Isotope 217

Isotope 217, the Chicago jazz-funk fusion ensemble, included guitarist Jeff Parker together with percussionists John Herndon and Dan Bitney, each of whom gained wider recognition through their roles in Tortoise. The lineup for the band’s first Thrill Jockey outing, the 1997 album The Unstable Molecule, additionally featured trumpeter Rob Mazurek, bassist Matt Lux, and trombonist Sara P. Smith. Utonian Automatic arrived in 1999 and coincided with a split effort alongside Commander Mindfuck and Designer, after which Who Stole the I Walkman appeared the following year.