Quantum Jump -

Quantum Jump was an English supergroup that fused jazz-funk and space-rock on their 1976–77 albums Quantum Jump and Barracuda, both released by the Electric Record Company. Singer–producer Rupert Hine fronted the band, which featured Peddlers drummer Trevor Morais, Caravan bassist John G. Perry, and Kevin Ayers guitarist Mark Warner.

In 1979, their re-released single “The Lone Ranger” became a Top 5 UK hit.

Members: Rupert Hine (vocals, keyboards), John G. Perry (vocals, bass), Mark Warner (guitar), Trevor Morais (drums, percussion)

Background

Quantum Jump sprung from a series of 1972 mega-jams held by veteran drummer Trevor Morais at his countryside rehearsal space, Farmyard, where creative sparks flew with singer–songwriter Rupert Hine.

Morais (b. October 10, 1944; Liverpool) had stints in multiple Merseybeat groups (Rory Storm & The Hurricanes, Faron’s Flamingos) and served eight years in The Peddlers, a Mancunian soul-jazz trio. After six albums, he left during the tour for their lavish 1972 release Suite London, a collaboration with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Hine (b. 1947) first recorded in Rupert & David, a mid-sixties folk-pop combo with lyricist David McIver. Years after their 1965 Decca single (a cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Sound of Silence,” released before the song became famous), they signed to Deep Purple‘s Purple Records. Roger Glover produced their 1971 album Pick Up a Bone. After their 1973 second Purple release, Unfinished Picture, Hine’s interests shifted to rhythmic styles of music.

By 1973, Trevor’s jams shrunk from their initial cast of 22 participants. Hine summoned Unfinished Picture bassist John G. Perry, who Rupert met through a mutual friend, arranger Simon Jeffes. Perry cut a 1971 album in Gringo and joined Caravan for their 1973 release For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night.

Meanwhile, Hine launched his production career with the 1973 Dawn release Growing, the third album by Jonesy. In 1974, he produced The Confessions of Dr. Dream and Other Stories, the fifth solo album by ex-Soft Machine bassist–singer Kevin Ayers. During the album’s sessions (which involved Perry on five tracks), Hine was impressed by the tactile delivery of guitarist Mark Warner, a prior sessionist for (eventual Fox mastermind) Kenny Young. After one Farmyard rehearsal, they brought him into the fold.

Hine, Morais, Perry, and Warner studied recent developments in funk (Kool & The Gang, Little Feat, Tower of Power) and jazz-rock (Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, Return to Forever); influences fused with Rupert’s English songwriting sensibilities. He named their act Quantum Jump after a conversation with filmmaker Anthony Stern (a University of Cambridge grad who used passages from Unfinished Picture in Wheels, an experimental short). Stern explained the recent UoC discovery of jumps in electron energy levels (quantums), which contradicted prior theories of linear wavelength continuity.

With financial backing by Jeffrey Levinson (a minor industry figure), Quantum Jump recorded their first album in 1974 at Farmyard. Unfinished Picture soundman Steve Nye engineered the project with equipment loaned from AIR Studios. Once completed, Hine shopped the album to various labels. In 1975, music entrepreneur Jeremy Thomas showed interest in their track “The Lone Ranger” but insisted it needed a stronger intro.

In a recent edition of the Guinness Book of World Records, Hine noticed an 85-letter Maori name for a hill on the southeast coast of New Zealand’s north island:

Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu

For help with pronunciation, Rupert spoke with Trevor’s house guest, Chris Thompson, a Kent-born musician raised in New Zealand. Hine divided the world into measured syllables for the intro and middle of “The Lone Ranger,” which Thomas marked for release on his new label, The Electric Record Company. (Thompson soon joined Manfred Mann’s Earth Band).

Quantum Jump

Quantum Jump released their self-titled debut album in 1976 on The Electric Record Company.

The album contains eight group-credited songs. Musically, the album veers between funk-influenced tracks (“Captain Boogaloo,” “The Lone Ranger”) and spacier territory (“No American Starship”). Side B contains “Constant Forest,” a tranquil number that segues into “Something at the Bottom of the Sea,” a stormy epic in four parts.

Producer Rupert Hine sings and plays keyboards across Quantum Jump, which credits him with multilectras varium (multi-lingual variations, a reference to the 85-letter Maori word). His longtime writing partner David McIver penned the album’s lyrics apart from “No American Starship,” which features verses by Jeannette-Thérèse Obstoj, a graphic artist and subsequent Hine co-writer.

Percussionists Morris Pert (Brand X) and Ray Cooper (Elton John Band) appear as musical guests.

A1. “Captain Boogaloo” (4:19)
A2. “Over Rio” (4:22)
A3. “The Lone Ranger” (2:55)
A4. “No American Starship (Looking for the Next World)” (4:55)

B1. “Alta Loma Road” (4:46)
B2. “Cocabana Havana” (5:10)
B3. “Constant Forest” (2:17)
B4. “Something at the Bottom of the Sea: Parts 1-4” (8:10)

Quantum Jump sports yellow-framed quantum-spherical imagery credited to Pick Up a Bone graphic artist David Juniper, whose earlier visual credits include Led Zeppelin II and 1970 albums by Peter Grant’s other client, Stone the Crows. The backside and inner-sleeve feature studio pics credited to multiple sources, including guitarist Mike Warner and rock photojournalist Fin Costello.

The album’s appearance coincided with Sunset Wading, John G. Perry’s debut solo album. Warner resumed sessionist work with Paul Travis and Harvey Andrews.

Barracuda

Quantum Jump released their second album, Barracuda, in April 1977 on The Electric Record Company.

Rupert Hine recorded the album with drummer Trevor Morias, bassist John G. Perry, and two auxiliary guitarists: Paul Keogh (another Harvey Andrews sideman) and Geoffrey Richardson, Perry’s erstwhile Caravan colleague, who triples on viola assorted flutes (identified as “Kentish wheeze” and “iikley brain” models).

Barracuda contains eight group-composed originals with lyrics by Jeanette Obstöj (“The Seance” and Side B) and Scottish poet Martin Hall (Side A and “Europe On a Dollar a Day”).

Repeat guest Ray Cooper appears alongside singer Elkie Brooks and the Tower of Lower Horn Section, arranged by Henry Lowther. Simon Jeffes conducts the Penguin Cafe String Ensemble with featured violinist Gavin Wright.

Musically, Barracuda blends their harmonized funk (“Don’t Look Now”) with tropical art-pop (“Love Crossed”), baroque syncopation (“The Seance”), and synth-laden lucidity (“Neighbours,” the title track).

A1. “Don’t Look Now” (4:16)
A2. “The Seance (Too Spooky)” (3:45)
A3. “Barracuda” (6:10)
A4. “Starbright Park” (6:00)

B1. “Love Crossed (Like Vines in Our Eyes)” (6:45)
B2. “Blue Mountain (Aloha Green Sea)” (3:30)
B3. “Europe On a Dollar a Day” (3:51)
B4. “Neighbours” (6:45)

Sessions spanned October 1976 through February 1977 at Trident Studios in London’s Soho district, where Hine produced Barracuda ahead of Round the Back, the Epic debut by the Scottish trio Cafe Jacques, who used Richardson as a fourth wheel.

Trident’s Jerry Smith engineered Barracuda in sequence with 1976/77 albums by Brand X, Charlie, Mallard, Nova, Spiders from Mars, and ex-Pilot singer William Lyall. Hall penned earlier lyrics for Capability Brown and Greenslade and current songs by Krazy Kat (“Gotta Get Back”) and Peter Gabriel (“Excuse Me”).

Gryphon illustrator Dan Pearce (Red Queen to Gryphon Three) illustrated the Barracuda cover, which shows a swordfish-hauling truck in pursuit of a swimsuit-clad blond.

Discography: