Brian Auger

Career

Brian Albert Gordon Auger, born on 18 July 1939, is an English keyboardist known for his work in jazz rock and rock, with the Hammond organ as his specialty. His career has included collaborations with Rod Stewart, Tony Williams, Jimi Hendrix, John McLaughlin, Sonny Boy Williamson, Eric Burdon, and CAB. His music blends jazz, early British pop, R&B, soul, and rock, and he has received a Grammy nomination.

In 1965, Auger contributed to the Yardbirds' "For Your Love" as a session player. He was originally meant to play the Hammond organ but ended up using a harpsichord, the only keyboard available. That year, he also founded the Steampacket alongside Long John Baldry, Julie Driscoll, Vic Briggs, and Rod Stewart. Contractual issues prevented any official recordings, though nine promotional tracks were cut in late 1965 and released as an LP in France on BYG in 1970. These tracks, plus 12 live recordings from a 1964 Birmingham Town Hall show, appeared on CD via Repertoire Records in 1990. Stewart left the group in early 1966, and the band soon disbanded.

With Driscoll and the band Trinity, Auger recorded covers of David Ackles' "Road to Cairo" and Bob Dylan's "This Wheel's on Fire," the latter appearing on Dylan Covered and reaching number 5 on the UK singles chart. In 1969, the trio performed on the NBC special 33⅓ Revolutions Per Monkee. Auger and Driscoll parted ways after the 1969 album Streetnoise, but reunited for the 1978 release Encore.

In 1970, Auger formed the jazz fusion group Brian Auger's Oblivion Express, not long after abandoning a failed jazz rock commune called the "Wassenaar Arrangement" near The Hague. The band featured notable musicians like Average White Band drummers Robbie McIntosh and Steve Ferrone, and guitarist Jim Mullen. According to a December 1970 Baltimore Sun article, the lineup included Auger on keyboards, Mullen on guitar, Barry Dean on bass, and Keith Bailey on drums, with saxophonist Alan Skidmore expected to join. The following year, Auger produced and played on Mogul Thrash's sole album; two of its members, Roger Ball and Malcolm Duncan, later formed the Average White Band.

In the mid-1980s, Auger toured with Kim Simmonds, Gregg Errico, and Tim Bogert in a band called Maestro, though no album came from it. In 1986, he played keyboards on Italian singer Mango's album Odissea.