Backwater (band)

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Backwater was an American jazz fusion band from Mobile, Alabama, active in the mid-to-late 1970s, with a reunion in 1997. It was formed in 1975 by Robby Catlin and Scott Pettersen, joined early on by Larry Hardin and Trippe Thomason, with a number of players coming and going over the years. The band built its sound by playing clubs in Birmingham and working as session musicians, all while living a frugal, band‑house lifestyle.

The group released its first album, Backwater, in 1976 on its own Bongwater Records label. The record featured a mix of studio and live material and helped the band gain radio airplay in the Southeast, leading to tours opening for B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, and Emmylou Harris. Guitarist Gerry Groom joined briefly in early 1976 and pushed the band toward a bluesier, improvisational direction before leaving after the debut.

In 1977 Hardin and Thomason left the group due to creative differences, and Catlin and Pettersen kept the band going with a revolving lineup, including Tom and Myra Woodruff. They released North of the Mason-Dixon and the Heart of Dixie in 1978. The studio work for the album was recorded at Fifth Floor Recording Studios in Cincinnati during the Blizzard of 1978, while live tracks were recorded at Mobile’s Saenger Theatre and Memphis’s Solomon Alfred’s Night Club. The release also included a 7" EP, Punk Jazz, featuring experimental material, and the album found a local following once again.

Frank Garcia joined the band in 1979, and they continued performing a blend of originals and covers until they disbanded at the end of the decade. Pettersen later recalled that the group’s wide-ranging style made it hard for record labels to categorize them.

In 1997 the original members reunited for a concert at Mobile’s Saenger Theatre, and their debut album was remastered and released on CD.

Robby Catlin died in 2006, and Scott Pettersen passed away in 2021.