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Tommy Bolin – THE DEFINITIVE TEASER biography: HE WAS a shooting star, a fiercely bright, ferociously driven and a guitarist whose soul spoke through his fingers and fretboard. Tommy Bolin. An American axeman of the caliber rarely seen or heard before (or since) his untimely death at the age of 25 on December 4th 1976. A man who allowed the power of funk and the fury of rock to find such finite expression through his inspiration. A man who allowed his emotions to play out through his Fender Strat and Gibson Les Paul. A man who saw Elvis when he was a boy and knew that aura, that energy and that desire to express himself in the solitude of the spotlight was also in him. His expression never sounded more fluent than on his 1975 solo album debut Teaser, and UDR Records is proud to present the first true overview of this project and era with the triple vinyl release of Teaser which includes two bonus live CDs. Embracing a tour de force of styles from jazz to hard rock to Latin music, all of which were expressed in a glorious musical stew, Bolin was unable to properly promote the album due to being in Deep Purple. As such, Teaser has perhaps never been properly promoted or recognized in the public eye, something which would surely have made the wild child from Iowa happy were he alive to see it. Growing up in Sioux City, Bolin was the happy recipient of much parental support during his early teenage years, but he felt he had to leave Iowa in order to progress and thus moved to Denver, Colorado where he formed, at 17 years old, Zephyr, whose blues rock was coated in psychedelic tendencies. Despite opening for the likes of Led Zeppelin and growing a strong fan-base, Bolin left the group in 1971 to form Energy (a jazz-rock project) before Joe Walsh recommended him to The James Gang, where he recorded the Bang! and Miami albums in 1973 and ’74 respectively. Bolin also appeared on legendary drummer Billy Cobham’s Spectrum solo album, and his ability to enjoy (and make the grade with!) such improvisational jamming style sounds left Bolin as that rare bird. A man who could be a rock star or a man who could be a musician’s musician at cafes across America. Bolin moved to LA seeking confirmation of the stardom his enormous talents promised, and the foundations for the legendary Teaser album were laid. Featuring session musicians such as Glenn Hughes, David Sanborn, Jan Hammer, Stanley Sheldon and Phil Collins, Teaser represents the fulcrum point of Tommy’s solo-artist work. As he completed work on it, Deep Purple’s Ritchie Blackmore quit the band and was invited to join Purple by singer David Coverdale. Come Taste The Band came out towards the end of 1975, before Purple disbanded and left Bolin free to do his second album Private Eyes. Opening for Peter Frampton and Jeff Beck, Bolin was just starting to enjoy the sort of attention and re that would surly have seen him rise to the next level of revered guitar God. Sadly, Bolin’s addiction issues would not allow it, and in 1976, he died at the tragically young age of 25. Bolin’s legacy is superbly reflected in The Definitive Teaser, a lovingly crafted-and-mined deluxe vinyl box-set featuring outtakes and alternative mixes from the Teaser studio sessions, plus two live CDs comprising performances from Ebbets Field and The Northern Lights among others. The Definitive Teaser will thus satiate the appetites of his many adoring fans worldwide in this, its 40th Anniversary.