European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 10, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                August 1985 the stars and stripes Page 13 Magazine by Pettigrew Royal staff writer Deanna Harmon saw three Young men As pieces of something that was so it was not they were so talented they could not exist in real life Only in a she encouraged the three Young one of whom is her to pursue their musical today they form three fourths of the jazz band pieces of a and pieces of a dream is so Good that one of the greatest jazz saxophonists of All times Grover Washington offered to be the for the Philadelphia natives keyboardist James percussionist Curtis Lead Cedric Napoleon and guitarist Randy Bowland the pieces fell together like an unusual began playing classical piano at age my Mother gave me the biggest but the love of music was inside he i continued to play until i was 10 years old and then i i wanted to watch cartoons instead of practising All at age Lloyd returned to the piano because of his love to by then a student at Ada Louise Middle he joined that schools 20piece jazz the ensemble was directed by Gerald Price he became my teacher and was the first influence on my musical he after we Napoleon and Harmon met in the jazz we kept playing in Talent shows and have remained together Ever got his Start in music by my Danny was a vibraphone is in a band when i was he he used to take me to clubs and i would watch the drummer always caught my Eye because he seemed to have every part of his body so i began taking drum lessons at age Harmons father and his Uncle Bill guided him during some difficult years with his As a teenager it is hard to practice when your friends Are out and when youre gigging at your friends Are out partying and doing things you want to be a part he but Harmon stuck with his and in Ada Louise he met Lloyd and is probably the most unusual and outspoken piece of the unlike Lloyd and Napoleon had no Early love of i started playing an instrument when i met these he i was radio like most that was All i knew of the Road to the Bass guitar was Fate for i met these Guys and they seemed to enjoy what they were doing in the jazz so i wanted to at our Middle school i applied for a i always thought they looked so i went Down to the basement to get my and they told me they were All All they had left was a classical at the was bigger than i i really wanted to photo by Patrick Jackson pieces of a dream clockwise from Cedrick Randy Curtis Harmon and James do come True be in with James and so i took the Napoleon admits that it was hard work to catch up to the level of Lloyd and these at 12 and had already been playing for about five he they were my inspiration in if i had not met them and Felt their love for then i think i would have been a basketball Star that what i would have Napoleon and Bowland Are the two band members who Best exemplify raw found his first memorable Contact with music through the i loved to watch them on and my father recognized this he bought me a guitar on my seventh birthday and i just started to in still he Bowland never had any formal he picked up the guitar and practice until he could music was popular in my he it was the thing to play an so i always wanted to Bowland met the other band members in a music Camp in we were the youngest at the so i talked to but i didst get to know them he while touring in Japan with Grover pieces of a dream with and Napoleon saw Bowland perform in a Uso touring when i got Back from my Mother told me i had a phone recalls when i returned the Call i found out that they wanted me to join the Bowland joined in after the band had released two successful albums pieces of a dream and we Are the music was Mellow jazz the Type of jazz that goes with a a bottle of on tour Rhei main a Galaxy Frankfurt music Mainz Lee bks Pathfinder other dates to be wine and that special someone in your As Napoleon the addition of Bowland was a step in a different musical Randy music stems More from pop and while ours comes from he helps us Cross Over to the top 40s he our last imagine showed greater diversity than the previous Randy was responsible for a Large part of As an example of the bands Napoleon describes a typical pieces of a dream there May be a 17 year old in the audience and a 40year the first third of our concert is strictly the Guy who is 17 gets a Little but the Guy who is 40 is As the concert we Start to Cross Over to top 40 and the 17yearold gets the Guy who is 40 Doest lose interest because he can see what we Are doing and he will appreciate at the same adds the 17 year old will become More interested in the band members say they Cross Over to pop music to grab a More diverse but in crossing they risk being criticized by jazz enthusiasts for Selling out for More Money on the pop even though we May do pop says we will never give up lets face there is no music More Universal than and it serves As the Best foundation for any other music we May pieces of a dream gets its share of support some of the Best support in the music Grover Washington became interested in the band after an appearance on a local Philadelphia television show called City we did a couple of engagements and in 1980 he announced that we would become his band and that he would produce says the band members speak of Washington like a Tutor would speak of a even though he is a great he pretty much let us go for it on our says he was in charge of the arrangement and recording of our but the style that All the bands Danny and Road manager Bill Harmon serve As guardians to the Young men while on in in a fortunate position having my father As says in a lot of other All the manager is looking for is to make Money off of personal needs Are i totally Trust my father and there looking out for our Best Lloyd is confident of the bands they have already begun work on a new thinking the album will be he in sure it will show How diverse we can be and ideally help us to set a trend in the music Bowland will be leaving the group in september to Start working in the studio with his own called a debut album is expected to be released sometime in says Bowland i have enjoyed being a member of the we have become close friends and i am leaving the band with Good feelings Between