(Piano, b. 1938) McCoy Tyner will forever be remembered for his role in John Coltrane’s great 1960s quartet. Born in Philadelphia and a member of jazz groups including the Jazztet, Tyner proved to be perfectly compatible with Coltrane until the saxophonist moved into free jazz, at which point the pianist left the band. Tyner worked as a sideman ...
By the time John Coltrane died in 1967 at the age of 40, he had experienced one of the most remarkable careers in music. ‘Trane’ was a compelling voice who contributed to some of jazz’s greatest innovations, from bebop to free jazz, resulting in both controversy and enduring success through critical and popular acclaim. Revered during his lifetime ...
(Piano, accordion, vibraphone, composer, arranger, b. 1926) Stan Tracey is one of the UK’s most original and talented jazz musicians, yet he has always remained underrated by critics; Sonny Rollins is quoted as asking ‘Does anyone here realize how good he really is ?’. Londoner Tracey was playing professionally from the age of 16, ...
Of the entire century, the 1970s were the years of catching one’s breath. Superficially, the promise of the 1960s had faded or failed, the victim of wretched excess and just plain bad taste. America’s war in Vietnam sputtered to an end, international relations elsewhere seemed to stalemate in détente and economically the world suffered from stagflation: exhaustion ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1997–present) Protégés of Fall Out Boy, Gym Class Heroes’ eclectic blend of rock and hip hop found cult success with 2005’s The Papercut Chronicles. The New Yorkers broke into the charts with As Cruel As School Children the following year, as Supertramp-inspired single ‘Cupid’s Chokehold’ rocketed to No. 4 in the US and the Top 3 ...
(Guitar, vocals, 1897–1973) Lizzie Douglas was born in Algiers, Louisiana but was raised in Walls, Mississippi. She learned banjo and guitar at a young age and ran away to Memphis in 1910 to work the music circuit under the name Kid Douglas. She toured with the Ringling Brothers circus for several seasons prior to 1920 and also ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1926–35) The Mississippi Sheiks were Lonnie Chatmon (guitar, violin) and Walter Vinson (guitar), sometimes joined by Chatmon’s brothers Sam (guitar, violin) and Armenter (a.k.a. Bo Carter, guitar), as well as Charlie McCoy (banjo, mandolin); the vocals were shared between the group members. Their repertoire blended blues themes with contemporary pop/novelty tunes, ...
(Guitar, vocals, 1909–67) Robert Lee McCollum was born in Helena, Arkansas. He was taught guitar by his cousin, Houston Stackhouse, in 1930. He moved to St. Louis in 1934, now calling himself Robert McCoy, and first recorded in 1937 on acoustic guitar. He took the name Robert Nighthawk and used it professionally from the ...
Jazz and blues are rooted in the enormous technological and social transformations affecting the USA and Western Europe at the turn of the twentieth century. The most striking changes were the advent of easier and cheaper travel; better communications; electric lighting; improvements in audio recording and moving pictures; increased urbanization; and the rise of the US, concurrent with the fall ...
February MC5 Kick Out The Jams Often credited as the first intentionally punk band, MC5’s live debut album detonated in 1969. Forming at their Michigan High School, singer Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith, bassist Michael Davis and drummer Dennis Thompson were mentored by political activist John Sinclair of The White Panthers. They were ...
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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.