(Trumpet, 1903–32) A key figure in the Duke Ellington Orchestra of 1926–28, Miley played a lead role on such classic pieces of early Ellingtonia as ‘East St. Louis Toodle-Oo’, ‘Black And Tan Fantasy’ and ‘Creole Love Call’. His uniquely expressive, growling trumpet style was influenced by the plunger mute approach of King Oliver, and served as one ...
(Vocal/instrumental duo, 1949–65) Of all the banjoists that Bill Monroe hired to fill the shoes of the departed Earl Scruggs, Don Reno (banjo, vocals, guitar, 1927–84) came closer than any. Reno developed his own style by playing single-string guitar-like runs on the banjo. He also found his own equivalent of Lester Flatt when he met Arthur ...
(Vocals, b. 1992) Known to Disney-loving children across the world as TV schoolgirl superstar Hannah Montana, Miley Cyrus (born Destiny Hope Cyrus, daughter of country star Billy Ray) came of age towards the end of the Noughties to forge her own career. Her debut album under her own name, aptly titled Meet Miley Cyrus, went to ...
Clarence Williams was born in 1898 in Plaquemine, Louisiana, migrating to New Orleans in the teens to play piano in the District and begin a long career as a composer, bandleader and musical promoter. He was manager of two early jazz venues – the Big 25 Club and Pete Lala’s Café – hiring the best musicians in the ...
Universally acknowledged as one of the twentieth century’s emblematic composers, Edward Kennedy ‘Duke’ Ellington used his long-standing touring orchestra as a tool to create wholly unique tonal colours and a distinctive harmonic language in jazz. His career was characterized by the close and long-lasting relationships that he struck up with particular musicians and other figures from the music business, ...
Ridiculed as a braggart, pimp, card shark and pool hustler, the audacious, self-proclaimed inventor of jazz Jelly Roll Morton was also hailed as a pioneering composer, gifted arranger, dazzling pianist and the greatest entertainer that New Orleans ever produced. He was one of the first jazz musicians to strike a perfect balance between composition and ...
One of the cornet kings of early New Orleans – along with Buddy Bolden, Freddie Keppard and Bunk Johnson – Joseph ‘King’ Oliver helped to define the bravura spirit of hot jazz through his work in Chicago during the 1920s with his Creole Jazz Band. He is said to have earned the sobriquet ‘King’ by besting Keppard in a cutting ...
(Drums, 1898–1975) Arthur ‘Zutty’ Singleton was one of the first New Orleans drummers, along with Baby Dodds, to develop a melodic approach to the kit and the concept of the extended drum solo. He played in the second configuration of Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five, appearing on OKeh recordings cut in 1928 (including the landmark ‘West End Blues’), ...
Conditions were ripe for jazz to evolve in New Orleans at the turn of the twentieth century. A thriving port of immigration, where Africans and Creoles lived side by side with Italians, Germans, Irish, French, Mexicans and Cubans, New Orleans’ unprecedented ethnic diversity allowed for a free and easy mingling of musical ideas between cultures. ...
(Singer-songwriter, b. 1988) English singer-songwriter Jessie J (real name Jessica Cornish) began her career writing songs for Miley Cyrus and Chris Brown. Her debut single ‘Do It Like A Dude’ peaked at No. 2 in the UK in 2010; while her first album Who You Are (2011) spawned six Top 10 hits, including the title track ‘Nobody’s Perfect’ and ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1927–34) They did not invent the style, but guitarist/harpist Will Shade (a.k.a. Son Brimmer) and his rollicking aggregation were among the most popular and influential of the jug and string bands that proliferated around Memphis and Louisville, as well as in the Mississippi Delta, during the 1920s and 1930s. With various personnel coming ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1996–present) The Wirral’s most innovative and carefree band, The Coral – James Skelly (vocals), Ian Skelly (drums), Bill Ryder-Jones (trumpet), Nick Power (keyboards), Lee Southall (guitar), Paul Duffy (bass) and John Duffy (drums) – have become something of the market leaders in the ramshackle if wholly enjoyable modern folk scene. Hugely prolific, any one of their ...
AUTHORITATIVE
An extensive music information resource, bringing together the talents and expertise of a wide range of editors and musicologists, including Stanley Sadie, Charles Wilson, Paul Du Noyer, Tony Byworth, Bob Allen, Howard Mandel, Cliff Douse, William Schafer, John Wilson...
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Classical, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country and more. Flame Tree has been making encyclopaedias and guides about music for over 20 years. Now Flame Tree Pro brings together a huge canon of carefully curated information on genres, styles, artists and instruments. It's a perfect tool for study, and entertaining too, a great companion to our music books.
David Bowie
Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers
his life, music, art and movies, with a
sweep of incredible photographs.