(Piano, b. 1941) Chucho remained in Cuba after his father, pianist Bebo Valdés, defected in the late 1950s. In his mid-20s Chucho established Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna, which became the much-recorded, internationally touring jazz showband Irakere; he turned it over to his son in 1998. A large man with huge hands, Valdés is capable ...
(Vocals, b. 1939) This former church chorister from Virginia reached global Top 20s in 1961 with call-and-response ‘New Orleans’. While its ‘Not Me’ follow-up flopped, ‘Quarter To Three’ topped the US chart. Further US-only hits included 1962’s ‘Seven Day Weekend’, his last before the patronage of Bruce Springsteen facilitated a commercial revival in the early 1980s, both home ...
(Guitar, b. 1956) Satriani was an influential teacher – students include Steve Vai, Kirk Hammett of Metallica and Primus’s Larry LaLonde – before becoming a recording artist in his late 20s. He is not simply a stunt-guitarist, even though some of his playing on his debut Surfing With The Alien (1987) is jaw-dropping. It reached the US Top ...
(Tenor and soprano saxophones, b. 1965) Ravi Coltrane, the son of Alice and John Coltrane, faces problematic expectations to which he has responded with modesty and genuine accomplishment. Raised by his spiritually devout mother, Ravi joined Coltrane drummer Elvin Jones’s band in his early 20s. The loosely organized Brooklyn M-Base Collective supported his individuality and, while touched ...
(Vocal group, 1964–68) New York schoolgirls Margie and Mary Ann Ganser, and Betty and Mary Weiss were thrust into the US and UK Top 20s with 1964’s ‘Remember (Walking In The Sand)’. After ‘Leader Of The Pack’, a teenage morality play, topped the US chart, its mordant theme was investigated from new angles with such as ‘Dressed ...
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.