Fuse One, in three albums from 1980 to 1984

Discogs:

An all-star band founded by producer Creed Taylor (CTI Records) in 1980. The original band (featuring Will Lee, Ronnie Foster, Jeremy Wall and Ndugu) did a sold-out tour in Japan, where their debut album sold over 150,000 copies and yielded the hit "Double Steal." The second incarnation recorded the acclaimed Silk album in 1981, featuring George Benson, Eric Gale, Stanley Turrentine, Wynton Marsalis, Tom Browne, Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, Sammy Figueroa, Dave Valentin. The third and last Fuse One project, Ice, recorded in 1984, included John Tropea, Larry Coryell, Steve Gadd, Dave Matthews (3), George Young, Ronnie Cuber, Cliff Carter, Will Lee et al.

From the first eponymous album, the beyond-lovely track called Friendship which was written by a man called John McLaughlin-- hey that name sounds familiar:

From the last, A Lonely Smile, by David Matthews:

As always, so many thanks to those who point me in the direction of these albums I had never heard before!