1911 Hubert Sumlin+
1936 Larry Davis*
1939 Sonny Rodgers*
1946 Peter Lorenz*
1951 Gary Rossington*
1955 Cassandra Wilson*
1955 Sterling Koch*
1957 Dennis Siggery*
1964 Little Jimmy King*
Gregor Hilden*
R.I.P.
Hubert Sumlin +04.12.2011
Hubert Sumlin (* 16. November 1931 in Greenwood, Mississippi; † 4. Dezember 2011 in Wayne, New Jersey[1]) war ein US-amerikanischer Blues-Gitarrist, der vor allem als Mitglied der Band von Howlin’ Wolf bekannt wurde.Leben
Sumlin wurde in Mississippi geboren, zog aber in Alter von acht Jahren nach Hughes, Arkansas und wuchs dort auf. Ebenfalls mit acht Jahren begann er mit der Gitarre seines älteren Bruders zu spielen, bis seine Mutter kurz darauf einen kompletten Wochenlohn ausgab und ihm eine eigene Gitarre kaufte.[2] Sumlin begann seine musikalische Karriere mit dem Mundharmonika-Virtuosen James Cotton, mit dem er in Juke Joints, aber auch in einer Radiosendung spielte und zwar beim Sender KWM in West Memphis. Bei diesen Radiosendungen lernte Sumlin Howlin’ Wolf kennen, der dort ebenfalls auftrat und mit dem er 1954 nach Chicago ging. Auf der Bühne verbesserte er seine Technik und übernahm bald die Leadgitarre in der Band.[3] In den Anfangsjahren in Chicago wurde Sumlin vorübergehend von Muddy Waters für seine Band abgeworben, kehrte aber zu Howlin' Wolf zurück, da ihm das Touren mit Waters zu anstrengend wurde.[4][5]
Hubert Sumlins Gitarre ist bei etlichen der Hits von Howlin’ Wolf zu hören, darunter Wang Dang Doodle, Shake for Me, Hidden Charms, Three Hundred Pounds of Joy und Killing Floor. Das Gitarrespiel Sumlins wird von Bob Margolin, selbst Gitarrist, in Sumlins Biographie als "zwischen intensiv und legendär" bezeichnet.[6] Sumlin blieb bei Howlin' Wolf bis zu dessen Tod 1976. Zwischendurch trat er auch solo oder mit anderen Musikern auf, so z. B. bei der Europa-Tour 1964, als er mit Sunnyland Slim und Willie Dixon in Ost-Berlin spielte. 2008 wurde er in die Blues Hall of Fame aufgenommen.
1980 verließ er die Wolf-Gang, die nach Howlin’ Wolfs Tod unter der Leitung von Eddie Shaw weiter aufgetreten war, um eine Solokarriere zu starten. Sein legendärer Status als Gitarrist zeigt sich auch daran, dass viele berühmte Musiker Sumlin als entscheidenden Einfluss angaben - darunter Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Robbie Robertson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmy Page und Jimi Hendrix. Die Rolling Stones, die von ihren Anfängen an Howlin' Wolf und seine Band bewundert hatten, sorgten 1965 dafür, dass die Howlin' Wolf Band mit Sumlin in der Sendung Shindig zu ihrem ersten und einzigen Auftritt im US-Fernsehen kamen (die Stones hatten Howlin' Wolfs Song Little Red Rooster gecovert).[7] Im Januar 2003 luden die Rolling Stones Hubert Sumlin ein, gemeinsam mit ihnen im Madison Square Garden zu spielen. Keith Richards produzierte und nahm 2000 ein Album mit ihm auf, weil er unbedingt Blues mit Hubert Sumlin spielen wollte. Das Album erschien 2003.[6]
Spielstil
-Hubert Sumlins Gitarrenspiel war zuerst stark beeinflusst vom akustischen Delta Blues, und Sumlin lernte früh am Beispiel von Charlie Patton und Robert Johnson und machte dann zuerst in West Memphis mit Howlin Wolf und speziell nach seinem Umzug nach Chicago den Übergang zum elektrischen Chicago Blues mit. Howlin Wolf, der selbst noch mit Patton und Johnson gespielt hatte, gab ihm Mitte der 1950er Jahre seine erste elektrische Gitarre, eine Gibson Les Paul Goldtop.[8]
Sumlin spielte vor allem Fingerstyle, bereicherte diesen Stil aber um ungewöhnliche Improvisationen und gleichzeitig hoch kontrolliertes Spiel bei scheinbar wildem Schlagen auf die Saiten. Bob Margolin beschrieb seinen Stil wie folgt: "Wenn Hubert die Gitarre spielt, nimmt er dich mit in seine Welt des Blues, von Verzweiflung zum Überschwang, von feinster Anmut zu gröbster Gewalt, von Alles Vorbei zu Immer und Ewig. Sein Stil ist ganz und gar originell und sein eigener und jederzeit wiederzuerkennen."[9]
Auszeichnungen
2008 wurde Hubert Sumlin in die Blues Hall of Fame der Blues Foundation aufgenommen.[10] Ebenso war er Juror bei den fünften Independent Music Awards.
Der Rolling Stone listet Sumlin auf Platz 43 der 100 besten Gitarristen aller Zeiten[11].
Tod
Hubert Sumlin starb im Alter von 80 Jahren am 4. Dezember 2011 an Herzversagen in einem Krankenhaus in Wayne, New Jersey.[12] Bis ins hohe Alter war er noch live aufgetreten, wie z. B. im Sommer 2010 auf Eric Claptons Crossroads Festival.
Hubert Charles Sumlin (November 16, 1931 – December 4, 2011) was a Chicago blues guitarist and singer,[1] best known for his "wrenched, shattering bursts of notes, sudden cliff-hanger silences and daring rhythmic suspensions" as a member of Howlin' Wolf's band.[2] Sumlin was listed as number 43 in the Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.[3]
Sumlin played a 1955 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop guitar and a Louis Electric Model HS M12 amplifier.[citation needed]
Biography
Born in Greenwood, Mississippi, Sumlin was raised in Hughes, Arkansas.[4] He got his first guitar when he was eight years old.[5] As a boy, Sumlin first met Howlin' Wolf by sneaking into a performance. When Wolf relocated from Memphis to Chicago in 1953, his long-time guitarist Willie Johnson chose not to join him. Upon his arrival in Chicago, Wolf first hired Chicago guitarist Jody Williams, and in 1954 Wolf invited Sumlin to relocate to Chicago to play second guitar in his Chicago-based band. Williams left the band in 1955, leaving Sumlin as the primary guitarist, a position he held almost continuously (except for a brief spell playing with Muddy Waters around 1956) for the remainder of Wolf's career. According to Sumlin, Howlin' Wolf sent Sumlin to a classical guitar instructor at the Chicago Conservatory of Music for a while to learn the keyboards and scales.[6] Sumlin played on the album Howlin' Wolf, also called The Rockin' Chair Album, which was named the third greatest guitar album of all time by Mojo magazine in 2004.[7][8]
Upon Wolf's death in 1976, Sumlin continued on with several other members of Wolf's band under the name "The Wolf Pack" until about 1980. Sumlin also recorded under his own name, beginning with a session from a tour of Europe with Wolf in 1964. His final solo effort was About Them Shoes, released in 2004 by Tone-Cool Records. He underwent lung removal surgery the same year, yet continued performing until just before his death. His final recording, just days before his demise were tracks laid down for the Stephen Dale Petit album "Cracking The Code" (333 Records).
Sumlin was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 2008.[9] He was nominated for four Grammy Awards: in 1999 for the album Tribute to Howlin' Wolf with Henry Gray, Calvin Jones, Sam Lay, and Colin Linden, in 2000 for Legends with Pinetop Perkins, in 2006 for his solo project About Them Shoes (which featured performances by Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Levon Helm, David Johansen and James Cotton) and in 2010 for his participation on Kenny Wayne Shepherd's Live! in Chicago. He won multiple Blues Music Awards, and was a judge for the fifth annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.[10]
He died on December 4, 2011, in a hospital in Wayne, New Jersey, of heart failure at the age of 80.[11][12] Mick Jagger and Keith Richards paid Sumlin's funeral costs.[13]
Maler, Künstler und stimmgewaltiges Blues-Urgestein Peter LORENZ hat mit dem TASCHENBLUESORCHESTER Musiker um sich versammelt, die es in sich haben. Gitarrist Jens Schmidl ist nicht nur Kennern der Berliner Rhythm’n’Blues Szene ebenso bekannt wie Vollblutmusiker Richard Arame aus Paris, der unter anderem mit Isaac Hayes, Martha Reeves oder Liz Mc Comb zusammengearbeitet hat. Gemeinsam mit „the man on the ivories“ Marco Kläring am Piano bringen LORENZ & DAS TASCHENBLUESORCHESTER den Vibe, den Soul und Spirit des Rhythm’n’Blues auf jede noch so kleine Bühne, getreu dem Motto:
Designed for the small Audience. No Drums. No Bass. Finest Boom Cheeka Bar Room Rhythm’n’Blues powered by the TASCHENBLUESORCHESTER – let the GOOD TIMES roll, folks and listen to some smooth and cool urban Bluestunes - with this wonderful little Blues Band in town!
Der Künstler, Maler und Bluessänger Peter Lorenz wurde 1946 in Leverkusen geboren. In den 1970er Jahren stand er mit der "Green Line Blues Band" auf der Bühne. Diese Band galt als Publikumsmagnet, bei deren Auftritten 'kein Stein auf dem anderen blieb'. Ein Journalist formulierte einst über Lorenz wie folgt: "... dessen Stimme den Anschein erweckte, als hätte er tags zuvor literweise Zuckerrohrschnaps getrunken." Später formierte Lorenz seine eigene Band und nannte sie schlicht "Lorenz & Die Band".
Gregor Hilden *04.12.
mit 12 erster (klassischer) Gitarrenunterricht
mit 15 Wechsel zur E-Gitarre und autodidaktisches Erlernen diverser Blues, Rock und Jazz-
Stile
6 Monate Unterricht bei dem Düsseldorfer Bluesgitarristen Peter Driessen<
mit 18 erste Engagements als Gitarrist (münsterische Musicalproduktionen Pippin u.a.)
Engagement als Gitarrist am Stadttheater Münster für Konzert für Blues Band und
Symphonieorchester (Russo)
Stadtheater Oberhausen für Musicalproduktion Jesus Christ Superstar (Lloyd Webber),
mit Olivia Molina
Rockoperproduktion JFK in einer Inzenierung des münsterischen Stadttheaters und Stephi
Stephan. Inklusive Videoproduktion und Fernsehausstrahlung im russischen Fernsehen
Mitwirkung in diversen Bands und Projekten. Special Guest im Vorprogramm von Joe
Jackson, Rory Gallagher, Albert Collins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry
1994
Produktion und bundesweite Veröffentlichung der ersten CD (Guitar Deluxe) unter
eigenem Namen
Konzert-Gastspiele in Deutschland
1996
Produktion und bundesweite Veröffentlichung der zweiten CD (Compared To What) mit
dem Sänger Hans D. Riesop
Gitarrist für Big Jay McNeely (BRD-, Frankreich, Österreich und Schweiz-Tourneen)
Arbeit als Produzent (Bluescasters Album 10. 000 Miles), Komponist f. Filmmusiken
(Sendung mit der Maus)
1998
Produktion und bundesweite Veröffentlichung der dritten CD Westcoast Blues (Acoustic
Music Rec. /Zomba)
BRD-Tournee als Gitarrist für Maxine Weldon
Tour der Gregor Hilden Band feat. Fay Victor
Gründung der Greg’s Bluesnight (Konzertreihe mit internationalen Gästen)
1999
Konzerte im Rahmen der Greg's Bluesnight mit Snowy White (GB), Tyrie Glenn Jr., Pat
Klipp, Big Jay McNeely, Wayne Bartlett, Deborah Woodson, Albie Donelly, Angela Brown,
Gene Connor, Tommie Harris, Matt Walsh, Ford Blues Band, Ron Williams u.a.
2000
Produktion und bundesweite Veröffentlichung der vierten CD "I' ll Play The Blues For You"
(Acoustic Music Rec. /Zomba)
2001
Produktion und bundesweite Veröffentlichung der fünften CD "Soul Serenade" (Acoustic
Music Rec. /Zomba)
Europaweite Konzerte mit Johnny Rogers
Regelmäßige Verpflichtung als Tour-Gitarrist für Al Copley (Gründer der US-Formation
"Roomful Of Blues", Pianist für "Blues Brothers, Eric Clapton etc..).
Gelegentlich als Tour-Gitarrist für die US-Sängerin Sidney Ellis
Festivalauftritte mit Ron Williams, Sydney Youngblood
2002
Produktion und bundesweite Veröffentlichung der CD "Sweet Rain – The Best of The
Instrumentals"
(Acoustic Music Rec./Zomba)
Greg's Bluesnight mit mittlerweile vier monatlichen Austragungsorten und internationalen
Gästen
2003
Auszeichnung mit dem Kleinkunstpreis der Stadt Rheine
Tourneen mit der US-Sängerin Harriet Lewis
Gastdozent an der Musikhochschule Dresden und der Mediterranean Music School
2004
Arbeit an der 7. CD "Blue Hour" feat. Johnny Rogers & Stevie Woods
2005
Nach 10-jähriger Tätigkeit als Chefredakteur des Magazins AKUSTIK GITARRE fortan
ausschließlich als Musiker tätig.
Bundesweite Tour mit Thomas Blug und Allstar-Band (T. Van Leer, Raoul Walton, Wolf
Simon)
CD Ron Williams & der Bluesnight Band "Gotta Do The Right Thing" (Acoustic
Music/Rough Trade)
Sommer-Festival Tour mit Sydney Youngblood
Noten/TAB Buch-Ausgabe "Sweet Rain" (13 Originals, komplett transkribiert mit Themen
und Soli, Fotos, Tipps zu Spieltechnik, Sounds etc…)
Bluesnight-Konzerte mit Red Holloway, Tom Principato, Frank Goldwasser, MZ. Dee, u. v.
m.
Dozent bei der Mediterranean Music School in Südfrankreich
Tourneen mit Harriet Lewis, Ron Williams, Johnny Rogers (Deutschland, Schweiz)
2006
Neue CD "Golden Voice Blues" (Acoustic Music Records/Rough Trade)
Festival-Konzerte mit Sydney Youngblood
2007
Live DVD Gregor Hilden Band "Live At The Luna Bar"
Gitarrenworkshop in der Schweiz
Tournee mit "Rorymania" feat Richie Arndt, Henrik Freischlader, Alex Conti & The
Bluenatics
2008
Neue CD Gregor Hilden Band "Blue In Red"
Tournee mit "Rorymania" feat Richie Arndt, Henrik Freischlader, Alex Conti & The
Bluenatics
Gitarrist bei Sascha Klaar (Gastspiele u.a. in Pekin/China, Österreich, Deutschland)
2009
Konzerte mit Sascha Klaar (u.a. ZDF Fernsehgarten, Galas, Festivals)
Neue monatliche Reihe im Hot Jazz Club, Münster: "Greg's Blue Notes"
Tour und CD-Aufnahmen mit Richie Arndt & Timo Gross ("Unplugged")
Instrumental Blues with Gibson 1959 Les Paul - Gregor Hilden
Larry Davis *04.12.1936
Biography
Born in Kansas City, Missouri and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, Davis swapped playing the drums to learn to play the bass guitar. In the mid-1950s, Davis had a working partnership with Fenton Robinson, and following the recommendation of Bobby Bland was given a recording contract by the Duke label. Davis had three singles released, which included "Texas Flood" and "Angels in Houston". Thereafter, Davis had limited opportunity in the recording studio. He resided in St. Louis, Missouri for a while, and played bass in Albert King's group.[2] He also learned conventional guitar at this time, as the original guitar playing on Davis's recording of "Texas Flood" was by Robinson.[3]
Several single releases on the Virgo and Kent labels followed, but in 1972 a motorcycle accident temporarily paralyzed Davis' left side.[2] He returned a decade later with an album released by Rooster Blues, Funny Stuff, which was produced by Oliver Sain.[3] He won four W.C. Handy Awards in 1982, yet a decade on he was known only to blues specialists.[3] His 1987 Pulsar LP, I Ain't Beggin' Nobody, proved difficult even for blues enthusiasts to locate.[2]
In 1992, Bullseye Blues issued another Davis offering, Sooner or Later, that highlighted his booming vocals and Albert King influenced guitar work. Davis died of cancer in April 1994, at the age of 57.[2]
Texas Flood / Larry Davis
Cassandra Wilson *04.12.1955
Cassandra Wilson (* 4. Dezember 1955 in Jackson, Mississippi) ist eine US-amerikanische Jazz-Sängerin.
Wilsons Repertoire umfasst Jazz und Blues, aber auch Pop- und Rock-Lieder. Ihre Altstimme wird als bluesig und temperamentvoll beschrieben und ihr Musikstil reicht von Swing über Funk bis Bossa Nova. Sie ist zweifache Grammy-Gewinnerin.
Leben und Werk
Mit neun Jahren erhielt sie Klavierunterricht und lernte auch Gitarre, mit 12 schrieb sie ihre ersten Songs. Nach einem erfolgreichen Studium der Kommunikationswissenschaft, während dessen sie schon ab Mitte der 1970er Jahre als Sängerin auftrat, fand sie zunächst Arbeit in New Orleans. 1982 zog sie nach New York und schloss sich dem Musikerkollektiv M-Base um Steve Coleman an. Wilson fand - wie Coleman, Greg Osby und Jean-Paul Bourelly - in dem Münchner Produzenten Stefan Winter jemanden, der ihre ersten Aufnahmen auf seinem gerade gegründeten Label JMT veröffentlichte. 1986 nahm sie mit AACM-Mitbegründer Henry Threadgill und seinem Trio Air New Air No. 1 auf. [1] Ihren eigenen Stil und auch eine breitere öffentliche Resonanz fand sie mit ihrem dritten Album Blue Skies (1988), einem reinen Standard-Album, das sie nur von einem Klaviertrio begleitet einspielte.[2]
Der Durchbruch gelang ihr 1993 mit dem Wechsel von JMT zu Blue Note Records und dem Album Blue Light ’Til Dawn, zu dem Wilson ihren damaliger Nachbarn Craig Street einlud, erstmals zu produzieren. Durch ihre Vorliebe für Delta Blues (Robert Johnson), Mitt-70er-Soul (Ann Peebles' “I Can’t Stand the Rain”, “Children of the Night” der Stylistics) und Songs von Van Morrison und Joni Mitchell, der ungewöhnlichen und spärlichen Instrumentierung mit vornehmlich akustischen Gitarren (auch Slide- und Steel-Gitarre) und Perkussion, den Arrangements von Brandon Ross und dem intimen, warmen Klang der Produktion schufen sie zusammen einen wegweisenden Markstein für ihre jeweiligen Karrieren.[3][4][5]
1994 arbeitete sie mit dem Trompeter Wynton Marsalis auf dessen mit dem Pulitzer-Preis (für Musik, 1997) ausgezeichneten Album Blood on the Fields zusammen. Für New Moon Daughter folgte 1997 der erste Grammy für die „Beste Jazz-Gesangsdarbietung“, 2009 gewann sie den Grammy für das „Beste Jazz-Gesangsalbum“ mit dem Album Loverly.
2012 verließ sie Blue Note und veröffentlichte Another Country bei der unabhängigen Ojah Mediengruppe mit Sitz in ihrer Heimatstadt Jackson, Mississippi,[6] deren Veranstaltungsort Yellow Scarf sie auch konzipierte.[7]
Während sich Wilson in ihrer JMT-Zeit stilistisch noch am M-Base-Stil orientierte, öffnete sich ihr Repertoire mit dem Wechsel zu Blue Note deutlich in Richtung Blues, Pop und Rock. Neben bekannten Jazz- und Bluestiteln und eigenen Kompositionen interpretierte sie Rock- und Pop-Titel wie “The Weight” von The Band, Stings “Fragile” oder Cyndi Laupers “Time After Time”. Das Album Traveling Miles (1999) widmete sie dem 1991 verstorbenen Miles Davis; bei den Titeln “Run the VooDoo Down”, “Seven Steps (to Heaven)”, “VooDoo Reprise” und “Sky & Sea (Blue in Green)” versah sie Davis’ Kompositionen mit einem Text und interpretierte sie neu. Begleitet wurde sie bei diesen Aufnahmen u.a. von Pat Metheny, Dave Holland, Terri Lyne Carrington, Steve Coleman und India.Arie.
Cassandra Wilson ist mit dem Schauspieler Isaac de Bankolé verheiratet.
Cassandra Wilson (born December 4, 1955)[1] is an American jazz musician, vocalist, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. Described by critic Gary Giddins[2] as "a singer blessed with an unmistakable timbre and attack [who has] expanded the playing field" by incorporating blues, country, and folk music into her work, Wilson has won two Grammy Awards.
Early life and career
Cassandra Wilson is the third and youngest child of Herman Fowlkes, Jr., a guitarist, bassist and music teacher;[3] and Mary McDaniel, an elementary school teacher who earned her PhD in education. Her ancestry includes West African, Welsh, and Eastern European through her father. Between her mother’s love for Motown and her father’s dedication to jazz, Wilson’s parents sparked her early interest in music.[4]
Wilson’s earliest formal musical education consisted of classical lessons; she studied piano from the age of six to thirteen and played clarinet in the middle school concert and marching bands.[4] When she was tired of this training, she asked her father to teach her the guitar. Instead, he gave her a lesson in self-reliance, suggesting she study Mel Bay method books. Wilson explored guitar on her own, developing what she has described as an “intuitive” approach. During this time she began writing her own songs, adopting a folk style. She also appeared in the musical theater productions, including The Wizard of Oz as Dorothy, crossing racial lines in a recently desegregated school system.
For college, Wilson attended Millsaps College and Jackson State University. She graduated with a degree in mass communications. Outside of the classroom, she spent her nights working with R&B, funk, and pop cover bands, also singing in local coffeehouses. The Black Arts Music Society, founded by John Reese and Alvin Fielder, provided her with her first opportunities to perform bebop. In 2007, Ms. Wilson received her Ph.D in Arts from Millsaps College.
In 1981, she moved to New Orleans for a position as assistant public affairs director for the local television station, WDSU. She did not stay long. Working with mentors who included elder statesmen Earl Turbinton, Alvin Batiste, and Ellis Marsalis, Wilson found encouragement to seriously pursue jazz performance and moved to New York City the following year.
Musical association with M-Base
In New York, Wilson's focus turned towards improvisation. Heavily influenced by singers Abbey Lincoln and Betty Carter, she fine-tuned her vocal phrasing and scat while studying ear training with trombonist Grachan Moncur, III. Frequenting jam sessions under the tutelage of pianist Sadik Hakim, a Charlie Parker alumnus, she met alto saxophonist Steve Coleman, who encouraged her to look beyond the standard jazz repertoire in favor of developing original material. She would become the vocalist and one of the founding members of the M-Base collective in which Coleman was the leading figure, a stylistic outgrowth of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) and Black Artists Group (BAG) that re-imagined the grooves of funk and soul within the context of traditional and avant-garde jazz. Peter Watrous in an article for The New York Times states:
The M-Base group in Brooklyn, working with both jazz and pop forms, makes music that at first sounds like funk from the 1970s. Like the music played by Mr. Marsalis (and his brother Wynton) the music made by M-Base - Steve Coleman, with Greg Osby, Cassandra Wilson and Geri Allen – is, at its best, filled with subtle ideas working behind the mask of popular music. In Mr. Coleman's group a singer is supported by an electric bass, guitar, drums and electric keyboards, a shiny musical mix that has familiar rock and funk references; yet, because of all its rhythmic and metric manipulations, sounds new.[5]
Although the voice – typically treated as the focal point of any arrangement in which it is included – was not an obvious choice for M-Base's complex textures or harmonically elaborated melodies, Wilson wove herself into the fabric of these settings with wordless improv and lyrics. She can be heard on Coleman's debut as a leader Motherland Pulse (1985), then as member of his Five Elements on On the Edge of Tomorrow (1986), World Expansion (1986), Sine Die (1987), and on M-Base Collective's sole recording as a large ensemble Anatomy of a Groove (1992).
At the same time, Wilson toured with avant-garde trio New Air featuring alto saxophonist Henry Threadgill and recorded Air Show No. 1 (1987) in Italy. A decade her senior and an AACM member, Threadgill has been lauded as a composer for his ability to transcend stylistic boundaries, a trait he and Wilson share.
Solo career
Like fellow M-Base artists, Wilson signed to the Munich-based, independent label JMT. She released her first recording as a leader Point of View in 1986. Like the majority of her JMT albums that followed, originals by Wilson in keeping with M-Base dominated these sessions; she would also record material by and co-written with Coleman, Jean-Paul Bourelly, and James Weidman as well as a few standards. Her throaty contralto gradually emerges over the course of these recordings, making its way to the foreground. She developed a remarkable ability to stretch and bend pitches, elongate syllables, manipulate tone and timbre from dusky to hollow.[6]
While these recordings established her as a serious musician, Wilson received her first broad critical acclaim for the album of standards recorded in the middle of this period, Blue Skies (1988). Her signing with Blue Note Records in 1993 marked a crucial turning point in her career and major breakthrough to audiences beyond jazz with albums selling in the hundreds of thousands of copies.
Beginning with Blue Light 'Til Dawn (1993) her repertoire moved towards a broad synthesis of blues, pop, jazz, world music, and country. Although she continued to perform originals and standards, she adopted songs as diverse as Robert Johnson's "Come On in My Kitchen", Joni Mitchell's "Black Crow", The Monkees' "Last Train to Clarksville", and Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry".
Not only did Wilson effectively reconnect vocal jazz with its blues roots, she was arguably the first to convincingly fashion post–British Invasion pop into jazz, trailblazing a path that many have since followed. Furthermore, producer Craig Street drew from pop production techniques to create a rich ambient environment around her voice, magnifying it and giving sonic depth to Brandon Ross' sparse but incredibly vivid arrangements, which used steel guitar, violin, accordion, and percussion.
Wilson's 1996 album New Moon Daughter won the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance. In 1997, she recorded and toured as a featured vocalist with Wynton Marsalis' Pulitzer Prize winning composition, Blood on the Fields.
The late Miles Davis was one of Wilson's greatest influences. In 1989, Wilson performed as the opening act for Davis at the JVC Jazz Festival in Chicago. In 1999 she produced Traveling Miles as a tribute to Davis. The album developed from a series of jazz concerts that she performed at Lincoln Center in November 1997 in Davis' honor, and includes three selections based on Davis' own compositions, from which Wilson adapted the original themes.
Personal life
Wilson was married to Anthony Wilson from 1981 to 1983.[7]
She has a son, Jeris, born in the late 1980s. Her song "Out Loud (Jeris' Blues)" on the album She Who Weeps is dedicated to him. For many years she and her son lived in New York City's Sugar Hill, in an apartment that once belonged to Count Basie, Lena Horne and the boxer Joe Louis.[8]
In 2000, Wilson married actor Isaach de Bankolé, who directed her in the concert film Traveling Miles: Cassandra Wilson (2000).
Wilson and her mother are members of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.
Honors
1994–1996: Female Jazz Vocalist of the Year, Down Beat magazine. Wilson was named best
jazz singer.
1996: Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance for New Moon Daughter
1999: Received Miles Davis Prize from the Montreal International Jazz Festival
2001: Named "America's Best Singer" by Time Magazine
2003: Received honorary doctorate in the Arts from Millsaps College
2009: Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album for Loverly
2010: Added to the Mississippi Blues Trail on January 7[9]
2011: BET Soul Train Award for Best Traditional Jazz Album for Silver Pony
Early life and career
Cassandra Wilson is the third and youngest child of Herman Fowlkes, Jr., a guitarist, bassist and music teacher;[3] and Mary McDaniel, an elementary school teacher who earned her PhD in education. Her ancestry includes West African, Welsh, and Eastern European through her father. Between her mother’s love for Motown and her father’s dedication to jazz, Wilson’s parents sparked her early interest in music.[4]
Wilson’s earliest formal musical education consisted of classical lessons; she studied piano from the age of six to thirteen and played clarinet in the middle school concert and marching bands.[4] When she was tired of this training, she asked her father to teach her the guitar. Instead, he gave her a lesson in self-reliance, suggesting she study Mel Bay method books. Wilson explored guitar on her own, developing what she has described as an “intuitive” approach. During this time she began writing her own songs, adopting a folk style. She also appeared in the musical theater productions, including The Wizard of Oz as Dorothy, crossing racial lines in a recently desegregated school system.
For college, Wilson attended Millsaps College and Jackson State University. She graduated with a degree in mass communications. Outside of the classroom, she spent her nights working with R&B, funk, and pop cover bands, also singing in local coffeehouses. The Black Arts Music Society, founded by John Reese and Alvin Fielder, provided her with her first opportunities to perform bebop. In 2007, Ms. Wilson received her Ph.D in Arts from Millsaps College.
In 1981, she moved to New Orleans for a position as assistant public affairs director for the local television station, WDSU. She did not stay long. Working with mentors who included elder statesmen Earl Turbinton, Alvin Batiste, and Ellis Marsalis, Wilson found encouragement to seriously pursue jazz performance and moved to New York City the following year.
Musical association with M-Base
In New York, Wilson's focus turned towards improvisation. Heavily influenced by singers Abbey Lincoln and Betty Carter, she fine-tuned her vocal phrasing and scat while studying ear training with trombonist Grachan Moncur, III. Frequenting jam sessions under the tutelage of pianist Sadik Hakim, a Charlie Parker alumnus, she met alto saxophonist Steve Coleman, who encouraged her to look beyond the standard jazz repertoire in favor of developing original material. She would become the vocalist and one of the founding members of the M-Base collective in which Coleman was the leading figure, a stylistic outgrowth of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) and Black Artists Group (BAG) that re-imagined the grooves of funk and soul within the context of traditional and avant-garde jazz. Peter Watrous in an article for The New York Times states:
The M-Base group in Brooklyn, working with both jazz and pop forms, makes music that at first sounds like funk from the 1970s. Like the music played by Mr. Marsalis (and his brother Wynton) the music made by M-Base - Steve Coleman, with Greg Osby, Cassandra Wilson and Geri Allen – is, at its best, filled with subtle ideas working behind the mask of popular music. In Mr. Coleman's group a singer is supported by an electric bass, guitar, drums and electric keyboards, a shiny musical mix that has familiar rock and funk references; yet, because of all its rhythmic and metric manipulations, sounds new.[5]
Although the voice – typically treated as the focal point of any arrangement in which it is included – was not an obvious choice for M-Base's complex textures or harmonically elaborated melodies, Wilson wove herself into the fabric of these settings with wordless improv and lyrics. She can be heard on Coleman's debut as a leader Motherland Pulse (1985), then as member of his Five Elements on On the Edge of Tomorrow (1986), World Expansion (1986), Sine Die (1987), and on M-Base Collective's sole recording as a large ensemble Anatomy of a Groove (1992).
At the same time, Wilson toured with avant-garde trio New Air featuring alto saxophonist Henry Threadgill and recorded Air Show No. 1 (1987) in Italy. A decade her senior and an AACM member, Threadgill has been lauded as a composer for his ability to transcend stylistic boundaries, a trait he and Wilson share.
Solo career
Like fellow M-Base artists, Wilson signed to the Munich-based, independent label JMT. She released her first recording as a leader Point of View in 1986. Like the majority of her JMT albums that followed, originals by Wilson in keeping with M-Base dominated these sessions; she would also record material by and co-written with Coleman, Jean-Paul Bourelly, and James Weidman as well as a few standards. Her throaty contralto gradually emerges over the course of these recordings, making its way to the foreground. She developed a remarkable ability to stretch and bend pitches, elongate syllables, manipulate tone and timbre from dusky to hollow.[6]
While these recordings established her as a serious musician, Wilson received her first broad critical acclaim for the album of standards recorded in the middle of this period, Blue Skies (1988). Her signing with Blue Note Records in 1993 marked a crucial turning point in her career and major breakthrough to audiences beyond jazz with albums selling in the hundreds of thousands of copies.
Beginning with Blue Light 'Til Dawn (1993) her repertoire moved towards a broad synthesis of blues, pop, jazz, world music, and country. Although she continued to perform originals and standards, she adopted songs as diverse as Robert Johnson's "Come On in My Kitchen", Joni Mitchell's "Black Crow", The Monkees' "Last Train to Clarksville", and Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry".
Not only did Wilson effectively reconnect vocal jazz with its blues roots, she was arguably the first to convincingly fashion post–British Invasion pop into jazz, trailblazing a path that many have since followed. Furthermore, producer Craig Street drew from pop production techniques to create a rich ambient environment around her voice, magnifying it and giving sonic depth to Brandon Ross' sparse but incredibly vivid arrangements, which used steel guitar, violin, accordion, and percussion.
Wilson's 1996 album New Moon Daughter won the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance. In 1997, she recorded and toured as a featured vocalist with Wynton Marsalis' Pulitzer Prize winning composition, Blood on the Fields.
The late Miles Davis was one of Wilson's greatest influences. In 1989, Wilson performed as the opening act for Davis at the JVC Jazz Festival in Chicago. In 1999 she produced Traveling Miles as a tribute to Davis. The album developed from a series of jazz concerts that she performed at Lincoln Center in November 1997 in Davis' honor, and includes three selections based on Davis' own compositions, from which Wilson adapted the original themes.
Personal life
Wilson was married to Anthony Wilson from 1981 to 1983.[7]
She has a son, Jeris, born in the late 1980s. Her song "Out Loud (Jeris' Blues)" on the album She Who Weeps is dedicated to him. For many years she and her son lived in New York City's Sugar Hill, in an apartment that once belonged to Count Basie, Lena Horne and the boxer Joe Louis.[8]
In 2000, Wilson married actor Isaach de Bankolé, who directed her in the concert film Traveling Miles: Cassandra Wilson (2000).
Wilson and her mother are members of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.
Honors
1994–1996: Female Jazz Vocalist of the Year, Down Beat magazine. Wilson was named best
jazz singer.
1996: Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance for New Moon Daughter
1999: Received Miles Davis Prize from the Montreal International Jazz Festival
2001: Named "America's Best Singer" by Time Magazine
2003: Received honorary doctorate in the Arts from Millsaps College
2009: Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album for Loverly
2010: Added to the Mississippi Blues Trail on January 7[9]
2011: BET Soul Train Award for Best Traditional Jazz Album for Silver Pony
Cassandra Wilson - Vietnam Blues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-_gWzoEQ4Y#t=49
http://www.sterlingkoch.com/
https://www.facebook.com/steelguitarblues/about
"Let It Slide" ... der Albumtitel ist hier Programm. Sterling Koch (sprich: Cook) kommt aus Pottsville (Pennsylvania) und hat inklusive vorliegender Platte bereits dreiundzwanzig Tonträger veröffentlicht. Es begann 1982 mit "Don't Need You Anymore", einer in Eigenproduktion erschienenen 7". Die B-Seite enthält ein Cover des Beatles-Songs "Tomorrow Never Knows". Neben LPs wurden auch Kassetten auf den Markt gebracht. Die Vorgänger von "Let It Slide" waren "Victory In Heaven Blues" (2009), "Steel Guitar Blues" (2010) und "Slide Ruler"aus dem Jahr 2011. Letztgenanntes Album wurde zusammen mit Double Trouble-Bassist Tommy Shannon (Stevie Ray Vaughan) sowie Schlagzeuger Chet McCracken (Doobie Brothers) eingespielt. Sterling Koch ist eine echte Entdeckung, auch wenn man hier nicht mit großen Namen der Blues-Szene aufwarten kann. Tieftonzupfer Gene Babula und Drummer John Goba erweisen sich als eine tolle Rhythmusabteilung. Der Lap Steel-Gitarrist hat Konzerte von Blackfoot, Rick Derringer oder Savoy Brown eröffnet und hatte auch schon Kontakt mit Robert Randolphs Mentor Calvin Cooke.
The Sterling Koch Band (pronounced "Cook") is a three piece band from Pottsville, PA featuring internationally recognized lap steel guitarist Sterling Koch. The band performs a high energy mix of danceable, Texas style, classic blues/rock music containing both cover and original songs. The Sterling Koch Band’s music is informed by it’s influences of George Thorogood, ZZ Top and Duane Allman and features the soaring, slide guitar sounds of Sterling’s lap steel guitar backed by the powerhouse rhythm section of Gene Babula (bass, vocals) and John Goba (drums).
Sterling has just released his 5th solo steel guitar album, “Let It Slide,” which features the current band. The album has charted on Billboard’s Blues Album charts, Roots Music Reports radio charts and Living Blues and Blues Matters magazine’s radio charts. It is still receiving radio play world wide as well as exceptional reviews from the blues music press around the globe.
Sterling recorded his previous album "Slide Ruler" with legendary blues bassist Tommy Shannon (Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, Johnny Winter) and Grammy nominated drummer Chet McCracken (Doobie Brothers). He and his touring band have opened for many nationally known acts including Savoy Brown, Rick Derringer, Lita Ford, Popa Chubby, Joanne Shaw Taylor and more. They have performed at many well known venues including The Bitter End, Kenny’s Castaways and Cornelia Street Café (all in New York City), the blues nightclubs Stanhope House and Bubba Mac’s Blues Shack (both in New Jersey) as well as outdoor events including Daytona Bike Week 2005, Pennsylvania Blues Festival, Jack's Mountain Blues Festival, Fleetwood Blues Festival, several Harley-Davidson Open Houses, Gathering Of The Tribes and more.
Sterling has released 5 solo CDs including "Let It Slide," “Slide Ruler,” “Steel Guitar Blues,” “Steelin’ Home” and “How I Spent My Summer Vacation.”
Sterling Koch *04.12.1955
https://www.facebook.com/steelguitarblues/about
"Let It Slide" ... der Albumtitel ist hier Programm. Sterling Koch (sprich: Cook) kommt aus Pottsville (Pennsylvania) und hat inklusive vorliegender Platte bereits dreiundzwanzig Tonträger veröffentlicht. Es begann 1982 mit "Don't Need You Anymore", einer in Eigenproduktion erschienenen 7". Die B-Seite enthält ein Cover des Beatles-Songs "Tomorrow Never Knows". Neben LPs wurden auch Kassetten auf den Markt gebracht. Die Vorgänger von "Let It Slide" waren "Victory In Heaven Blues" (2009), "Steel Guitar Blues" (2010) und "Slide Ruler"aus dem Jahr 2011. Letztgenanntes Album wurde zusammen mit Double Trouble-Bassist Tommy Shannon (Stevie Ray Vaughan) sowie Schlagzeuger Chet McCracken (Doobie Brothers) eingespielt. Sterling Koch ist eine echte Entdeckung, auch wenn man hier nicht mit großen Namen der Blues-Szene aufwarten kann. Tieftonzupfer Gene Babula und Drummer John Goba erweisen sich als eine tolle Rhythmusabteilung. Der Lap Steel-Gitarrist hat Konzerte von Blackfoot, Rick Derringer oder Savoy Brown eröffnet und hatte auch schon Kontakt mit Robert Randolphs Mentor Calvin Cooke.
The Sterling Koch Band (pronounced "Cook") is a three piece band from Pottsville, PA featuring internationally recognized lap steel guitarist Sterling Koch. The band performs a high energy mix of danceable, Texas style, classic blues/rock music containing both cover and original songs. The Sterling Koch Band’s music is informed by it’s influences of George Thorogood, ZZ Top and Duane Allman and features the soaring, slide guitar sounds of Sterling’s lap steel guitar backed by the powerhouse rhythm section of Gene Babula (bass, vocals) and John Goba (drums).
Sterling has just released his 5th solo steel guitar album, “Let It Slide,” which features the current band. The album has charted on Billboard’s Blues Album charts, Roots Music Reports radio charts and Living Blues and Blues Matters magazine’s radio charts. It is still receiving radio play world wide as well as exceptional reviews from the blues music press around the globe.
Sterling recorded his previous album "Slide Ruler" with legendary blues bassist Tommy Shannon (Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, Johnny Winter) and Grammy nominated drummer Chet McCracken (Doobie Brothers). He and his touring band have opened for many nationally known acts including Savoy Brown, Rick Derringer, Lita Ford, Popa Chubby, Joanne Shaw Taylor and more. They have performed at many well known venues including The Bitter End, Kenny’s Castaways and Cornelia Street Café (all in New York City), the blues nightclubs Stanhope House and Bubba Mac’s Blues Shack (both in New Jersey) as well as outdoor events including Daytona Bike Week 2005, Pennsylvania Blues Festival, Jack's Mountain Blues Festival, Fleetwood Blues Festival, several Harley-Davidson Open Houses, Gathering Of The Tribes and more.
Sterling has released 5 solo CDs including "Let It Slide," “Slide Ruler,” “Steel Guitar Blues,” “Steelin’ Home” and “How I Spent My Summer Vacation.”
Sterling Koch "Live at Holland Sound Studios" Moos
Sonny Rodgers *04.12.1939
b. Oliver Lee Rodgers, 4 December 1939, Hughes, Arkansas, USA, d. 7 May 1990. Rodgers learned guitar from his father and was influenced by B.B. King, Robert Nighthawk and Muddy Waters. After forming his first band at the age of 17, he recorded as accompanist to Forest City Joe Pugh in 1959. Two years later, Rodgers settled in Minneapolis, beginning a long association with Mojo Burford. He also recorded with Lazy Bill Lucas. In the early 70s Rodgers had a spell as guitarist in Muddy Waters’ band, and after some years out of music, he formed his own band in the 80s, winning several music awards in Minnesota. His Blue Moon single ‘Big Leg Woman/Cadillac Blues’ was voted ‘Blues Single Of 1990’ in the international W.C. Handy awards. Rodgers only made one full album, which was highly acclaimed on its release, and tragically coincided with his death on 7 May 1990, just prior to a tour of the UK.
Sonny Rodgers ~ ''Black Nights Are Falling''&''Walkin' Thru The Park'' 1987 - 1990
Dennis Siggery *04.12.1957
I became interested in music at very early age. At just sixteen I joined a band called "The Five Diamonds" as lead vocalist and we played a number of local gigs and youth clubs. I stayed with the band for a few years before taking up a career as a DJ in an R&B club playing Blues and Soul music.
Then I did what most of us do, got married, got a "proper" job and let music take a back seat. But by 1996 I had the urge to sing again, and with the help of a few friends I formed "The Acoustic Blues Band". We played bars and clubs and recorded one album, "Our Kind of Blues" - half covers, half originals.
I got hooked on recording and decided to try a solo album - and ended up making seven! The albums turned out to be basically Rock music, all except the last one "Back to Blue" which began to hint at a future direction.
In 1999 "The Acoustic Blues Band" became "The Southside Blues Band". This band were together in various line-ups for nearly a decade playing pubs, clubs and festivals, but only recorded two albums.
Then the guy that gave the Southside Band its first big break died suddenly, and I wanted to pay him my respects by writing a song about his life. I went into No Machine Studios to record one song and with the help of producer, Neil Sadler, came out later with three albums! The two of us decided to get some musicians together and form a band.
So was formed The Eric Street Band. The band played a couple of local gigs, one of which was recorded live and an album was made - "Eric Street Band - LIVE". Following the success of this, we were asked to support The Animals at The Wallingford Blues Festival in 2009.
The band then hit prolific form, recording three studio albums in two years, "The Route to The Blues" (acclaimed by Blues Matters magazine as " mature, polished and well produced."), then "The Journey" (Blues in Britain said,"The Journey is a masterpiece of punchy, tobacco stained blues rock."), then "The Drifter."
"Company Man" followed that. This was a concept album based on my life. I worked for a company for 17 years, took them and myself to the top, but then my sell-by date was up and it was time to go. I lost not only my job, but also my marriage that had lasted 32 years. The album came out of this troubled time, but was voted by Blues in Britain as best album of the year!
The next album, 'V', was never planned. It evolved when a new lady moved into the flat above. We became friends and then lovers. The album was based on Allison's life and our time together - my first love album probably my last!
"Shades of Blue" - this album took over a year to record. We wrote 15 songs, but only used 10 on the album, with one cover, "Stormy Monday Blues", done as tribute to one of my all-time favourite singers, Bobby 'Blue' Bland, who had passed away recently. Another track, "Tierra Madre", was written about a horse sanctuary in the USA, and there was also a song about my experience of the BBC reality show, The Voice. I had to go on the show to enable me write this. Never again, I hate these Reality shows!
"The Blues Collection Volume 1" came about in 2014 when "Stormy Monday Blues" off the last album went to number one in the USA ReverbNation chart. We decided to do our very first cover album, picking some all-time classic blues tracks. We also included the song 'Hey Big Guy", written by myself as tribute to Sailor john who passed away. John started the Wallingford blues festival, where he gave my band its first big break.
We are currently recording "The Blues Collection Volume 2" which should be out by the middle of March 2015.
Then I did what most of us do, got married, got a "proper" job and let music take a back seat. But by 1996 I had the urge to sing again, and with the help of a few friends I formed "The Acoustic Blues Band". We played bars and clubs and recorded one album, "Our Kind of Blues" - half covers, half originals.
I got hooked on recording and decided to try a solo album - and ended up making seven! The albums turned out to be basically Rock music, all except the last one "Back to Blue" which began to hint at a future direction.
In 1999 "The Acoustic Blues Band" became "The Southside Blues Band". This band were together in various line-ups for nearly a decade playing pubs, clubs and festivals, but only recorded two albums.
Then the guy that gave the Southside Band its first big break died suddenly, and I wanted to pay him my respects by writing a song about his life. I went into No Machine Studios to record one song and with the help of producer, Neil Sadler, came out later with three albums! The two of us decided to get some musicians together and form a band.
So was formed The Eric Street Band. The band played a couple of local gigs, one of which was recorded live and an album was made - "Eric Street Band - LIVE". Following the success of this, we were asked to support The Animals at The Wallingford Blues Festival in 2009.
The band then hit prolific form, recording three studio albums in two years, "The Route to The Blues" (acclaimed by Blues Matters magazine as " mature, polished and well produced."), then "The Journey" (Blues in Britain said,"The Journey is a masterpiece of punchy, tobacco stained blues rock."), then "The Drifter."
"Company Man" followed that. This was a concept album based on my life. I worked for a company for 17 years, took them and myself to the top, but then my sell-by date was up and it was time to go. I lost not only my job, but also my marriage that had lasted 32 years. The album came out of this troubled time, but was voted by Blues in Britain as best album of the year!
The next album, 'V', was never planned. It evolved when a new lady moved into the flat above. We became friends and then lovers. The album was based on Allison's life and our time together - my first love album probably my last!
"Shades of Blue" - this album took over a year to record. We wrote 15 songs, but only used 10 on the album, with one cover, "Stormy Monday Blues", done as tribute to one of my all-time favourite singers, Bobby 'Blue' Bland, who had passed away recently. Another track, "Tierra Madre", was written about a horse sanctuary in the USA, and there was also a song about my experience of the BBC reality show, The Voice. I had to go on the show to enable me write this. Never again, I hate these Reality shows!
"The Blues Collection Volume 1" came about in 2014 when "Stormy Monday Blues" off the last album went to number one in the USA ReverbNation chart. We decided to do our very first cover album, picking some all-time classic blues tracks. We also included the song 'Hey Big Guy", written by myself as tribute to Sailor john who passed away. John started the Wallingford blues festival, where he gave my band its first big break.
We are currently recording "The Blues Collection Volume 2" which should be out by the middle of March 2015.
EXCLUSIVE Eric Street Band playing Rock Me Baby live at Sub89 Reading HD
Gary Rossington *04.12.1951
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Gary Rossington (* 4. Dezember 1951 in Jacksonville, Florida) ist ein US-amerikanischer Musiker. Er ist Mitbegründer, Gitarrist und Songwriter der Southern-Rock-Band Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Leben
Rossington gründete mit seinen Freunden Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins, Larry Junstrom und Bob Burns im Sommer 1964 die Band, die später den Namen Lynard Skynard und bald darauf den endgültigen Namen Lynyrd Skynyrd bekam. Ihren ersten Erfolg hatte die Band 1973 mit Free Bird, 1974 gefolgt von Sweet Home Alabama. Bei einem Flugzeugabsturz am 20. Oktober 1977 kamen die Bandmitglieder Ronnie Van Zant, Steve und Cassie Gaines sowie der Tourmanager Dean Kilpatrick, der Pilot Walter McCreary und der Copilot William Gray ums Leben. Die anderen Mitglieder überlebten verletzt.
Anfang der 1980er Jahre spielte Rossington mit einigen der anderen überlebenden Bandmitglieder zusammen in der Rossington-Collins Band, die allerdings nur bis 1986 bestand. Bereits 1982 heiratete er Dale Krantz, mit der er die beiden Töchter Mary und Annie hat. Rossington spielt noch heute in einer neuformierten Lynyrd-Skynyrd-Formation.
Equipment
Rossington spielt eine Gibson SG. Die SG stammt aus den frühen 1960er Jahren. Gary setzt sie live aber nur noch bei "Free Bird" ein. Viel berühmter dagegen ist seine Gibson Les Paul, von der es auch ein Gibson Signature Modell von 2003 in limitierter Auflage von 250 Stück gibt. Vorbild für sein Slide-Spiel mit Bottlenecks war Duane Allman, einer der Gründer der Allman Brothers Band.
Leben
Rossington gründete mit seinen Freunden Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins, Larry Junstrom und Bob Burns im Sommer 1964 die Band, die später den Namen Lynard Skynard und bald darauf den endgültigen Namen Lynyrd Skynyrd bekam. Ihren ersten Erfolg hatte die Band 1973 mit Free Bird, 1974 gefolgt von Sweet Home Alabama. Bei einem Flugzeugabsturz am 20. Oktober 1977 kamen die Bandmitglieder Ronnie Van Zant, Steve und Cassie Gaines sowie der Tourmanager Dean Kilpatrick, der Pilot Walter McCreary und der Copilot William Gray ums Leben. Die anderen Mitglieder überlebten verletzt.
Anfang der 1980er Jahre spielte Rossington mit einigen der anderen überlebenden Bandmitglieder zusammen in der Rossington-Collins Band, die allerdings nur bis 1986 bestand. Bereits 1982 heiratete er Dale Krantz, mit der er die beiden Töchter Mary und Annie hat. Rossington spielt noch heute in einer neuformierten Lynyrd-Skynyrd-Formation.
Equipment
Rossington spielt eine Gibson SG. Die SG stammt aus den frühen 1960er Jahren. Gary setzt sie live aber nur noch bei "Free Bird" ein. Viel berühmter dagegen ist seine Gibson Les Paul, von der es auch ein Gibson Signature Modell von 2003 in limitierter Auflage von 250 Stück gibt. Vorbild für sein Slide-Spiel mit Bottlenecks war Duane Allman, einer der Gründer der Allman Brothers Band.
Gary Robert Rossington (born December 4, 1951) is an American musician, best known as a founding member of Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. He plays lead and occasional rhythm guitar. He is also a founding member of The Rossington-Collins Band along with former Lynyrd Skynyrd bandmate, Allen Collins.[1] Rossington is the last original member still with the band as of 2016.
Biography
His mother Berniece (for whom the song by Lynyrd Skynyrd is named for as a tribute by Rossington) recalled that Gary had a childhood interest in baseball and aspired to become a New York Yankee, and Gary himself recalled that he was a "good ball player" until he heard The Rolling Stones and gave up his baseball career. [2]
Rossington formed the band "The Noble Five" as a teenager with friends Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins, Larry Junstrom and Bob Burns in the summer of 1964. They would later change the name of the band to "The One Percent" before becoming Lynyrd Skynyrd.
According to a New York Times article, Lacy Van Zant, patriarch of the Van Zant family, once went to West Jacksonville's Robert E. Lee High School to plead Rossington's case to school administrators after the fatherless Rossington was suspended for having long hair. Lacy Van Zant explained to the assistant principal that Rossington's father, who died shortly after Rossington was born, had died in the Army and that Rossington's mother needed the money Rossington made playing in his band. Lacy Van Zant further explained that, like his own sons, they were working men and long hair was part of the job.[3]
Rossington's instrument of choice was a 1959 Gibson Les Paul that he purchased from a woman whose boyfriend had left her and left behind his guitar. He named it "Berniece" in honor of his mother whom he was extremely close to after the death of his father.[4] Rossington played lead guitar on "Tuesday's Gone" and the slide guitar for "Free Bird". Along with Collins, Rossington also provided the guitar work for "Simple Man".
On Labor Day weekend in 1976, Rossington and fellow Skynyrd guitarist Allen Collins were both involved in separate auto accidents in their hometown of Jacksonville. Rossington had just bought a new Ford Torino, and hit an oak tree while under the influence of alcohol and other drugs. The band was due to go on tour in a couple of days, but had to postpone this tour due to Rossington's accident. The band members were not at all pleased with Rossington, and fined him $5000 for the delay caused to the band's schedule. Van Zant and Collins wrote the song "That Smell" based on the wreck, and Rossington's state of influence from drugs and alcohol at the time. The specific lyrics that refer to the wreck: "Whiskey bottles and brand new cars, oak tree you're in my way. There's too much coke and too much smoke."
Rossington was one of six band members who survived the October 20, 1977, plane crash near Gillsburg, Mississippi, that took the lives of Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, and three others. Despite breaking both arms, both legs, both wrists, both ankles and his pelvis, Rossington would eventually recover from his injuries and play on stage again (albeit with steel rods in his right arm and one of his legs). He battled with serious drug addiction throughout the next several years, partially as a result of his heavy dependence on medication taken during his recovery from the plane crash.
Rossington co-founded The Rossington Collins Band with Collins in 1980. The band released two albums, but disbanded in 1982 after the death of Collins' wife, Kathy. With his wife, Dale Krantz-Rossington, he then formed The Rossington Band, which released two albums in 1986 and 1988, respectively.
Rossington still plays in the current Lynyrd Skynyrd lineup. With the death of keyboardist, Billy Powell, on January 28, 2009, Rossington is now the last original band member left in the reformed band.
Gary Rossington and wife Dale Krantz-Rossington have two daughters, Mary and Annie.
He experienced a heart problem in the past which was successfully addressed via surgery, but he occasionally experiences pain in his legs severe enough to force him to miss shows; this is a recurring ailment resulting from the 1977 plane crash.[citation needed]
Rossington is an avid fan of the Jacksonville Jaguars. He recorded a video, along with remaining members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, that is played at every Jaguars home game on the Everbank Field video board.
Rossington suffered a heart attack on October 8, 2015 after which two Lynyrd Skynyrd concerts had to be cancelled.[5]
Equipment
Rossington has used Gibson Les Pauls and a Gibson SG throughout his career. He is mostly seen playing a Les Paul in sunburst finish, but he can be seen playing a red SG with tremolo for the song "Free Bird". He also uses a black finish Les Paul. Rossington uses Seymor Duncan Sh1 and Sh2's in his Les Pauls.
Rossington was also an avid user of Peavey amplifiers and cabinets, specifically using their Mace combo amps. He now uses 2 Peavey 4x12 cabinets with stock Peavey Black Widow speakers. He eventually got his own signature amp in 2009, the Peavey Penta Gary Rossington signature head. This is a 140 watt tube head. He uses two on stage (one hot, and one as a backup). Currently he also uses a Maxon PT 999 phaser.
Prior to his Peavey endorsement, Rossington would use Fender Twins and Fender Super Reverbs loaded with Jensen speakers, Marshall Plexis with speaker cabinets loaded with Celestion Greenbacks, and Hiwatt amps with speaker cabinets loaded with Fane speakers.
Biography
His mother Berniece (for whom the song by Lynyrd Skynyrd is named for as a tribute by Rossington) recalled that Gary had a childhood interest in baseball and aspired to become a New York Yankee, and Gary himself recalled that he was a "good ball player" until he heard The Rolling Stones and gave up his baseball career. [2]
Rossington formed the band "The Noble Five" as a teenager with friends Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins, Larry Junstrom and Bob Burns in the summer of 1964. They would later change the name of the band to "The One Percent" before becoming Lynyrd Skynyrd.
According to a New York Times article, Lacy Van Zant, patriarch of the Van Zant family, once went to West Jacksonville's Robert E. Lee High School to plead Rossington's case to school administrators after the fatherless Rossington was suspended for having long hair. Lacy Van Zant explained to the assistant principal that Rossington's father, who died shortly after Rossington was born, had died in the Army and that Rossington's mother needed the money Rossington made playing in his band. Lacy Van Zant further explained that, like his own sons, they were working men and long hair was part of the job.[3]
Rossington's instrument of choice was a 1959 Gibson Les Paul that he purchased from a woman whose boyfriend had left her and left behind his guitar. He named it "Berniece" in honor of his mother whom he was extremely close to after the death of his father.[4] Rossington played lead guitar on "Tuesday's Gone" and the slide guitar for "Free Bird". Along with Collins, Rossington also provided the guitar work for "Simple Man".
On Labor Day weekend in 1976, Rossington and fellow Skynyrd guitarist Allen Collins were both involved in separate auto accidents in their hometown of Jacksonville. Rossington had just bought a new Ford Torino, and hit an oak tree while under the influence of alcohol and other drugs. The band was due to go on tour in a couple of days, but had to postpone this tour due to Rossington's accident. The band members were not at all pleased with Rossington, and fined him $5000 for the delay caused to the band's schedule. Van Zant and Collins wrote the song "That Smell" based on the wreck, and Rossington's state of influence from drugs and alcohol at the time. The specific lyrics that refer to the wreck: "Whiskey bottles and brand new cars, oak tree you're in my way. There's too much coke and too much smoke."
Rossington was one of six band members who survived the October 20, 1977, plane crash near Gillsburg, Mississippi, that took the lives of Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, and three others. Despite breaking both arms, both legs, both wrists, both ankles and his pelvis, Rossington would eventually recover from his injuries and play on stage again (albeit with steel rods in his right arm and one of his legs). He battled with serious drug addiction throughout the next several years, partially as a result of his heavy dependence on medication taken during his recovery from the plane crash.
Rossington co-founded The Rossington Collins Band with Collins in 1980. The band released two albums, but disbanded in 1982 after the death of Collins' wife, Kathy. With his wife, Dale Krantz-Rossington, he then formed The Rossington Band, which released two albums in 1986 and 1988, respectively.
Rossington still plays in the current Lynyrd Skynyrd lineup. With the death of keyboardist, Billy Powell, on January 28, 2009, Rossington is now the last original band member left in the reformed band.
Gary Rossington and wife Dale Krantz-Rossington have two daughters, Mary and Annie.
He experienced a heart problem in the past which was successfully addressed via surgery, but he occasionally experiences pain in his legs severe enough to force him to miss shows; this is a recurring ailment resulting from the 1977 plane crash.[citation needed]
Rossington is an avid fan of the Jacksonville Jaguars. He recorded a video, along with remaining members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, that is played at every Jaguars home game on the Everbank Field video board.
Rossington suffered a heart attack on October 8, 2015 after which two Lynyrd Skynyrd concerts had to be cancelled.[5]
Equipment
Rossington has used Gibson Les Pauls and a Gibson SG throughout his career. He is mostly seen playing a Les Paul in sunburst finish, but he can be seen playing a red SG with tremolo for the song "Free Bird". He also uses a black finish Les Paul. Rossington uses Seymor Duncan Sh1 and Sh2's in his Les Pauls.
Rossington was also an avid user of Peavey amplifiers and cabinets, specifically using their Mace combo amps. He now uses 2 Peavey 4x12 cabinets with stock Peavey Black Widow speakers. He eventually got his own signature amp in 2009, the Peavey Penta Gary Rossington signature head. This is a 140 watt tube head. He uses two on stage (one hot, and one as a backup). Currently he also uses a Maxon PT 999 phaser.
Prior to his Peavey endorsement, Rossington would use Fender Twins and Fender Super Reverbs loaded with Jensen speakers, Marshall Plexis with speaker cabinets loaded with Celestion Greenbacks, and Hiwatt amps with speaker cabinets loaded with Fane speakers.
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free Bird (Live August 21st, 1976)
... well just found that clip on a hard disk - not sure about the
location and when it was recorded (@edit: Knebworth fair show in
Hertfordshire England August 21st, 1976) - but the original Skynyrd
lineup from 1976 with Ronnie van Zandt, Allen Collins, Gary Rossington,
Leon Wilkenson, Artimus Pyle, Steve Gaines (plus Billy Powell I guess) -
most of them are in Heaven - RIP all, you guys were so great!
