Singer TAKA BOOM and saxman John "Boom" Brumbach

Singer TAKA BOOM and saxman John "Boom" Brumbach

b. Yvonne Stevens, 1954, Chicago, Ilinois, U.S.A.

The sister of Chaka Khan, vocalist Yvonne Stephens forged a new identity by combining the Swahili word for 'love of my people' (Taka) with a last name derived from her ex-husband's nick name "Boom".
She worked alongside Khan locally in their hometown of Chicago until Chaka joined Rufus.

By 1970, Chaka ran away from home for good and lived in Los Angeles. Some two years later, Taka packed her bags and followed. There, Taka met and married saxophonist John Brumbach and after taking on her husband's nick, "Boom", Taka's stage name was complete. Since then, Taka's re-married, but she's kept her first husband's unusual nick name. Where on earth did he get it from, I wondered?
"He used to blow up the ground, because he built in-ground swimming pools. This was in Illinois. He helped build the pool as well, but he was also responsible for detonating the ground, so they nicknamed him 'Boom'. He played tenor sax with a lot of people. Boom's worked with Rufus, The Gap Band, Bloodstone, Dennis Coffey and Parliament-Funkadelic. He's got a solo on the 'Mothership Connection' album, on 'P-Funk (Wants To Get Funked up)'. So we're both on that album. I'm on three Parliament-Funkadelic albums."
Taka Boom was a session vocalist in the early '70's, singing with the Gap Band and Carl Carlton.
She served as lead vocalist for Undisputed Truth in 1975.

In the late 1970s Taka and her husband, saxman John "Boom" Brumbach , befriended an up and coming band named The Kats . "We became friends and hung out, Taka was interested in recording my composition: "Lost My TV Guide ", later we lost track of each other, I'm not sure what became of the "Lost My TV Guide" project, never-the-less "Boom" and Taka were good fun and we clicked because we were all mid-westerner's in LA LA Land." - Freddy Moore of The Kats.

In 1979 Taka Boom, signed as a solo singer with Ariola.

Her debut LP, 'Taka Boom', was released in 1979, and the single 'Night Dancing' became her only R & B Top 20 hit (at 20).

Following that release, Taka joined the Norman Whitfield produced group Dream Machine for one album entitled 'Dream Machine' for the RCA label in 1981.

She later returned to a solo career, switching to Mirage, and made the LP 'Climate for Love' in 1985.
'Middle of the Night' recieved some attention as a single, however the album received less success.
After moving to London in the mid-'90's, she began session work and took up consistent live appearances.

Albums:
Taka Boom (Ariola 1979)
Boomerang (Calibre 1983)
Middle of the Night (Mirage 1985)

Saxman John "Boom" Brumbach on the Mike Douglas Show

Saxman John "Boom" Brumbach with Rufus

Saxman John Brumbach (recent)