Were these tracks or ideas used on "For You" or was this for a different project entirely? And who is Steve Fontana?





Looking forward to hearing from you,



sincerely,



Kool Eaze

He hasn´t replied yet.

KoolEaze said:

OMG!!!

I just googled the name and fell on this, i wasn't trying to claim that this guy REALLY is the same Steve Fontana (though i have no clue, so he might as well be, be but that sounds unlikely).

I'd like to see his face when he gets your email

Oh, and by the way everything that's on "For You" was recorded AFTER Prince signed with WB, including songs that had been previously recorded (they were rerecorded with proper studio quality), so there's no way any of these jams ended up on "For You" as you suggest this poor guy.

"Did you ever think about sueing him for not mentioning you in the album credits? " OMG

databank said:

I know you weren´t. But who knows? Maybe he IS the very same Steve Fontana and they both hook up again.

http://www.discogs.com/ar...ve+Fontana

http://www.artistdirect.c...ana/431496

Seems he's a studio-engineer.

Funny coincidence of Sheila E's possible first guest-session job, and for which Steve Fontana did audio-remixing :

Merl Saunders - Keepers (CD)

Recorded between 1971 and 1975. Includes liner notes by Mike Lawson.

" Keyboardist Merl Saunders roamed through the vaults at Fantasy Records in 1997, where he had recorded a voluminous amount of material in the 1970s, and put together this scintillating retrospective. Filled with multi-track remixes of forgotten masters, unreleased gems, restored parts over previously released material, this features Saunders fronting a bunch of different lineups and utilizing the talents of Jerry Garcia, Michael Bloomfield, David Grisman, Tom Fogerty, Vassar Clements, Kenneth Nash, John Kahn and a young Sheila E. Escovedo. Highlights include "Little Bit of Righteousness" and "Iron House," both featuring great guitar work from Bloomfield, "Wondering Why" and "Bolinas Brown," showcasing Garcia in two different lineups and "M.S.," perhaps Sheila's first recorded performance." ~ Cub Koda

Personnel: Merl Saunders (vocals, piano, Clavinet, organ, Mellotron, keyboards, synthesizer); Jerry Garcia (vocals, guitar); Geoff Muldaur, Lynette Hawkins-Stephens, Walter Hawkins & The Hawkins Family (vocals); Chris Hayes , Michael Howell, Michael Bloomfield, Joel Cohen (guitar); David Grisman (mandolin); Vassar Clements (violin); Martin Fierro (flute, saxophone); Ron Stalling, Rev. Ron Stallings (saxophone); John Wilmeth (trumpet); Vince Littleton (drums, percussion); Eccleston W. Wainwright, Jr., Bill Vitt, Gaylord Birch, Larry Vann (drums); Kenneth Nash (congas, bongos, percussion); (Ex) Cat Heads (congas); Edwin Hawkins, Tramaine Hawkins, Walter Hawkins (background vocals).

Audio Remixers: Steve Fontana; Merl Saunders.


http://www.cduniverse.com...eepers.htm

KoolEaze said:

OMG i wanna see this guy's face if he ever gets ur email

http://www.studioexpresso...ontano.htm

Shango said:

My mistake, sorry. As it was presented as a separate session i thought it was an earlier one

no problemo