If

Great Britain supplied its own entry in the jazz-rock movement that Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago had launched and popularized from the late 1960s into the early 1970s. Melody Maker jazz poll winners Dave Quincy, Dick Morrissey, and Terry Smith assembled the group in 1969, yet it never secured a popular following in the United States. If nevertheless issued multiple albums that distinguished themselves by situating jazz musicians inside a pop/rock setting and forging a genuine fusion of the styles while retaining the players’ improvisational capacities. Departing from most horn-driven contemporaries, If employed no brass at all, depending exclusively on Dick Morrissey’s saxophones together with Dave Quincy’s flute and saxophones. The band’s truly singular sound, however, arose from the vocals of J.W. Hodgkinson and the guitar of Terry Smith. Hodgkinson’s vocal timbre proved unusual—smooth, flexible, and strong in the high register—unlike any other singer’s. Smith’s trebly guitar tone likewise stood apart, fusing a rocker’s application of sustain with the jazz fluency of Wes Montgomery and Django Reinhardt. The original lineup of If delivered five excellent albums between 1970 and 1972, though none reached an audience. Morrissey persisted with the If name for two further albums recorded by an entirely different roster and marked by a more generic rock approach, but these likewise found no listeners. Drummer Dennis Elliott subsequently became a member of the platinum-selling rock band Foreigner.