Clifford Thornton was an American free jazz trumpeter and trombonist. Born in Philadelphia in 1939, he studied with trumpeter
Donald ByrdDonaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd is best known as one of the only bebop jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a...
in the mid-1950s and worked with various players such as tuba player
Ray DraperRaymond Allen Draper was an American hard bop tuba player.-Biography:Draper attended the Manhattan School of Music in the mid-1950s. As a leader, he recorded his first album, Tuba Sounds , at the age of 16, with a quintet...
. After a stint in the army, Thornton moved to New York City. He played with numerous avant-garde jazz bands, appearing as a sideman on records by notable artists such as
Sun RaSun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...
and
Sam RiversSamuel Carthorne Rivers , is an American jazz musician and composer. He performs on soprano and tenor saxophones, bass clarinet, flute, harmonica and piano....
. His first album, 1967's
Freedom & Unity, was recorded the day after John Coltrane's funeral, and marked the first recorded appearance of
Joe McPheeJoe McPhee is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist born in Miami, Florida, a player of tenor, alto, and soprano saxophone, the trumpet, flugelhorn and valve trombone...
. Possessing radical political leanings, Thornton was denied entry into France in 1970. Thornton spent the last 15 years of his life in Europe, and died in Geneva, Switzerland in 1989.
As leader
- 1967: Freedom & Unity (Unheard Music Series
The Unheard Music Series is an imprint of the American record label Atavistic Records. The series, running since 2000, is curated by Chicago writer and producer John Corbett and focuses mainly on free jazz recordings from the 1960s and 1970s...
) with Karl Berger, Jimmy GarrisonJimmy Garrison was an American jazz double bassist born in Miami, Florida. He was best known through his long association with John Coltrane from 1961–1967.-Biography:...
, John McCortney, Joe McPheeJoe McPhee is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist born in Miami, Florida, a player of tenor, alto, and soprano saxophone, the trumpet, flugelhorn and valve trombone...
, Don MooreDon Moore is an American jazz double-bassist.Moore initially played piano but switched to bass in 1959. He played and recorded with Archie Shepp and Bill Dixon in Europe in 1962. In 1963 he was a member of the New York Contemporary Five, and while the ensemble was in Copenhagen, Moore recorded...
- 1969: Ketchaoua (BYG Actuel
BYG Actuel was a French record label specializing in free jazz. The label also released a small number of non-jazz recordings by artists such as Musica Elettronica Viva, Freedom and Gong.-History:...
) with Dave BurrellDavis Burrell is an American jazz instrumentalist, most notably on the piano. He has worked for many jazz musicians including Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, Marion Brown and David Murray.- Biography :...
, Claude Delcloo, Earl Freeman, Beb Guérin, Arthur JonesArthur Jones may refer to:*Arthur Jones , inventor of the Nautilus exercise machines*Arthur Creech Jones , Secretary of State for the Colonies, 1946–1950*Arthur E...
, Grachan Moncur IIIGrachan Moncur III is an American jazz trombonist who has mostly played free jazz, as well as being a prolific composer. He is the son of jazz bassist Grachan Moncur II and the nephew of jazz saxophonist Al Cooper.-Biography:...
, Sunny MurrayJames Marcellus Arthur "Sunny" Murray is one of the pioneers of the free jazz style of drumming.-Biography:...
, Archie Shepp
- 1970: The Panther and the Lash with François Tusques, Beb Guérin, Noel McGhie
- 1972: Communications Network (Third World Records) with Jerome Cooper
Jerome Cooper is an American free jazz musician. Known as a multi-dimensional drummer, Cooper plays balafon, chirimia and electronic tonal activator in addition to trap drums....
, Jayne CortezJayne Cortez is an American poet, and performance artist.-Biography:She grew up in California. She is the author of ten books of poems and performer of her poetry with music on nine recordings. Her voice is celebrated for its political, surrealistic, dynamic innovations in lyricism, and visceral...
, Nathan DavisNathan Davis is an American hard bop jazz multi-instrumentalist who plays the tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet and flute...
, Jerry GonzalezJerry Gonzalez is an American-born Latino jazz trumpeter and percussionist, most noteworthy for his contributions to Latin jazz.-Biography:-Early life and career:...
, Jay HoggardJay Hoggard is an American jazz vibraphonist.Jay Hoggard was raised in a religious family. He was born in Washington, D.C. but grew up in Mount Vernon, New York. His mother taught him how to play piano at a young age. At age 15, Jay started to play the vibraphone.Hoggard first played piano and...
, L. ShankarLakshminarayanan Shankar, also known as L. Shankar and Shenkar, is an Indian-born American violinist, singer and composer.-Early life:...
, SironeNorris Jones, better known as Sirone was an American jazz bassist and composer.-Biography:Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Sirone worked in Atlanta late in the 1950s and early in the 1960s with "The Group" alongside George Adams; he also recorded with R&B musicians such as Sam Cooke and Smokey Robinson...
- 1974: The Gardens of Harlem (JCOA
Jazz Composer's Orchestra was an American jazz group founded in 1965, to further avant-garde jazz in New York. Carla Bley and Michael Mantler were important in its organization and style....
) with Roland AlexanderRoland Alexander was an American post-bop jazz musician from Boston, Massachusetts.Alexander played tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, and piano. He graduated with a bachelor's degree from the Boston Conservatory and then moved to New York City in 1958...
, Carla BleyCarla Bley, née Borg, is an American jazz composer, pianist, organist and band leader. An important figure in the Free Jazz movement of the 1960s, she is perhaps best known for her jazz opera Escalator Over The Hill , as well as a book of compositions that have been performed by many other...
, Pat Patrick, Marvin Peterson, Dewey RedmanDewey Redman was an American jazz saxophonist, known for performing free jazz as a bandleader, and with Ornette Coleman and Keith Jarrett....
, Wadada Leo SmithIshmael Wadada Leo Smith is a trumpeter and composer working primarily in the fields of avant-garde jazz and free improvisation.-Biography:...
, Bob Stewart, Carlos WardCarlos Ward is a jazz alto saxophonist and flautist. He is best known as a sideman.His first instrument was the clarinet at age 13 when he lived in Seattle, Washington...
As sideman
With Dave BurrellDavis Burrell is an American jazz instrumentalist, most notably on the piano. He has worked for many jazz musicians including Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, Marion Brown and David Murray.- Biography :...
- Echo
Echo is a studio album released by jazz pianist Dave Burrell. It was recorded on August 13, 1969 and first released as an LP album by BYG Actuel...
(1969)
With Archie SheppArchie Shepp is a prominent African-American jazz saxophonist. Shepp is best known for his passionately Afrocentric music of the late 1960s, which focused on highlighting the injustices faced by the African-Americans, as well as for his work with the New York Contemporary Five, Horace Parlan, and...
- Coral Rock
Coral Rock is an album by jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp recorded in Europe in 1970 for the America label at the same sessions which produced Pitchin Can. The album was also issued by the Prestige label in 1973. The Allmusic review by Brandon Burke states "Coral Rock features an absolutely monster...
- Black Gipsy
Black Gipsy is an album by jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp recorded in Europe in 1969 for the America label. The album was also issued by the Prestige label under the title Black Gypsy. The Allmusic review by Sean Westergaard states "This music gets intense, but melody is always at its core: this is...
- Attica Blues
Attica Blues is an album by avant-garde jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp. Originally released in 1972 on the Impulse! label, the album title is a direct reference to the Attica Prison riots...
- Archie Shepp and the Full Moon Ensemble
Archie Shepp and the Full Moon Ensemble is a live album by Archie Shepp recorded at the Juan les Pins Jazz Festival in Antibes, France, on July 18, 1970. It was originally released on the BYG Actuel label in two volumes and re-released as a double CD in 2002...
- Live at the Pan-African Festival
Live at the Pan-African Festival is a live recording of Archie Shepp's performance in Algiers on July 29–30, 1969, when his free jazz band was complemented by a section of traditional North-African musicians.-Track listing:All songs arranged by Shepp....
- Yasmina, a Black Woman
Yasmina, a Black Woman is a jazz album by Archie Shepp, recorded in 1969 in Paris for BYG Actuel records. It features musicians from the Art Ensemble of Chicago...
- Pitchin Can
Pitchin Can is an album by jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp recorded in Europe in 1969 and 1970 for the America label. The album features one track by Shepp with Clifford Thornton, Noah Howard, Julio Finn, Leroy Jenkins, Dave Burrell, Earl Freeman, Sunny Murray and Chicago Beau and one extended track...
External links
- [ Clifford Thornton at Allmusic]