The Jimi Hendrix Experience

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Template:Infobox band The Jimi Hendrix Experience was a short lived, highly influential rock band famous for the guitar work of Jimi Hendrix on songs such as "Purple Haze", "Foxey Lady", "Hey Joe", "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" and "All Along The Watchtower". Though Hendrix was the focus and frontman, the other band members were also vital to the "experience".

Hendrix arrived in England in October 1966, and auditions were launched to find him a backing band. Noel Redding was chosen for the bass spot. Even though he had never played bass before auditioning (he was a guitarist), Hendrix liked his look and attitude. Mitch Mitchell was a seasoned London drummer who brought jazz chops and a lead style of playing to the table. He would prove to be Hendrix's most valuable musical partner.

Though initially conceived as Hendrix's backing band, The Experience soon became much more than that. Along with Cream, they were the first group to popularize the "power trio" format, which essentially strips a rock band lineup down to the essentials: bass, guitar and drums. This smaller format also encourages more extrovert playing from the players involved. In concert, they decked themselves out in matching psychedelic costumes and permed afros. Along with their thick and layered sound, and the sight of just three musicians creating this sound, it was quite the audiovisual spectacle. The Experience were also one of the first integrated bands. Given the racial turmoil of the times, the sheer idea of having a black frontman with two white guys was quite a strong political statement.

With the band, Hendrix recorded his three most successful albums, Are You Experienced, Axis Bold As Love, and Electric Ladyland. In June of 1969, he decided to break up the group. Deteriorating relations with Redding had come to a head, and he also felt stilted by the trio format. He used a larger band lineup for his Woodstock concert in August 1969, but would revert back to the trio format with the Band of Gypsys and Cry of Love lineups. With the exception of the Band of Gypsys, Mitchell continued working with Hendrix up until his death in 1970.