(Clarinet, alto saxophone, 1900–68) Lewis (born George Louis Francis Zeno) led bands in New Orleans in the 1920s, but he remained in the Crescent City while many of his colleagues headed north to Chicago, where the Jazz Age was being forged on the city’s South Side. Lewis did not record until the 1940s (in sessions that teamed ...
Jazz and R&B star George Benson (b. 1943) seemed destined for a respected but low-key career in cool jazz until he adopted a funky hybrid of jazz and soul for the 1976 album Breezin’. Driven by accessible instrumentals and a smash reworking of Leon Russell’s ‘This Masquerade’, the album made Benson the biggest star to cross over from jazz to pop ...
With his wide range of standard and unorthodox techniques, George Lynch (b. 1954) became a guitarist’s guitarist as he cruised through the various incarnations of his bands Dokken and Lynch Mob. Born in Spokane, Washington, and raised in California, Lynch became lead guitarist of Dokken in 1980 after auditioning for Ozzy Osbourne in 1979 and losing out ...
Pigeonholed as the ‘quiet one’, misunderstood as an adopter of Eastern religion and music, and overshadowed (sometimes maligned) by his prolific, trail-blazing bandmates Lennon and McCartney, George Harrison (1943–2001) might have become a footnote in musical history. But as a member of The Beatles, Harrison made the words ‘lead guitar’ a household term and steadily developed as ...
1685–1759 English composer George Frideric Handel is one of the best known of all Baroque composers. His gift for melody, his instinctive sense of drama and vivid scene-painting, and the extraordinary range of human emotions explored in his vocal compositions make his music instantly accessible. Works such as Messiah (1741), Water Music (1717) and Music for the Royal Fireworks ...
(Zhôrzh Be-za’) 1838–75 French composer When Bizet died at the age of 37, he was considered a failure by the French musical establishment. He had had several operas produced in Paris, but none of them had been wholly successful; now his latest work, Carmen, had caused a scandal. Bizet’s reputation was at its lowest ebb, but already ...
(Bass, 1892–1969) Known for his powerful, slap-bass sound and signature solos, Foster worked with the Magnolia Band and A.J. Piron before playing in Fate Marable’s riverboat band (1918–21) and collaborating with Kid Ory and others during the 1920s. In 1928 he played with King Oliver’s Dixie Syncopators in New York and then joined the Luis Russell Orchestra ...
(Piano, composer, 1898–1937) One of the most enduringly popular composers of the twentieth century, Gershwin composed such enduring melodies as ‘Summertime’, ‘Embraceable You’ and ‘Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off’. His tuneful songs with their rich harmonic progressions are ideal for improvisation and were popular with jazz musicians including Louis Armstrong, Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, ...
(Vocals, guitar, 1893–1981) Born in Greenwood, Mississippi, Walter ‘Furry’ Lewis played medicine shows as a young man. After moving to Memphis, he recorded 23 sides for Vocalion and Victor between 1927 and 1929. Despite a somewhat chaotic guitar technique, he was an indefatigable entertainer and he became a beloved figure among younger-generation aficionados throughout his ...
(Piano, 1905–64) Born in Chicago and inspired by Jimmy Yancey, Meade Anderson ‘Lux’ Lewis recorded an early boogie-woogie masterpiece, ‘Honky Tonk Train Blues’, for Paramount in 1927 (the song was also recorded for Parlophone, 1935 and Victor, 1937). He recorded for Decca in 1936 (‘Yancey Special’) and Vocalion, Blue Note and Solo Art throughout 1941, ...
(Trombone, 1915–97) Scottish-born George Chisholm made his name as a top-class traditional jazz trombone player, but also played piano and several other brass instruments. He started out in Glasgow dance bands before moving to London, where he became an accomplished bandleader and arranger, and a successful television personality in comedy shows in the 1960s. Notable jazz associations ...
(Composer, arranger, b. 1923) Cincinnati-born George Russell is one of a small number of jazz musicians whose primary reputation was earned as a composer and theoretician rather than as an instrumentalist. Initially a student of drums and later a pianist, Russell ultimately limited his onstage contribution to conducting, albeit in the style of a consummate showman. He ...
(Piano, 1920–2001) John Lewis was an important pianist, composer and educator, but was best known as the musical director of the most successful jazz group of the era, the Modern Jazz Quartet. Over five decades, Lewis was the architect of the group’s characteristic fusion of jazz and classical music. The MJQ’s light, spacious, swinging ...
(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, ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1973–present) Thorogood’s energetic, Delaware-based band drew inspiration from Elmore James and Hound Dog Taylor. Flash guitarist and raw vocalist Thorogood moved the band to Boston in 1974 and gained popularity on the blues circuit there, leading to its 1978 self-titled debut on Rounder Records. The 1979 album Move It On Over was a commercial breakthrough and ...
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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.