Norris Jones , better known as Sirone (September 28, 1940 – October 21, 2009) was an American jazz bassist , trombonist , and composer.
31-592: Ronald Shannon Jackson (January 12, 1940 – October 19, 2013) was an American jazz drummer from Fort Worth, Texas. A pioneer of avant-garde jazz, free funk, and jazz fusion, he appeared on over 50 albums as a bandleader, sideman, arranger, and producer. Jackson and bassist Sirone are the only musicians to have performed and recorded with the three prime shapers of free jazz : pianist Cecil Taylor , and saxophonists Ornette Coleman and Albert Ayler . Musician, Player and Listener magazine writers David Breskin and Rafi Zabor called him "the most stately free-jazz drummer in
62-711: A composer, and he unveiled new material on YouTube in 2012. Jackson joined trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith 's Golden Quartet with pianist Vijay Iyer and double-bassist John Lindberg in 2005. Their collaboration is documented on the Tabligh CD and the Eclipse DVD. He played with the Punk Funk All Stars in 2006, which included Melvin Gibbs, Joseph Bowie, Vernon Reid, and James Blood Ulmer . In 2008 Jackson and Jamaaladeen Tacuma toured Europe with The Last Poets ; this collaboration
93-1149: A group with guitarist James "Blood" Ulmer , drummer Rashied Ali , and tenor saxophonist George Adams . From 1989, he lived in Berlin , Germany, where he was active with his group 'Concord' (with Ben Abarbanel-Wolff and Ulli Bartel.) He was involved in theater, film, and was a practicing Buddhist. He died on October 21, 2009, at the age of 69. With the Revolutionary Ensemble With Sabir Mateen and Andrew Barker With Oluyemi Thomas and Michael Wimberly With George Adams With The All Ear Trio ( John Tchicai , Thomas Agergaard, and Peter Ole Jorgensen) With Albert Ayler With Billy Bang With Gato Barbieri With Dane Belany With Marion Brown With Dave Burrell With Zusaan Kali Fasteau [ de ] With Charles Gayle With The Group ( Ahmed Abdullah , Marion Brown , Billy Bang , Sirone, Fred Hopkins , Andrew Cyrille ) With Noah Howard With The Jazz Composer's Orchestra With Guerino Mazzola with
124-456: A rhythmic, harmonic, or melodic role, or any combination of the three. The lines between solos, lead instruments, and accompaniment are blurred. Looseness in pitch and rhythm create heterophony within unison-based parts, which also adds to the tonal ambiguity. Melodies can alternate from busy, frenetic, multiple themes to simple, lazy, lyrical phrases. They often function as both heads and melodic material to accompany one or more soloist. Sometimes
155-511: A student-organized jazz ensemble. In 1971, Leroy Kirkland introduced Gumbs to the Detroit guitarist Kenny Burrell , to whom Onaje gave a demo tape. The following day, Gumbs received a call to play with Burrell at Baker's Keyboard Lounge in Detroit . This work led to further performances with major jazz musicians such as bassist Larry Ridley as well as The Thad Jones/ Mel Lewis Orchestra . During
186-480: A week, with two gigs each on Saturday and Sunday, anything from Ray Charles to bebop. People were dancing, and when it was time to listen, they'd listen. But I was brainwashed into thinking you couldn't make a living playing music." After graduation, Jackson attended Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri . He chose Lincoln because of its proximity to St. Louis and accessibility to great musicians touring
217-620: Is in your body" and "the music you play comes from your life." By 1966, Jackson received a full music scholarship to New York University through trumpeter Kenny Dorham. Once in New York, Jackson performed with many jazz musicians, including Charles Mingus, Betty Carter, Jackie McLean, Joe Henderson, Kenny Dorham, McCoy Tyner, Stanley Turrentine, and others. Whenever he would ask Charles Mingus to consider him for his group, Mingus used to push him "rudely out of his way". After Jackson sat in with pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi, he heard loud clapping behind him. It
248-774: The William Parker Bass Quartet With Phalanx With Dewey Redman With Pharoah Sanders With Sonny Sharrock With Cecil Taylor With Clifford Thornton Onaje Allan Gumbs Onaje Allan Gumbs (born Allan Bentley Gumbs , September 3, 1949 – April 6, 2020) was a New York–based pianist, composer, and bandleader. Gumbs was born in Harlem , a neighborhood in New York City , to parents who had immigrated to
279-530: 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 . In 1966, in response to a call from Marion Brown , he moved to New York City, where he co-founded the "Untraditional Jazz Improvisational Team" with Dave Burrell . He also worked with Brown , Gato Barbieri , Pharoah Sanders , Noah Howard , Sonny Sharrock , Sunny Murray , Albert Ayler , Archie Shepp , and Sun Ra , as well as with John Coltrane when he
310-521: The Black Forest , and One Too Many Salty Swift and Not Goodbye . Jackson formed his band, The Decoding Society, in 1979, as a showcase for his blend of avant-garde jazz, rock, funk, and ethnic music. The instrumentation and arrangements, along with Jackson's compositions and drum style, brought The Decoding Society critical acclaim. Although considered to be part of the "new fusion" movement that emerged from Ornette Coleman's harmolodic concepts, Jackson
341-787: The Decoding Society's When Colors Play , recorded live at the Caravan of Dreams in September 1986. Author Norman C. Weinstein detailed the excursion in a chapter of his book, A Night in Tunisia: Imaginings of Africa in Jazz , titled "Ronald Shannon Jackson: Journey to Africa Without End." In 1987, Jackson formed an avant-garde power trio with bassist Melvin Gibbs and guitarist Bill Frisell called Power Tools. They released and toured behind an album titled Strange Meeting . Writer Greg Tate referred to
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#1733115634197372-1030: The Kessler Theater in Dallas with the latest version of the Decoding Society, which includes violinist Leonard Hayward, trumpeter John Weir, guitarist Gregg Prickett, and bassist Melvin Gibbs. The new compositions were described as being as strong as the best of his recorded work. The performance was voted as one of the Ten Best Concerts of 2012 in the Dallas Observer. Jackson died of leukemia on October 19, 2013, aged 73. (dates are recording, not release) With Last Exit With Albert Ayler With Ornette Coleman With Music Revelation Ensemble With SXL With Cecil Taylor With James Blood Ulmer with others Sirone (musician) Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Sirone worked in Atlanta late in
403-718: The Midwest. His roommate was pianist John Hicks . As undergraduates, they "spent as much time performing together as studying." The Lincoln University band included Jackson, Hicks, trumpeter Lester Bowie, and Julius Hemphill on saxophone. Jackson then transferred to Texas Southern University , and from there went to Prairie View A & M . He decided to study history and sociology at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut . Jackson intended not to play music at all, but after exposure to various artists and styles, he concluded that "the beat
434-885: The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in Manhattan and the Litchfield Jazz Camp in Connecticut. DownBeat stated that his "association with the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York and his work with the Litchfield Jazz Camp in New Milford, Conn. , allowed him to expand his vision and shape young minds." On January 24, 2010, Gumbs suffered a stroke and was hospitalized for two days. In December of that year, he released an album in Japan entitled Just Like Yesterday . On
465-569: The United States from the Caribbean . Gumbs' mother was from Montserrat , while his father, a New York City police officer, was from Anguilla . He was the nephew of Hubert Harrison 's daughter-in-law. As a child, Gumbs was fascinated by the film and television music of Henry Mancini . Gumbs graduated from the State University of New York at Fredonia , and during his years there was a member of
496-433: The band. In the late 1980s, Jackson teamed up with Laswell on two other projects: SXL, with violinist L. Shankar, Senegalese drummer Aiyb Dieng, and Korean percussion group SamulNori, and the free jazz trio, Mooko, with Japanese saxophonist Akira Sakata. With the help of some grants, Jackson took a three-month trip to West Africa and visited nine countries. The trip, both a personal and artistic milestone, inspired music for
527-457: The decade and remained married until Gumbs' death in 2020. In the late 1970s, Gumbs recorded with Woody Shaw and worked as musical director for R&B singer Phyllis Hyman , Angela Bofill and Jeffrey Osborne . Later in his career he worked extensively with Ronald Shannon Jackson , and in 2013, following Jackson's death, Gumbs recorded a solo piano album consisting of improvisations on Jackson's compositions. Later in his life, he taught at
558-666: The drums the way I did in Fort Worth when I wasn't playing for other people." John Coltrane's death in July 1967 devastated Jackson. He spent the next few years addicted to heroin. He said, "I couldn't play drums then, spiritually.... I just didn't feel right." From 1970–74, he did not perform, but continued to practice. In 1974, pianist Onaje Allan Gumbs introduced Jackson to Nichiren Buddhism and chanting. Although initially reluctant, Jackson decided to try it for three weeks. "Then three months had passed. It pulled me together and pulled me out and I
589-515: The early 1970s, Gumbs replaced Nat Adderley, Jr. in a contemporary jazz ensemble called Natural Essence, which included during these years Buddy Williams and T. S. Monk (drums and percussion), bassist Alex Blake, and trombonist Earl McIntyre. Gumbs adopted the name Onaje in the early 1970s; it means "the sensitive one". He met his future wife, Sandra Wright, in 1971 during a short teaching engagement he took in Buffalo, New York . The two wed later in
620-453: The history of the idiom, a regal and thundering presence." Gary Giddins wrote "Jackson is an astounding drummer, as everyone agrees...he has emerged as a kind of all-purpose new-music connoisseur who brings a profound and unshakably individual approach to every playing situation." In 1979, he founded his own group, the Decoding Society, playing what has been dubbed free funk : a blend of funk rhythm and free jazz improvisation. Jackson
651-513: The marching band and learned about symphonic percussion. During lunch breaks, students would conduct jam sessions in the band room. Around the same time, Jackson's mother bought him his first drum set to encourage him to graduate from high school. By the age of 15, he was playing professionally. His first paid gig was with tenor saxophonist James Clay , who went on to join Ray Charles as a sideman. Jackson recalled that "we were playing four nights
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#1733115634197682-825: The melodies are diatonic, other times they are bluesy; occasionally they sound "Eastern". Although The Decoding Society is more of a composer's band rather than a vehicle for soloing or drumming, free-blowing solos abound, and Jackson's thunderous playing is heavily featured. Throughout the years, the Decoding Society has featured the performances of Akbar Ali, Bern Nix, Billy Bang, Byrad Lancaster, Cary Denigris, Charles Brackeen, David Fiuczynski, David Gordon, Tomchess, Dominic Richards, Eric Person , Henry Scott, Jef Lee Johnson, John Moody, Khan Jamal, Lee Rozie, Masujaa, Melvin Gibbs , Onaje Allan Gumbs , Reggie Washington, Reverend Bruce Johnson, Robin Eubanks , Vernon Reid , and Zane Massey. In addition to leading Decoding Society lineups, Jackson
713-718: The music he made from an outsider's view, but not to the exclusion of rock and pop – he wasn't mad at pop music for being popular the way some of his generation are. He synthesized blues shuffles with African syncopations through the lens of someone who gave vent to all manner of emotions...the collision of values in his music really represents American culture." Common characteristics among the incarnations of The Decoding Society include doubled instrumentation (basses, saxophones, or guitars). Polyphony often predominates harmony; compositions are not focused on one key. Polyphonic textures equalize harmony, rhythm, and melody, dispensing with traditional ideas of key and pitch. Each instrument can play
744-414: The project as "that awesome and under-sung Power Tools album...in my humble opinion, the most paradigm-shifting power trio record since Band of Gypsys." His output slowed in the early 2000s due to nerve damage in his left arm. After consulting with a neurologist, Jackson declined surgery and was able to regain his strength through years of physical therapy. Physical limitations did not diminish his output as
775-449: Was Mingus, who asked him to play with his band. In 1966 Jackson recorded drums for saxophonist Charles Tyler's release, Charles Tyler Ensemble . Between 1966 and 1967, he played with saxophonist Albert Ayler and is featured on At Slug's Saloon, Vol. 1 & 2 . He is also on disks 3 and 4 of Ayler's Holy Ghost: Rare & Unissued Recordings (1962–70) . Jackson said Ayler was "the first (leader) that really opened me up. He let me play
806-708: Was able to focus. I was a Buddhist and a vegetarian for 17 years." By 1975 he joined saxophonist Ornette Coleman's electric free funk band, Prime Time . During his stint in Prime Time, Coleman taught Jackson composition and harmolodics. Jackson says that Coleman told him he was hearing music "in that piccolo range," and encouraged him to compose on the flute. Jackson went to Paris with Prime Time in 1976 to perform concerts and record Dancing in Your Head and Body Meta . In 1978, Jackson played on four albums with pianist Cecil Taylor: Cecil Taylor Unit , 3 Phasis , Live in
837-580: Was able to implement a voice of his own. The Decoding Society's music can be hot, savage, and danceable, or cool, gentle, and contemplative. American, Eastern, and African sounds are distilled under Jackson's guidance. Meters, feels, tempos, and stylistic references are heard throughout different compositions; many times within a single piece of music. Unlike many of Jackson's contemporaries, The Decoding Society incorporates pop music elements into its avant-garde approach. Guitarist Vernon Reid has said of Shannon that he "wasn't an ideological avant-gardist. He made
868-502: Was born in Fort Worth, Texas . As a child, he was immersed in music. His father monopolized the local jukebox business and established the only African American-owned record store in the Fort Worth area. His mother played piano and organ at their local church. Between the ages of five and nine he took piano lessons. In the third grade, he studied music with John Carter . Jackson graduated from I.M. Terrell High School , where he played with
899-661: Was documented in the film "The Last Poets / Made in Amerikkka" directed by Claude Santiago. In 2011 Jackson, Vernon Reid and Melvin Gibbs formed a power trio called Encryption. During their trip to the Moers Festival in Germany, Jackson suffered a heart attack and underwent an angioplasty. The next day, he checked himself out of the hospital to play with Reid and Gibbs at the festival. Afterwards, Jackson checked himself back in for medical observation. On July 7, 2012, Jackson performed at
930-408: Was involved in other projects. Guitarist and fellow Coleman alumnus James Blood Ulmer recruited Jackson for another group that intended to push harmolodics to a new level In 1986 Jackson, Sonny Sharrock , Peter Brötzmann , and Bill Laswell formed the free jazz supergroup, Last Exit , which performed and released five live albums and one studio album, before Sharrock's death in 1994 saw the end of
961-473: Was near the end of his career. He co-founded the Revolutionary Ensemble with Leroy Jenkins and Frank Clayton in 1971; Jerome Cooper later replaced Clayton in the ensemble, which was active for much of the decade. In the 1970s and early 1980s Sirone recorded with Clifford Thornton , Roswell Rudd , Dewey Redman , Cecil Taylor , and Walt Dickerson . In the 1980s, he was member of Phalanx ,