Biography
by Alex Henderson
Led by drummer/arranger Chris Hills, the Players Association was an obscure late-'70s, early-'80s outfit that specialized in a jazz-influenced style of disco-funk. Major jazz musicians like Michael Brecker, David Sanborn, Joe Farrell, and Tom Harrell appeared on its albums, but the New York band never catered to jazz's hardcore; its main focus was disco-funk with jazz overtones, although the Association occasionally detoured into instrumental jazz-pop and quiet storm/NAC music. The Association never became well known, and its recordings received very little radio airplay; however, it did enjoy a small underground following among danceclub DJs. The Players Association signed with Vanguard in 1977, and the band recorded five albums before calling it quits in 1981: 1977's The Players Association, 1978's Born to Dance, 1979's Turn the Music Up! 1980's We Got the Groove, and 1981's Let Your Body Go.