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After graduating from high school in Cincinnati, Mr. Jasper settled in New York, where he studied music composition at the Juilliard School<\/a>. Enticed by the opportunity to study with the noted jazz pianist and composer Billy Taylor<\/a>, he transferred to the C.W. Post campus of Long Island University in Brookville, N.Y., where he received a bachelor\u2019s degree in music.<\/p>\n Mr. Jasper, along with Ernie and Marvin, eventually began backing the Isley Brothers on records and in performance. \u201cThe better we got, the more they wanted us to play with them,\u201d Mr. Jasper said.<\/p>\n After they joined officially, success came quickly. The expanded group\u2019s album \u201c3 + 3 \u201d (1973) rose to No. 8 on the Billboard chart, powered by \u201cThat Lady,\u201d a sultry funk-rock update of the Isleys\u2019 1964 single \u201cWho\u2019s That Lady,\u201d<\/a> which hit No. 6.<\/p>\n During this golden era, the Isley Brothers became a touring juggernaut, with acts like Teddy Pendergrass, the Gap Band and the Brothers Johnson serving as opening acts. The Isley group continued to chart into the 1980s, but financial tensions between the older and younger members began to mount.<\/p>\n In 1984, the onetime Jazzmen Trio members peeled off to form their own trio, Isley Jasper Isley, which topped <\/em>the R&B chart in 1985 with the shimmering \u201cCaravan of Love,\u201d<\/a> a contemporary spiritual of sorts written by the group that called for togetherness and pride. A year later, a cover by the band the Housemartins<\/a> reached No. 1 in Britain<\/a>.<\/p>\n Embarking on a solo career, Mr. Jasper scored a hit in 1987 with \u201cSuperbad,\u201d<\/a> which despite its filthy, Stevie Wonderesque funk riffs was a wholesome call to the power of strong community values and education. While he never again scaled the heights he had reached with the Isley Brothers, he remained prolific, churning out solo albums for decades while also producing artists like the R&B singer Liz Hogue for his own label, Gold City. He released his final album, \u201cIt Started With a Kiss,\u201d<\/a> in 2023.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n