Randy Hall
Encyclopedia
Randy Hall was co-arranger with Miles Davis
of the gold album, The Man With The Horn
. The title track featured the lead vocals of Randy Hall, who also played guitar
, synthesizer
and celesta
on the track.
Hall collaborated with Miles Davis
a number of times during the 1980s. Randy Hall is a singer/guitarist/producer who currently lives in Las Vegas
, NV where he has a production studio. He performs locally, nationally, and internationally. Hall grew up in Chicago
. His first instrument was the piano
, but at thirteen, he switched to guitar, taking guitar lessons from British jazz guitar
ist Peter Budd. Despite Budd's best efforts, Hall adopted a playing technique similar to Wes Montgomery
, whereby the thumb is used as a pick
. Hall can play fast and explosively, as in the opening number "One Phone Call/Street Scenes" on the ESP 2 DVD "A Tribute to Miles
."
Hall met Miles's nephew (and future drummer) Vince Wilburn Jr in kindergarten
and the two became life-long friends. Wilburn's mother Dorothy, was Miles's sister. The two friends started playing together and at the age of sixteen, joined a local band Time, Space and Distance.
That soon gained them a reputation around Chicago and they did session work for local groups, including The Dells
. When Hall and Wilburn were around seventeen, Pete Cosey
, who had played in Miles's band from 1973–1975, began giving them lessons. They did gigs with him, festivals, and other events. Pete played bass and Randy played guitar. In 1975, Hall went to study music at the Berklee College of Music
in Boston. When Hall returned to Chicago, he joined a new band called Data
, which included Wilburn, bassist Richard Patterson, keyboardist Robert Irving III
, and saxophonist Glenn Burris. All of these musicians later worked with Miles Davis
, with Patterson becoming the last bassist in a Miles Davis band and the others working on Davis' comeback album, The Man With The Horn
. Irving and Wilburn also joined Davis' band in the 1980s.
The Man With The Horn
Hall, Irving and Wilburn performed with other local musicians, including bassist Darryl Jones
(who joined Miles's band in 1983) and guitarist Jean-Paul Bourelly
, who played on the Amandla album. In 1979, Data
disbanded and a new band was formed, AL7, which included Hall, Wilburn, Irving, Burris, bassist Felton Crews (who also joined Miles's band) and Hall's sister Saundra, a vocalist.
AL7 performed part time with their main preoccupation being rehearsing and writing material. They also worked with arranger Tom Washington (known as Tom Tom 84), who was conected with another local band, Earth, Wind & Fire
. Tom Tom 84 recorded several demos with AL7, including a track called "Space," which had been written by Robert Irving III.
Miles Davis' record label, Columbia Records
, flew four of the AL7 band members - Hall, Wilburn, Crews, and Irving - from Chicago to New York
, booked them in a top-flight hotel and arranged recording sessions. Glenn Burris later joined the four and although he was at many of the sessions, he did not play. Instead, the four Chicago musicians were joined by a young saxophonist Bill Evans
, who had been recommended to Miles by ex-band member Dave Liebman
.
The musicians worked on the music at Miles's house most days and in the studio and recorded more than a dozen tracks, although Davis did not play on any of them at that stage. One of them was "Shout," a disco-funk track written by Hall, Irving, and Burris. Another was "The Man With The Horn," a tribute ballad to Miles written by Hall and Irving, which became the title track for Davis' comeback album. Randy Hall also played guitar, synthesiser and celeste on the track.
ESP2 : A Tribute To Miles
The release of The Man With The Horn gave Hall a lot of exposure and as a result of his singing on the title track, he was invited to join the soul/funk band Pleasure
. Occasionally, Hall was asked by Miles Davis to compose some songs.
After leaving Pleasure, Hall carved out a successful career as an artist/producer and in 1984, he released a solo album, I Belong to You, produced by Ray Parker, Jr.
(of Raydio
and "Ghostbusters
" fame). The album included contributions from Irving, Wilburn, Crews and Burris. In 1985, Hall was in Ray Parker Jr's studio, (Ameraycan) in Los Angeles
, recording a follow-up solo album, Love You Like A Stranger. Once again, Crews and Irving were involved in the sessions. Meanwhile, Miles had left Columbia Records after almost thirty years and signed with Warner Bros. Records
, with Warner's head of jazz Tommy LiPuma
given the responsibility of handling Miles's musical development. During the initial stages, LiPuma was happy for Miles to choose his own musical direction. Miles decided that he wanted Hall to produce his first album for Warner Bros.
Hall decided to work with a number of people from the Love You Like A Stranger sessions on the new Miles album. One of these was Atalla Zane Giles, who had played guitar, keyboards, bass and sang on the album. Giles was asked to compose, arrange and produce the new album with Hall. Engineer Reggie Dozier was asked to join the project, as were keyboardist Adam Holzman (who later joined Miles's band), bassist Cornelius Mims, percussionist Steve Reid
, Burris and Wilburn. More than a dozen tunes were recorded during the sessions, which took place between October 1985 and January 1986 and the plan was to release an album called Rubberband. One of the tracks was called "Give It Up," the same name as a hit tune for Pleasure.
The Rubberband material was never released. Davis later worked work with Marcus Miller
to record Tutu
. Davis' performances from a couple of the Rubberband sessions were used to create new tracks on the Doo-Bop
album. Two tunes from the Rubberband sessions were due to appear on a retrospective set called The Last Word, but were ultimately not included.
In more recent years Hall has been working with an up and coming artist Elliott Small. Hall produced, wrote the music, and played piano and guitar on Small's album "This Season's Collection". Hall also wrote the lyrics for two songs on the album, "Share Your Love" and "Delightful".
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
of the gold album, The Man With The Horn
The Man with the Horn
The Man with the Horn is an album released by Miles Davis in 1981, featuring drummer Al Foster, saxophonist Bill Evans, guitarists Mike Stern and Barry Finnerty, and others. It was Davis's first new release since 1975, following a six-year reclusive retirement.Rock-oriented in nature, the music...
. The title track featured the lead vocals of Randy Hall, who also played guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
and celesta
Celesta
The celesta or celeste is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. Its appearance is similar to that of an upright piano or of a large wooden music box . The keys are connected to hammers which strike a graduated set of metal plates suspended over wooden resonators...
on the track.
Hall collaborated with Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
a number of times during the 1980s. Randy Hall is a singer/guitarist/producer who currently lives in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, NV where he has a production studio. He performs locally, nationally, and internationally. Hall grew up in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. His first instrument was the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, but at thirteen, he switched to guitar, taking guitar lessons from British jazz guitar
Jazz guitar
The term jazz guitar may refer to either a type of guitar or to the variety of guitar playing styles used in the various genres which are commonly termed "jazz"...
ist Peter Budd. Despite Budd's best efforts, Hall adopted a playing technique similar to Wes Montgomery
Wes Montgomery
John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was an American jazz guitarist. He is widely considered one of the major jazz guitarists, emerging after such seminal figures as Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian and influencing countless others, including Pat Martino, George Benson, Russell Malone, Emily...
, whereby the thumb is used as a pick
Guitar pick
A guitar pick is a plectrum used for guitars. A pick is generally made of one uniform material; examples include plastic, nylon, rubber, felt, tortoiseshell, wood, metal, glass, and stone...
. Hall can play fast and explosively, as in the opening number "One Phone Call/Street Scenes" on the ESP 2 DVD "A Tribute to Miles
A Tribute to Miles
A Tribute to Miles is a tribute album by Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams, Ron Carter and Wallace Roney to pay homage to the their recently departed mentor, Miles Davis, who died in September 1991. Playing the part of Davis was young trumpet player Wallace Roney...
."
Hall met Miles's nephew (and future drummer) Vince Wilburn Jr in kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
and the two became life-long friends. Wilburn's mother Dorothy, was Miles's sister. The two friends started playing together and at the age of sixteen, joined a local band Time, Space and Distance.
That soon gained them a reputation around Chicago and they did session work for local groups, including The Dells
The Dells
The Dells are an R&B and crossover musical group. Their successful recordings spanned more than four decades. Formed in 1952 after attending high school together, the Dells' repertoire has included doo-wop, jazz, soul, disco and contemporary rhythm and blues...
. When Hall and Wilburn were around seventeen, Pete Cosey
Pete Cosey
Pete Cosey is an African-American guitarist most famous for playing with Miles Davis' band between 1973 and 1975. His fiercely flanged and distorted guitar bore comparisons to Jimi Hendrix...
, who had played in Miles's band from 1973–1975, began giving them lessons. They did gigs with him, festivals, and other events. Pete played bass and Randy played guitar. In 1975, Hall went to study music at the Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
in Boston. When Hall returned to Chicago, he joined a new band called Data
DATA (band)
DATA were an electronic music band created in the late 1970s by Georg Kajanus, creator of such bands as Eclection, Sailor and Noir...
, which included Wilburn, bassist Richard Patterson, keyboardist Robert Irving III
Robert Irving III
Robert Irving III is an American pianist, composer, arranger and music educator.A native of Chicago, Irving was one of a group of young Chicago musicians that in the late '70s and early '80s formed the nucleus of Miles Davis' recording and touring bands...
, and saxophonist Glenn Burris. All of these musicians later worked with Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
, with Patterson becoming the last bassist in a Miles Davis band and the others working on Davis' comeback album, The Man With The Horn
The Man with the Horn
The Man with the Horn is an album released by Miles Davis in 1981, featuring drummer Al Foster, saxophonist Bill Evans, guitarists Mike Stern and Barry Finnerty, and others. It was Davis's first new release since 1975, following a six-year reclusive retirement.Rock-oriented in nature, the music...
. Irving and Wilburn also joined Davis' band in the 1980s.
The Man With The Horn
Hall, Irving and Wilburn performed with other local musicians, including bassist Darryl Jones
Darryl Jones
Darryl Jones , also known as "The Munch", is an American bass guitarist. Jones began his notable career as a session musician, where he gained the experience and confidence to play with some of the most highly regarded recording artists, in jazz, blues, and rock music...
(who joined Miles's band in 1983) and guitarist Jean-Paul Bourelly
Jean-Paul Bourelly
Jean-Paul Bourelly is an American jazz fusion and blues rock guitarist.Bourelly was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, his mother American and his father an immigrant from Haiti. Bourelly sang at the Lyric Opera when he was ten years old and learned piano and drums, picking up guitar by age...
, who played on the Amandla album. In 1979, Data
DATA (band)
DATA were an electronic music band created in the late 1970s by Georg Kajanus, creator of such bands as Eclection, Sailor and Noir...
disbanded and a new band was formed, AL7, which included Hall, Wilburn, Irving, Burris, bassist Felton Crews (who also joined Miles's band) and Hall's sister Saundra, a vocalist.
AL7 performed part time with their main preoccupation being rehearsing and writing material. They also worked with arranger Tom Washington (known as Tom Tom 84), who was conected with another local band, Earth, Wind & Fire
Earth, Wind & Fire
Earth, Wind & Fire is an American soul and R&B band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1969 by Verdine and Maurice White. Also known as EWF, the band has won six Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards. They have been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of...
. Tom Tom 84 recorded several demos with AL7, including a track called "Space," which had been written by Robert Irving III.
Miles Davis' record label, Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, flew four of the AL7 band members - Hall, Wilburn, Crews, and Irving - from Chicago to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, booked them in a top-flight hotel and arranged recording sessions. Glenn Burris later joined the four and although he was at many of the sessions, he did not play. Instead, the four Chicago musicians were joined by a young saxophonist Bill Evans
Bill Evans (saxophonist)
Bill Evans is an American jazz saxophonist. His father was a classical piano prodigy and until junior high school Evans studied classical clarinet. Early in his studies he was able to hear such artists as Sonny Stitt and Stan Getz live at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago...
, who had been recommended to Miles by ex-band member Dave Liebman
Dave Liebman
Dave Liebman is an American saxophonist and flautist. In June 2010, he received a NEA Jazz Masters lifetime achievement award from the National Endowment for the Arts.-Biography:...
.
The musicians worked on the music at Miles's house most days and in the studio and recorded more than a dozen tracks, although Davis did not play on any of them at that stage. One of them was "Shout," a disco-funk track written by Hall, Irving, and Burris. Another was "The Man With The Horn," a tribute ballad to Miles written by Hall and Irving, which became the title track for Davis' comeback album. Randy Hall also played guitar, synthesiser and celeste on the track.
ESP2 : A Tribute To Miles
The release of The Man With The Horn gave Hall a lot of exposure and as a result of his singing on the title track, he was invited to join the soul/funk band Pleasure
Pleasure (band)
Pleasure is a Norwegian funky pop band, led by Fred Ball. One hit single was released, "Don't Look The Other Way", which featured Justine Frischmann on vocals...
. Occasionally, Hall was asked by Miles Davis to compose some songs.
After leaving Pleasure, Hall carved out a successful career as an artist/producer and in 1984, he released a solo album, I Belong to You, produced by Ray Parker, Jr.
Ray Parker, Jr.
Ray Erskine Parker, Jr. , is an American guitarist, songwriter, producer and recording artist. Parker is known for writing and performing the theme song to the motion picture Ghostbusters, for his solo hits, and performing with his band Raydio as well as the late Barry White.-Early life and...
(of Raydio
Raydio
Raydio was an American funk and R&B vocal group formed in 1977, by Ray Parker Jr., with Vincent Bohnam, Jerry Knight, and Arnell Carmichael.-Career:...
and "Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters (song)
"Ghostbusters" is a 1984 song recorded by Ray Parker, Jr. as the theme to the film of the same name starring Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd. It hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 11 in 1984, and stayed there for three weeks...
" fame). The album included contributions from Irving, Wilburn, Crews and Burris. In 1985, Hall was in Ray Parker Jr's studio, (Ameraycan) in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, recording a follow-up solo album, Love You Like A Stranger. Once again, Crews and Irving were involved in the sessions. Meanwhile, Miles had left Columbia Records after almost thirty years and signed with Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
, with Warner's head of jazz Tommy LiPuma
Tommy LiPuma
Tommy LiPuma is an American music producer. In his long career, he has worked with many musicians, including Barbra Streisand, Miles Davis, Al Jarreau, Anita Baker, Natalie Cole, Claudine Longet, Dave Mason, the Yellowjackets, Michael Franks, Diana Krall, and The Story...
given the responsibility of handling Miles's musical development. During the initial stages, LiPuma was happy for Miles to choose his own musical direction. Miles decided that he wanted Hall to produce his first album for Warner Bros.
Hall decided to work with a number of people from the Love You Like A Stranger sessions on the new Miles album. One of these was Atalla Zane Giles, who had played guitar, keyboards, bass and sang on the album. Giles was asked to compose, arrange and produce the new album with Hall. Engineer Reggie Dozier was asked to join the project, as were keyboardist Adam Holzman (who later joined Miles's band), bassist Cornelius Mims, percussionist Steve Reid
Steve Reid
Steve Reid was an American jazz drummer who played with a wide range of artists including Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, James Brown, Fela Kuti and Sun Ra, and as a session drummer for Motown.- Biography :...
, Burris and Wilburn. More than a dozen tunes were recorded during the sessions, which took place between October 1985 and January 1986 and the plan was to release an album called Rubberband. One of the tracks was called "Give It Up," the same name as a hit tune for Pleasure.
The Rubberband material was never released. Davis later worked work with Marcus Miller
Marcus Miller
Marcus Miller is an American jazz composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. Miller is best known as a bassist, working with trumpeter Miles Davis, singer Luther Vandross, and saxophonist David Sanborn, as well as maintaining a prolific solo career...
to record Tutu
Tutu (album)
Tutu is an album released in 1986 by trumpeter Miles Davis on Warner Bros. Records.Originally planned as a collaboration with pop singer/songwriter Prince, Davis ultimately worked with bassist/multi-instrumentalist Marcus Miller...
. Davis' performances from a couple of the Rubberband sessions were used to create new tracks on the Doo-Bop
Doo-Bop
Doo-Bop was jazz innovator Miles Davis' final studio album, which would have marked the beginning of the artist's turn to hip-hop-oriented tracks. However, Davis died on September 28, 1991, at which time only six tunes for the album had been completed...
album. Two tunes from the Rubberband sessions were due to appear on a retrospective set called The Last Word, but were ultimately not included.
In more recent years Hall has been working with an up and coming artist Elliott Small. Hall produced, wrote the music, and played piano and guitar on Small's album "This Season's Collection". Hall also wrote the lyrics for two songs on the album, "Share Your Love" and "Delightful".