(Vocal/instrumental group, 1996–present) Other bands in the genre may be more acclaimed, and some more stylistically diverse, but Linkin Park – Chester Bennington (vocals), Mike Shinoda (MC), Brad Delson (guitar), Dave Farrell (bass), Joseph Hahn (DJ) and Rob Bourdon (drums) – are certainly the most successful in the nu metal sphere. Formed from the remains of various Californian ...
1863–1919 American composer Parker studied in Boston with the European-trained George Chadwick and in Munich with Josef Rheinberger, and later taught in New York and Yale, where his students included Charles Ives (1874–1954) and Roger Sessions (1896–1985). As a virtuoso organist he held a prestigious post at Trinity Church, Boston, and founded and conducted the New Hampshire ...
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 ...
(Harmonica, vocals, 1932–71) Herman Parker Jr. was born in Bobo, Mississippi and worked with Howlin’ Wolf as early as 1949 in West Memphis. Parker was associated with B.B. King, Bobby Bland and Johnny Ace in the Memphis scene of the early 1950s. He recorded for Sun with his own group, the Blue Flames, in ...
(Tenor and soprano saxophones, b. 1944) Bristol-born Evan Parker has been an important experimentalist in the UK and continental Europe for 40 years with the Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Music Improvisation Company, London Jazz Composer’s Orchestra, Brotherhood of Breath, Dutch-based ICP and Globe Unity Orchestra. His mastery of circular breathing and alternate fingerings have resulted in inimitable ...
(Bass, b. 1952) William Parker apprenticed with major bassists in New York City’s Jazzmobile programme, studied privately with Jimmy Garrison and Wilber Ware, and performed with Cecil Taylor’s group at the age of 21. He has anchored many ensembles, including the David S. Ware Quartet. His prodigious work ethic, instrumental steadiness, dependability and selflessness have ...
(Vocals, guitar, b. 1947) Not many men could have replaced Carter Stanley after his death in 1966, but Larry Sparks had the high, lonesome edge, the personal intimacy and the songwriting skills to do so. He had been a harmony singer in The Stanley Brothers since 1964, and became the lead singer of The Clinch ...
(Vocal group, 1972–present) This veteran group provides a vehicle for the talents of brothers Ron and Russell Mael. Anglophile Californians, the Maels came to Britain in 1973 after two failed albums, the first as Halfnelson. Recruiting Adrian Fisher (guitar), Martin Gordon (bass) and Dinky Diamond (drums) they recorded Kimono My House (1974) featuring the memorable hit ‘This Town ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 2003–present) Signed to Sheffield’s Warp Records, a label more synonymous with ambient dance acts like Boards of Canada, Newcastle’s Maxïmo Park – Paul Smith (vocals), Duncan Lloyd (guitar), Archis Tiku (bass), Lucas Wooller (keyboards) and Tom English (drums) – deliver a view of the north-east of England that is refreshingly different to the sterilized slants on ...
(Vocals, b. 1969) King of hip hop Jay-Z (real name Shawn Corey Carter) holds the record for the most US No. 1 albums by a solo artist, nine of his 11 coming in the Noughties. He has collaborated with artists in many different genres, most successfully with rock band Linkin Park on album Collision Course in 2004. Songs ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1994–present) Limp Bizkit – Fred Durst (vocals), Mike Smith (guitar), DJ Lethal (turntables), Sam Rivers (bass) and John Otto (drums) – are something of a global phenomenon, and the benchmark against which all nu metal and rapcore bands are judged. Since their earliest recordings, their fusion of the direct vocal delivery of rap with the sledgehammer ...
Once hip hop had expanded beyond apparently using the hook lines from Chic’s ‘Good Times’ as the basis for just about everything, it quickly became as diverse as any other black music genre. Its evolution in recording studios took it way beyond the scope of conventional instruments. Can’t play piano like Herbie Hancock or bass like Bootsy ? So what ...
As the genre’s name so boldly implies, timing and image were both of critical importance to the realm of nu metal. In pure musical terms there was little to unite the scene’s leading exponents, save for the radical detuning of their instruments and a desire to distance themselves from such old-school hard rock favourites as Iron Maiden and Metallica. ...
The impact of rap on the rock market was everywhere to be seen in the first years of the new millennium. White artists, black artists and rock bands attempting to incorporate the style made this area the biggest musical melting pot since the 1950s. The means by which music was accessed switched from CD to downloading from the internet, ...
Verdi’s last opera, Falstaff was the third taken from William Shakespeare, this time from his Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2. Verdi wrote the opera when he was 79, but it was not his only comic opera, as is often supposed. There was another, Un giorno di Regno, which ...
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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.