Schon & Hammer

  • Schon & Hammer - Here To Stay [Columbia Records FC 38428] (December 1982)

Biography

This was a short-lived partnership between Journey's Neal Schon (b. 27 February 1954, San Mateo, California, USA; guitar, vocals) and Jan Hammer (b. 17 April 1948, Prague, Czechoslovakia; keyboards, drums). The fusion of styles between Schon's AOR and Hammer's jazz rock produced Untold Passion, a record that largely consisted of virtuoso performances from both musicians duelling against each other. The innovative British electric jazz bass player Colin Hodgkinson, previously with Back Door, accompanied the duo in the studio on the first album and Schon's vocal contributions proved to be particularly satisfying. By the time of the second release many of Schon's comrades from Journey had been enlisted, resulting in a lighter collection of songs and a departure from Schon And Hammer's raison d'etre. The partnership was soon dissolved, with Schon returning full-time to Journey and Hammer moving to television work, enjoying particular success with the Miami Vice series. [allmusic.com]