The lead guitarist in Radiohead, Jonny Greenwood, has straddled the line between dissonance and resonance, noise and melody. His arsenal of effects, virtuosity and unconventional phrasing have been key features in this very English band’s development. No wonder Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour is a fan. ‘They’ve done some very good things. I can see why people make ...
The ondes martenot (‘martenot waves’) was invented in 1928 by French inventor and cellist, Maurice Martenot. Martenot had met his Russian counterpart, Leon Theremin, in 1923 and the two of them had discussed possible improvements to Theremin’s eponymous instrument. In fact, Martenot’s instrument was patented under the name Perfectionnements aux instruments de musique électriques (‘improvements to electronic ...
Indie guitarist Graham Coxon (b. 1969) was born in West Berlin, the son of an army bandsman. His early years were characterized by the itinerant army life until the family settled in Colchester in the late 1970s. The young Coxon was a Beatles fan and possessed a talent for art. He began to learn saxophone and then at 12, ...
Blues-rock guitarist Peter Green was born Peter Greenbaum in Bethnal Green, London in 1946. He began playing guitar at the age of 10. Among his early influences were Hank Marvin, Muddy Waters and B.B. King. After Green played bass in several semi-pro outfits, keyboardist Peter Bardens invited him to play lead in his band. Three months later ...
The five members of Radiohead are the same today as they were on the day they formed. Thom Yorke (born 7 October 1968, vocals, guitar, piano), Jonny Greenwood (born 5 November 1971, lead guitar, effects), Ed O’Brien (born 15 April 1968, guitar, vocals), Phil Selway (born 23 May 1967, drums) and Colin Greenwood ...
The serpent is the bass member of the cornett family and, like the cornett, is made of two carved pieces of wood that are fastened together and then bound in canvas and leather. Sinuously shaped like two Ss, one leading straight into the other, it has a cup mouthpiece on the end of a brass crook, ...
The opera house and, more specifically, opera audiences, were among the last to be receptive to the new musical language that developed during the twentieth century. Slow, as well as reluctant to vary their traditional musical tastes, perceptions and expectations, many viewed the opera house with nostalgia; as a symbol of the establishment, holding ...
Coldplay were formed in London in 1996 by four college friends – Chris Martin (born 2 March 1977, vocals), Jonny Buckland (born 11 September 1977, guitar), Will Champion (born 31 July 1978, drums) and Guy Berryman (born 12 April 1978, bass). Their early years were similar to thousands of other struggling young bands in the UK’s capital ...
1897–1957, Austrian The son of music critic Julius Korngold, Erich was declared a genius aged nine by Gustav Mahler. Four years later, Korngold wrote a ballet pantomime, Der Schneemann (‘The Snowman’, 1910), orchestrated by his teacher Zemlinsky. The work drew the admiration of Puccini and Strauss, both of whom were already major influences on Korngold’s compositional ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1976–present) These AOR giants established themselves in 1977 with their eponymous debut album and single ‘Feels Like The First Time’, which both reached No. 4 in the US. The band was founded by Englishman Mick Jones (guitar) with Lou Gramm’s dramatic tenor vocals to the fore. The original line-up was completed by Ian McDonald (guitar, keyboards), Al ...
(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 ...
(Guitar, vocals, 1925–59) Eddie Lee Jones was born in Greenwood, Mississippi. He sang in church as a child but had relocated to New Orleans by the age of 17, where he worked with Huey ‘Piano’ Smith in a small group until 1953. His recording debut was on Imperial in 1951, but his most important recordings were ...
In his brief, meteoric career, Guitar Slim (1926–59) electrified the blues in more ways than one. While most bluesmen didn’t alter their style as they moved from acoustic to electric guitar in the Forties and Fifties, Slim developed a uniquely electric style, utilizing a 150-ft (46-m) (some say 350-ft/107-m) cable between his guitar and amplifier and creating ...
(Guitar, vocals, b. 1931) Sumlin’s distinctive riffs are all over Howlin’ Wolf’s classic Chess recordings; Wolf plucked the Greenwood, Mississippi innovator from a band he had started with James Cotton, and Sumlin became an integral part of Wolf’s sound. After Wolf’s death in 1976, Sumlin joined saxophonist Eddie Shaw in his Wolf Gang band and ventured ...
The hold that the legend of Robert Johnson (1911–38) exerts on the blues is out of all proportion to his career and output. He died relatively unknown at the age of 27 and recorded just 29 songs. But those songs of dreams and nightmares, crossroads and hellhounds revealed a darkness at the heart of Johnson’s blues, expressed with a ...
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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.