(Drums, 1935–88) Dannie Richmond’s career is inextricably linked with that of Charles Mingus. He played saxophone and piano before taking up drums in 1956, working closely with Mingus until 1979. Richmond’s energetic, versatile style was also well-suited to jazz rock; he played with the UK band Mark-Almond (1970–73) and worked with Joe Cocker and Elton John. He co-founded ...
(Tenor saxophone, flute, 1940–92) A passionate voice on tenor sax in Charles Mingus’s last band (1973–76), Adams co-led one of the most dynamic quartets of the 1980s with pianist Don Pullen; it also featured Mingus drummer Dannie Richmond and bassist Cameron Brown. In a series of 12 recordings through the 1980s for the Soul Note and Timeless labels, ...
(Guitar, harmonica, vocals, 1925–76) Mathis James Reed was born in Dunleith, Mississippi. His friend Eddie Taylor taught him guitar and harmonica, but he rarely played professionally until he moved to Gary, Indiana in 1948 and gradually worked himself into the Chicago blues scene. He recorded on harmonica with John Brim and, after failing an ...
The first great Delta-blues singer, Charley Patton (c. 1887–1934) developed a raw, driving and percussive kind of guitar playing that was a seminal influence on the following generation of Mississippi blues singers, including Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and John Lee Hooker. All the elements that became integral to the Delta blues – different guitar ...
Jason Becker, born in 1969, is an American neo-classical metal guitarist and composer whose steady rise to the top of the guitar world was cut short by illness. Becker was born and raised in Richmond, California. In high school, he performed Yngwie Malmsteen’s ‘Black Star’ with his band at a talent show. At 16, he formed ...
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 ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1962–69) This multifaceted ensemble – Paul Jones (vocals, harmonica), Mike Vickers (guitar, woodwinds), Manfred Mann (keyboards), Dave Richmond (bass) and Mike Hugg (drums) – first reached the national Top 20 with 1963’s ‘5-4-3-2-1’. After Richmond was replaced by Tom McGuinness, there was hardly any let-up of hits, both home and overseas, including a ...
In its classic line-up, featuring singer-songwriter Mick Jagger (born 26 July 1943), guitarist/songwriter Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones (1942–69), bass player Bill Wyman (born William Perks, 24 October 1936) and drummer Charlie Watts (born 2 July 1941), what came to be acclaimed and self-proclaimed as ‘The World’s Greatest Rock’n’Roll Band’ first achieved success and notoriety ...
January ‘I Can’t Explain’ ‘I Can’t Explain’ was released in the UK on 15 January 1965. Despite little publicity from the record company (Decca in the US and its subsidiary Brunswick in the UK), it reached No. 8 in the UK charts, although it only just nudged the Top 100 in the US. Lambert and Stamp took it upon themselves ...
Jazz was the by-product of cultures coming together in New Orleans at the turn of the twentieth century. The music, along with some of its greatest practitioners, moved north by 1917. That year Storyville, the red-light district, was forced to close and jazz musicians headed north to Chicago, where jazz matured into a fine art form. ...
Although contemporary R&B prefers to align itself with its ruder and more street-credible cousins in hip hop, the roots of its mainstream practitioners lie firmly in manufactured pop. In a throwback to the Motown era, R&B has become a global phenomenon by combining producer-led factory formula with a high level of musical innovation and adventure. This balance of pop ...
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...
CURATED
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.