Gene Dunlap

During his high school years in Detroit, Gene Dunlap first took up drums. There he struck up a friendship with guitarist Earl Klugh and performed alongside him at neighborhood venues. Dunlap later became the drummer for guitarist Grant Green and subsequently provided backing for vibraphonist Roy Ayers. A mid-’70s reunion with Klugh initiated a two-decade string of joint recordings on which Dunlap broadened his contributions to encompass percussion, guitar, synthesizer, and original composition. Three solo projects for Capitol Records briefly halted the partnership, which later resumed. Under the Gene Dunlap Band moniker, he issued Groove with You on Avenue Jazz Records in 1994, yet soon afterward withdrew from performing to instruct inner-city youth in Detroit. His return arrived in April 2000 with the label’s follow-up release, Tales of the Phatman.