Around this time, Columbia Records producer and A&R man John Hammond sought to recruit the band for the label. The band was signed, and was in the studio in September 1967 to record "Electric Bath", which was released the following year to wide acclaim, was nominated for a Grammy award, won the 1968 "Down Beat" "Album of the Year" award, reaching No. 8 on the "Billboard" jazz charts. The song "Indian Lady" became one of the band's most popular tunes. "Open Beauty" featured Ellis in an echoplex trumpet solo, an innovative combination of acoustic instruments and electronic technology. Ellis would continue to develop the "electrophonic trumpet" over the next five years (see below).