Jazz-funk was never my thing, conjuring nightmarish visions of George Benson and Level 42, but it did provide a moment of Pleasure in 1979.

As so often, it’s the bassline that draws me in – a burbling, bouncing, booming funk undercurrent – to Glide, their solitary hit (and not a big one).

The risk-taking, horn-driven ’70s band often brought jazz overtones to their funk-soul foundation, and only found minor success towards the end of their decade together. 

Pleasure formed in Portland, Oregon, in 1972, when two local bands, The Franchise and The Soul Masters, joined forces to create a new outfit.

The former brought together guitarist Marlon ‘The Magician’ McClain and a rhythm section of bassist Nathaniel Phillips and  drummer Bruce Carter, while the latter added lead singer Sherman Davis, keyboardist Donald Hepburn and a brass section of saxophonist Dennis Springer and trombonist Dan Brewster.

The new band, Pleasure, got a lucky break when trombonist Wayne Henderson, a founding member of The Jazz Crusaders, saw them performing in a Portland club and became their mentor, leading in 1974 to a deal with Fantasy Records – where he produced four of the band’s six albums. 

Three years and three albums later, Brewster left the band and Hepburn’s younger brother Michael came on board as keyboard player and new lead singer. 

Their fifth album Future Now, released in 1979 with the addition of new horn player Tony Collins on trumpet and flügelhorn, finally gave them the funksters their first Top Ten hit with this song, Glide.

It would turn out to be their only hit and, after one more album – Special Things, with new lead guitarist Doug Lewis, the band broke up. 

After their breakup in 1982 most members managed to stay active in the music scene one way or another through teaching, producing other acts, songwriting for Disney, and touring with artists including Kenny G, Herb Alpert, The Crusaders and The Whispers.

Michael Hepburn is still performing – he joined the 2019 reunion that produced a new album called Now Is The Time – when he can find time from his day job as a prosecuting attorney in Seattle. 

Despite their lack of other hits, they also recorded this magnificent slice of jazzy funk and soul, which lives up to its title – Joyous.