More Info on Archie SheppSimilar Jazz MusicSearch Artistopia
Biography
Infobox musical artist| name = Archie Shepp| image = Archie shepp Warszawa 1.jpg| caption = Archie Shepp in Warszawa|Warsaw , 2008| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist| birth_name =| alias =| Born = birth date and age|mf=yes|1937|5|24 Fort Lauderdale , Florida , United States|U.S. | death_date =| instrument = Tenor saxophone , soprano saxophone , piano , singing|vocal s| genre = Jazz | occupation = Composer , saxophonist , pianist | years_active = 1960–present| label = Impulse! , SteepleChase Arista Records|Arista , Delmark Records|Delmark , BYG Actuel | associated_acts = Cecil Taylor John Coltrane Horace Parlan | website = http://www.archieshepp.com/ www.archieshepp.com| notable_instruments = Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is a prominent African-American jazz saxophonist .Allmusic|class=artist|id=p7531/biography|pure_url=yes Biography Shepp is best known for his passionately Afrocentrism|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 his collaborations with his "New Thing" contemporaries, most notably Cecil Taylor and John Coltrane .
Biography
Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale , Florida , but raised in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , where he studied piano , clarinet and alto saxophone before focusing on tenor saxophone (he occasionally plays soprano saxophone and piano). Shepp studied drama at Goddard College from 1955 to 1959, but he eventually turned to music professionally.He played in a Latin jazz band for a short time before joining the band of avant-garde pianist Cecil Taylor . Shepp's first recording under his own name, Archie Shepp - Bill Dixon Quartet , was released on Savoy Records in 1962, and featured a composition by Ornette Coleman . http://www.jazzdisco.org/archie-shepp/discography/ Archie Shepp Discography accessed 30 July 2009. Further links to Coleman came with the establishment of the New York Contemporary Five , which included Don Cherry (jazz)|Don Cherry . John Coltrane 's admiration led to recordings for Impulse Records , the first of which was Four for Trane in 1964, an album of mainly Coltrane compositions on which he was sided by his long-time friend, trombone|trombonist Roswell Rudd , Bass (guitar)|bass ist Reggie Workman and alto saxophone|alto player John Tchicai . The album Giant Steps had been one of Coltrane's best-known.
Shepp participated in the sessions for Coltrane's A Love Supreme in late 1964, but none of the takes he participated in were included on the final LP (format)|LP release (they were made available for the first time on a 2002 reissue). However, Shepp, along with Tchicai and others from the Four for Trane sessions, then cut Ascension (John Coltrane album)|Ascension with Coltrane in 1965, and his place alongside Coltrane at the forefront of the avant-garde jazz scene was epitomized when the pair split a record (the first side a Coltrane set, the second a Shepp set) entitled New Thing at Newport released in late 1965.
In 1965, Shepp released Fire Music , which included the first signs of his increasingly prominent political consciousness and Afrocentricity; it included the reading of an elegy for Malcolm X , and the title is derived from a ceremonial African music tradition. The Magic of Ju-Ju in 1967 also took its name from African musical traditions, and this time the music dove headlong into the continent's music, utilising an African percussion ensemble. At this time, many African-American jazzmen were increasingly influenced by various continental African cultural and musical traditions; along with Pharoah Sanders , Shepp was at the forefront of this movement. The Magic of Ju-Ju defined Shepp's sound for the next few years: freeform jazz|freeform avant-garde saxophone lines coupled with the rhythms and ideologies of Africa.
Shepp continued to experiment into the new decade, at various times including harmonica players and spoken word poets in his ensembles. With 1972's Attica Blues (album)|Attica Blues and The Cry of My People , he spoke out for civil rights ; the former album was a response to the Attica Prison riots . Shepp also writes for theater; his works include The Communist (1965) and Lady Day: A Musical Tragedy (1972). Both were produced by Robert Kalfin and the Chelsea Theater Center .
Beginning in 1971, Shepp began a 30-year career as a professor of music at the University of Massachusetts Amherst . Shepp's first two courses were entitled "Revolutionary Concepts in African-American Music" and "Black Musician in the Theater."Citation | first = Bradley | last = Farberman | title = Retired Prof. Archie Shepp discuses legendary career | publisher = The Massachusetts Daily Collegian | location = United States | date = 29 January 2007 | edition = Arts & Living Shepp was also a professor of African American Studies at State University of New York|SUNY in Buffalo, New York . http://social.zune.net/artist/Archie-Shepp/6b1d0000-0600-11db-89ca-0019b92a3933
In the late 1970s and beyond, Shepp's career went between various old territories and various new ones. He continued to explore African music, while also recording blues , ballads, spirituals (on the 1977 album '' Goin' Home (album)|Goin' Home '' with Horace Parlan ) and tributes to more traditional jazz figures like Charlie Parker and Sidney Bechet , while at other times dabbling in R& B , and recording with various European artists like Jasper van't Hof , Tchangodei and Dresch Mihály . Since the early 1990s, he has often played with the French people|French trumpet player Eric Le Lann . Shepp is featured in the 1981 documentary film Imagine the Sound , in which he discusses and performs his music and poetry. Shepp also appears in Mystery, Mr. Ra , a 1984 French documentary about Sun Ra . The film also includes http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=HBCSzstUEsc#32TJ-tVOaEg/ footage of Shepp playing with Sun Ra's Arkestra.
In 2002, Shepp appeared on the Red Hot Organization 's tribute album to Fela Kuti , Red Hot and Riot . Shepp appeared on a track titled "No Agreement" alongside Res (singer)|Res , Tony Allen (musician)|Tony Allen , Ray Lema , Baaba Maal , and Positive Black Soul . In 2004 Archie Shepp founded his own record label, Archieball, together with Monette Berthomier. The label is located in Paris, France, and features collaborations with Jacques Coursil, Monica Passos, Bernard Lubat and Frank Cassenti.
Discography
main|Archie Shepp discography
References
Reflist
External links
http://www.archieshepp.com Official homepage
http://webarchieball.free.fr/ Official homepage of Archieball
http://homepage.mac.com/drcmunro/ArchieShepp/ Site featuring a comprehensive discography and reviews of many Shepp recordings
http://streams.wgbh.org/online/play.php? xml=specials/jzpt/shepp_archie.xml& template=jazz Jazz Portraits from the WGBH Archives: Archie Shepp a radio documentary from http://www.wgbh.org/jazz WGBH Radio Boston
Persondata | NAME =Shepp, Archie | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH =May 24, 1937 | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Shepp, Archie Category:Avant-garde jazz musicians Category:African American musicians Category:Musicians from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:Goddard College alumni Category:American jazz tenor saxophonists Category:American jazz pianists Category:American jazz composers Category:John Coltrane Category:Savoy Records artists Category:Enja Records artists Category:SteepleChase Records artists Category:Prestige Records artists Category:Arista Records artists Category:Freedom Records artists Category:Impulse& #33; Records artists Category:MPS Records artists Category:BYG Actuel artists Category:1937 births Category:Living people
