(Tenor and soprano saxophone, b. 1930) Sonny Rollins stands alongside John Coltrane as the major bop-rooted stylist on tenor saxophone. He cut his teeth in New York with bop giants including Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis. He was a member of the Clifford Brown–Max Roach Quintet (1955–57), and has led his own bands since ...
A blues guitarist best known for his slide-guitar work, Sonny Landreth (b. 1951) was born in Canton, Mississippi. The family relocated to Lafayette, Louisiana, where Sonny was immersed in the area’s swamp-pop and Zydeco music. Beginning as a trumpeter, he was already a virtuoso guitarist in his teens. His earliest role model was Scotty Moore, ...
(Harmonica, vocals, 1914–48) John Lee Williamson was born in Jackson, Tennessee. He taught himself harmonica at an early age and left home in his mid-teens to hobo with Yank Rachell and Sleepy John Estes through Tennessee and Arkansas. He settled in Chicago in 1934 and made his recording debut for Bluebird in 1937. His first song, ‘Good ...
(Harmonica, vocals, 1911–86) Saunders Terrell was born in Greensboro, Georgia and taught himself to play the harmonica at the age of eight. He lost the sight in one eye, aged 10, and the second eye at 16. Terry played mostly in North Carolina from the late 1920s. He teamed up with Blind Boy Fuller in 1934 ...
(Alto, tenor and baritone saxophones, 1924–82) Edward ‘Sonny’ Stitt was equally proficient on the alto and tenor saxophones. Initially a devotee of Charlie Parker, he developed into a hard-hitting and fluid improviser with a reputation for extreme toughness in ‘cutting’ contests. He worked with Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, J.J. Johnson and Oscar Peterson, but ...
(Harmonica, vocals, c. 1912–65) Alex Ford ‘Rice’ Miller was born in Glendora, Mississippi. He taught himself the harmonica at the age of five and by his early teens had left home to sing and play as ‘Little Boy Blue’. He worked streets, clubs and functions through Mississippi and Arkansas during the 1930s, often playing with Robert ...
(Vocals, guitar, b. 1931) Born in Newport, Arkansas, Albert ‘Sonny’ Burgess cut some of Sun’s wildest and most primitive-sounding rockabilly. His growling vocals and heavily R&B-influenced style was too extreme for mass sales, but with his group, The Pacers, he had one of the top rockabilly stage acts in the South during the 1950s. ...
(Vocals, b. 1929) From the late 1950s through to the early 1980s, Hackleburg, Kentucky-born James Hugh Loden had a long string of chart-topping hits with romantic ballads, starting with ‘Young Love’, which reached the top of the country and pop charts in 1957. Other big hits for James were ‘Need You’ (1967), ‘Heaven Says Hello’ (1968) and ...
(Harmonica, vocals, 1912–65) The career of Mississippi’s Sonny Boy Williamson began as a case of identity theft. A 1930s delta bluesman named ‘Rice’ Miller had landed a starring spot on the blues radio show King Biscuit Time. The sponsor had Miller pose as Chicago harmonica star John Lee ‘Sonny Boy’ Williamson. The deception worked in rural America, and ...
(Vocal duo, 1964–76) Jobbing Hollywood songwriter and arranger Sonny Bono linked up, both professionally and romantically, with Cher La Pier, a session singer, for a handful of misses before striking gold with 1965’s chart-topping ‘I Got You Babe’. Its vague if fashionable ‘protest’ tenor, the overnight sensation’s proto-hippy appearance and an element of boy-girl ickiness ...
The saxophone occupies an unusual position in that it is a bespoke instrument that has barely changed since its creation. Although it does not occupy the position in the orchestra its creator had envisaged, Adolphe Sax’s invention has played a central part in music ever since it burst on to the scene in the 1840s. Sax’s father, Charles, ...
(Tenor saxophone, 1904–69) ‘Hawk’ played with Mamie Smith’s Jazz Hounds in 1922 before joining Fletcher Henderson’s band in New York. Louis Armstrong’s presence in the band had a major effect on Hawkins’ playing; by marrying a swing feel to his heavy tone, informed by his advanced understanding of harmony and chords, Hawkins became a star soloist and the ...
(Tenor and soprano saxophones, bass clarinet, b. 1964) Starting out in reggae and funk bands in school, the British saxophonist became interested in jazz in the early 1980s and eventually gravitated towards the music of his biggest influences, Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane. He began playing with John Stevens’s Freebop band and by the mid-1980s had formed ...
(Drums, 1935–88) Dannie Richmond’s career is inextricably linked with that of Charles Mingus. He played saxophone and piano before taking up drums in 1956, working closely with Mingus until 1979. Richmond’s energetic, versatile style was also well-suited to jazz rock; he played with the UK band Mark-Almond (1970–73) and worked with Joe Cocker and Elton John. He co-founded ...
(Drums, 1927–2004) Powerhouse drummer Elvin Jones was the engine of John Coltrane’s legendary quartet in the 1960s, appearing on most of the saxophonist’s most popular recordings. He was the younger brother of pianist Hank and trumpeter Thad Jones and had worked with Bud Powell, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and J.J. Johnson prior to joining Coltrane. A ...
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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.