Biography
Serving as the dedicated outlet for jazz-infused releases from Detroit techno visionary Carl Craig, Innerzone Orchestra assembled in the early 1990s. Their first project produced "Bug in the Bassbin," one of the most respected singles in Craig's catalog, issued on his Planet E Recordings label. Craig handled programming, joined by percussionist Francisco Mora Catlett—a former pupil of Max Roach, member of Sun Ra's Arkestra, and Capitol bandleader—keyboardist Craig Taborn of the James Carter Quartet, who also worked as a sideman with the Art Ensemble of Chicago and Dave Holland, and upright bassist Rodney Whitaker. The ensemble performed only scattered dates through the mid-1990s while Craig concentrated on recordings under his own name. In 1999 Innerzone Orchestra entered the studio to complete their debut full-length Programmed for Astralwerks, with live appearances including a New York Central Park SummerStage show taking place later that year. Craig additionally founded Community Projects, a new jazz subsidiary of Planet E, whose first release was Catlett's own World Trade Music LP. [See Also: Carl Craig, Paperclip People, Psyche/BFC, 69]