Formed 1972

Shadowfax built its sound around Chuck Greenberg’s lyricon, an early wind synthesizer, played over the bass of Phil Maggini, the drums and tabla of Stuart Nevitt and the guitar of G. E. Stinson. The group formed in Chicago in 1972 out of blues bands and took its name from Gandalf’s horse in Tolkien. Its debut, Watercourse Way (Passport, 1976), was loud electric fusion, but the music that followed was quieter and more melodic, mixing jazz harmony, world music and folk lines with acoustic and electronic instruments. Shadowfax signed to Windham Hill in 1982 and released Shadowfax that year, then Shadowdance (Windham Hill, 1983). Folksongs for a Nuclear Village (1988) won the Grammy for Best New Age Performance. Violinists including Jerry Goodman and keyboard players such as David Lewis and Armen Chakmakian passed through the lineup while Greenberg and Maggini stayed. Greenberg died in September 1995, and the band ended.