(Vocal/instrumental group, 1985–91, 1997, 2001–04, 2008–present) The charismatic Perry Farrell formed Jane’s Addiction in Los Angeles in 1985, Dave Navarro (guitar), Eric Avery (bass) and Stephen Perkins (drums) completing the line-up. Musically the band compacted punk, rock and elements of funk and jazz best showcased on Ritual De Lo Habitual (1991). Although Farrell instigated the ...
Alternative-rock guitarist Dave Navarro (b. 1967) was born in Santa Monica, California. After hearing Jimi Hendrix, Navarro began playing guitar at the age of seven and was in various bands in school. In 1986, he joined Jane’s Addiction on the recommendation of drummer Stephen Perkins, a childhood friend. Inspired by The Velvet Underground, Joy Division, ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1992–present) Emerging out of London’s crucial acid jazz scene, Jay (Jason) Kay patented a brand of urban retro-funk with ecological lyrics on debut album Emergency On Planet Earth (1993). ‘Too Young To Die’ and ‘Blow Your Mind’ were chart hits as big as his trademark hats. The Return Of The Space Cowboy (1994) mined the same musical ...
International fame seemed far away when, in 1983, upstaged by strippers the Red Hot Chili Peppers resorted to playing a cover version of Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Fire’ naked with socks covering their genitalia. This routine was to become a trademark. Anthony Kiedis (born 1 November 1962, vocals), Michael ‘Flea’ Balzary (born 16 October 1962, bass), Jack Irons (born ...
January The Bookmobile And European Tour ‘It was a travelling library that was found in Phoenix, Arizona, and converted into an RV [recreation vehicle],’ Billie Joe told a TV interviewer in 1994 when discussing the Bookmobile inside the vehicle. ‘A lot of people come up to us and say, “Do you have books for sale in there ?”. ...
Although the terms ‘fortepiano’ and ‘pianoforte’ were used indiscriminately by musicians of the time, for the sake of clarity the former term is now specifically used to indicate keyboard instruments of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and the latter to mean the modern instrument. The piano displaced the harpsichord musically and socially, taking over the latter’s ...
Like a great river that runs endlessly, forming numerous tributary streams as it flows, jazz continues to evolve over time. And no matter how far the River Jazz may flow from its source – whether through stylistic evolution or technological innovation – the essential spirit of the music remains intact. Granted, the more academic and esoteric extrapolations of ...
Bill Evans was one of the most lyrical and romantic of all jazz pianists. His distinctive lightness of touch and singing tone on the piano shone most brightly in his favoured trio settings with compatible bass players and drummers, including famous line-ups that featured Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian, and later Eddie Gomez and Marty Morrell. Evans was born ...
Billie Holiday was entirely untrained as a singer, but drew on the example of popular recording artists such as Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong in developing her musical approach. She was able to make much of poor songs as well as great ones. Her phrasing, intonation, attention to the weight and nuance of lyrics, and her lightly ...
Charlie Parker, also known as ‘Yardbird’ or ‘Bird’, was a largely self-taught musical genius with acute self-destructive tendencies. His career exemplified both the creative power and the destructive social ethos of bebop. His music burned as brightly as any in jazz, but his lifestyle sent out the wrong message to too many young musicians, despite his frequent warnings ...
Dave Mustaine (b. 1961) was the original lead guitarist for the heavy-metal band Metallica and the co-founder, lead guitarist and lead singer of the thrash-metal band Megadeth. He was born in La Mesa, California. Brought up as a Jehovah’s Witness, by the age of 17, he was surviving financially by dealing drugs. In the 1970s, Mustaine ...
Bowie’s eponymous debut album appeared in June 1967. David Bowie was the work of a man who didn’t yet know quite what to do with his talent. However from 1971 to 1973 Bowie would, with the aid of a newly assembled band, produce a trio of albums that for many are both his finest moments and high watermarks in ...
David Bowie has inspired more musicians than most recording artists, but he naturally also had his own formative influences. Who Does He Love ? It almost goes without saying that Elvis Presley was important to him: few of the musicians who became teenagers in the Sixties weren’t overwhelmed by The King’s stunning larynx and greaseball beauty. Perhaps revealingly, Bowie ...
(Vocal group, 1958–present) Formed in New York’s Bronx in 1958 by Dion DiMucci, Angelo D’Aleo, Carlo Mastangelo and Fred Milano, this doo-wop group had had several US hits by 1960, including 1959’s ‘A Teenager In Love’, also a UK hit. Dion went solo in 1960, scoring more US hits, the biggest 1961’s million-selling US ...
Dolly Rebecca Parton was born on 19 January 1946, in Locust Ridge, Tennessee. Immediately after graduation in the summer of 1964, she travelled from the Blue Ridge Mountains to Nashville, taking with her dreams of country stardom and little else. Ever since, she has thrilled audiences worldwide. An entertainer extraordinaire, Dolly has also become an ...
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.