Air- 'Air Time' LP (Nessa Records)

Air, featuring Henry Threadgill, Fred Hopkins, and Steve McCall, was one of the seminal jazz bands of the 1970s & ‘80s. While Threadgill was the leader, each of them expanded the vocabulary of trios without chordal accompaniment, and of their individual instruments. Fred Hopkins, for instance, stretched the vocabulary of the bass, playing lines and solos that were built around its unique timbres and characteristics. As an ensemble, they were able to use their voices to fill the space that typically needed a much larger group.