(Alto saxophone, 1931–2006) Jackie McLean worked with Sonny Rollins and practised with Bud Powell as a teenager. His invention and passionate delivery on alto saxophone attracted collaborations with Miles Davis (1951–52), Charles Mingus (1956, 1958–59) and Art Blakey (1956–57). He recorded a series of albums for Prestige and acted in Jack Gelber’s play The Connection (1959–61). His powerful recordings ...
(Saxophone, vocals, 1930–79) Jackie Brenston recorded arguably the first rock’n’roll record with 1951’s ‘Rocket 88’, an R&B boogie that featured Ike Turner’s Kings Of Rhythm, of which Brenston was a member. ‘Rocket 88’ (by Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats) stayed at the top of the R&B charts for over a month, but Brenston never recaptured the ...
(Singer-songwriter 1934–84) Detroit-born Jackie Wilson, an ex-amateur boxer, sang with gospel groups before replacing Clyde McPhatter in Billy Ward and The Dominoes in 1953. His first solo success came with 1957’s UK and US hit, Reet Petite’, co-written by Berry Gordy Jr., who went on to found Motown Records. His first US Top 40 hit was 1958’s ...
(Vocals, 1934–84) With his powerful high vocal range, Jackie Wilson was among the earliest singers to make the transition from R&B to soul. His first single, 1957’s ‘Reet Petite’, was the start of a winning partnership with its writer, young Berry Gordy (although Wilson never recorded for Gordy’s Motown label). ‘Reet Petite’ was actually more successful in ...
(Trumpet, clarinet, b. 1921) Humphrey Lyttelton acquired a passion for jazz as a schoolboy at Eton and developed it in the Grenadier Guards – not a standard jazz background. His professional career began with George Webb’s Dixielanders in 1947. He led his own bands from 1948, and courted controversy in the 1950s by bringing bop musicians into his ...
(Drums, piano, b. 1942) Few drummers successfully bridge the gap between free jazz and bebop to the same extent as Jack DeJohnette. An intensely intuitive player, young DeJohnette played early on with Jackie McLean and Charles Lloyd. In 1969 he replaced Tony Williams in Miles Davis’s electric ensemble, appearing on the essential Bitches Brew (1969). After leaving ...
(Piano, synthesizer, b. 1932) Paul Bley came from Montreal to New York in the early 1950s and worked with Jackie McLean. Later, in Los Angeles, he pioneered free jazz with Ornette Coleman. Throughout his career Bley has performed the compositions of his ex-wives – keyboardist Carla Bley and singer/pianist Annette Peacock – and his own pieces, ...
(Drums, 1945–97) Aged 14, Boston-born drum prodigy Tony Williams worked professionally with tenor saxophonist Sam Rivers. In 1962 he went to New York, played with Jackie McLean, then became part of one of Miles Davis’s greatest bands. A dazzling colourist and dynamic rhythm-maker, Williams recorded two albums for Blue Note and played with many of the ...
The cultural momentum of the 1950s spilled directly into the 1960s – arguably, the change of the decade (and century) in jazz was 1959, when Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Gil Evans, Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, Jackie McLean, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Wes Montgomery, Sun ...
As the end of the twentieth century approached, the United States – its culture included – entered a rare period of recapitulation, retrieval and, ultimately, renewal. The election as President of ageing Ronald Reagan, ex-movie star and California governor, introduced unexpected neo-conservatism, an ideology that looked back to a rosy, though mythical, ...
The legend of Sun Records seems to expand and shine brighter with every passing year, as successive generations discover the almost unbelievable array of musical gems that were created at that modest little studio at 706 Union Avenue, Memphis. Sun was the brainchild of one man and it is no exaggeration to say that without his contribution, not ...
When Vassar Clements formed a band called Hillbilly Jazz in 1975, Bill Monroe’s former fiddler pulled the cover off the hidden connection between country music and jazz. The two genres had more in common than most people thought. After all, Jimmie Rodgers recorded with Louis Armstrong early in their careers; jazz legend Charlie Christian debuted on Bob Wills’ radio ...
Albert King’s late 1960s and early 1970s recordings for the Stax label remain cornerstones of modern blues. Tunes like ‘Born Under A Bad Sign’, ‘Crosscut Saw’ and ‘I’ll Play the Blues For You’ are also an antidote to the over-the-top playing indulged in by so many contemporary blues guitarists. For King, a six-foot-four, 250-pound man possessed of a big ...
(Vocal group, 1992–present) Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson (left 2006). An American boy band, their first taste of success came in Europe in 1996 with soft-focus ballads like ‘Get Down (You’re The One For Me)’. They conquered the US in 1998, and albums like Millennium (1999) – the obligatory ...
Benny Goodman was the first of the great bandleader virtuosos of the 1930s to achieve global success. Through a combination of personal connections, nerve, enormous talent and sheer luck, he parlayed a sequence of opportunities in 1934–35 into a payoff that changed American music. After forming his first band in New York in 1934, he won a ...
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.