The Brotherhood of Breath included many members of the South African expatriate community resident in London, including McGregor himself,
Louis Moholo,
Harry Miller,
Mongezi Feza,
Dudu Pukwana, (occasionally)
Johnny Dyani; and many of the free jazz musicians who were based in London at the same time. The group included, at various stages,
Lol Coxhill,
Evan Parker,
Paul Rutherford,
Harry Beckett,
Marc Charig,
Alan Skidmore,
Jim Dvorak,
Mike Osborne,
Elton Dean,
Nick Evans, and
John Surman. The personnel was fluid, depending on who was available. The music resembles a mixture of
Charles Mingus and the experiments of
Sun Ra, but retains a unique feel due to the South African influences and the intelligent arrangements. The original Brotherhood Of Breath ended in the late-1970s, with the deaths of
Mongezi Feza and
Harry Miller (whose label,
Ogun Records, released some of the Brotherhood's albums). McGregor formed a second version of the group in France in the early-1980s, adding European musicians, including a number of French jazz musicians (
François Jeanneau,
Louis Sclavis, Jean-Claude Montredon,
Didier Levallet). == Discography ==