[2] Joseph Bowie remains the only consistent member of the group over its history; he has been noted for displaying the influence of far-ranging musicians like Ornette Coleman, James Brown, and Joe Strummer.

[5] Joseph's saxophonist brother Bryon,[6] bassist Melvin Gibbs[7] and future Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid[5] were early contributors.

The group's debut self-titled album was released in 1980 and combined the band's original jazz focus with soul, funk, rock, and blues.

[3] He returned to New York in 1986 and assembled a new Defunkt lineup, with the addition of multiple singers and a large horn section to pursue a new focus on combining 1930s big band and swing music with 1970s funk.

"[2] Trouser Press has praised the group's later works for "a dynamic rock-funk-jazz concoction of popping bass, neck-melting guitar [...] and Bowie's inventive trombone figures and up-close-and-personable vocals.