As a radical jazz artist, Steve Reid has played with an extraordinary number of artists, including Miles Davis, Sun Ra, Fela Kuti, James Brown, Ornette Coleman, Lester Bowie, Archie Shepp, Arthur Blythe, Dexter Gordon, Dee Dee Bridgewater... Steve Reid was born in the South Bronx and grew up in Queens, New York. He played in the Apollo Theatre's house band in Harlem, accompanying James Brown, as well as in Sun Ra's Arkestra. His career began in the 1960s as a drummer for Motown at the age of 14. In 1974, he formed the Legendary Master Brotherhood and launched the independent label Mustevic Sound, releasing his first LP Nova in 1976. Nova was the first in a series of amazing independent records he released in the 1970s.