Archie Shepp: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
imported>Cambial Yellowing m c/e |
imported>Derek R Bullamore Minor clean-up |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Short description|American jazz musician (born 1937)}} | {{Short description|American jazz musician (born 1937)}} | ||
{{use mdy dates|date=July 2025}} | |||
{{Infobox musical artist | {{Infobox musical artist | ||
| name = Archie Shepp | | name = Archie Shepp | ||
| image = Archie shepp Warszawa 1.jpg | | image = Archie shepp Warszawa 1.jpg | ||
| caption = | | caption = Shepp in [[Warsaw]], 2008 | ||
| birth_name = Archie Shepp | | birth_name = Archie Vernon Shepp | ||
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1937|5|24}} | | birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1937|5|24}} | ||
| birth_place = [[Fort Lauderdale]], Florida, United States | | birth_place = [[Fort Lauderdale]], Florida, United States | ||
| Line 12: | Line 13: | ||
| years_active = 1960–present | | years_active = 1960–present | ||
| label = [[Impulse! Records|Impulse!]], [[SteepleChase Records|SteepleChase]], [[Denon Records|Denon]], [[BYG Actuel]], [[Marge Records|Marge]] | | label = [[Impulse! Records|Impulse!]], [[SteepleChase Records|SteepleChase]], [[Denon Records|Denon]], [[BYG Actuel]], [[Marge Records|Marge]] | ||
| website = {{URL|archieshepp.org}} | |||
| website = {{URL| | |||
}} | }} | ||
'''Archie Shepp''' (born May 24, 1937) is an American [[jazz]] saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of [[avant-garde jazz]].<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/biography/Archie-Shepp "Archie Shepp: American Musician and Educator"], ''Encyclopaedia Britannica''.</ref> | '''Archie Shepp''' (born May 24, 1937) is an American [[jazz]] saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of [[avant-garde jazz]].<ref name="Britannica">[https://www.britannica.com/biography/Archie-Shepp "Archie Shepp: American Musician and Educator"], ''Encyclopaedia Britannica''.</ref> | ||
==Biography== | ==Biography== | ||
===Early life=== | ===Early life=== | ||
Shepp was born in [[Fort Lauderdale]], Florida, but raised in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]]. He began playing [[banjo]] with his father, then studied [[piano]] and [[saxophone]] while attending high school in Germantown. He studied drama at [[Goddard College]] from 1955 to 1959.<ref name="NEA Jazz Masters">{{cite web|title=NEA Jazz Masters|url=https://www.arts.gov/honors/jazz/archie-shepp|website=www.arts.gov|access-date=October 26, 2017}}</ref> | Archie Vernon Shepp was born in [[Fort Lauderdale]], Florida, United States, but was raised in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]].<ref name="Britannica" /> He began playing [[banjo]] with his father, then studied [[piano]] and [[saxophone]] while attending high school in [[Germantown, Philadelphia|Germantown]]. He studied drama at [[Goddard College]] from 1955 to 1959.<ref name="NEA Jazz Masters">{{cite web|title=NEA Jazz Masters|url=https://www.arts.gov/honors/jazz/archie-shepp|website=www.arts.gov|access-date=October 26, 2017}}</ref> | ||
He played in a [[Latin jazz]] band for a short time before joining the band of avant-garde pianist [[Cecil Taylor]]. In 1962, | He played in a [[Latin jazz]] band for a short time before joining the band of avant-garde pianist [[Cecil Taylor]]. In 1962, Shepp performed with trumpeter [[Bill Dixon]] at the [[8th World Festival of Youth and Students]] in [[Helsinki]], Finland.<ref name="CI">{{cite journal|url=https://www.criticalimprov.com/index.php/csieci/article/view/6322/6326|title=Free Jazz Communism: Archie Shepp–Bill Dixon Quartet at the 8th World Festival of Youth and Students in Helsinki 1962|journal=Critical Studies in Improvisation / Études Critiques en Improvisation |date=10 May 2021 |volume=14 |issue=2–3 |access-date=May 18, 2023|publisher=Critical Improv|doi=10.21083/csieci.v14i2.6322 |last1=Grundy |first1=David |last2=Crépon |first2=Pierre |s2cid=241856641 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Shepp's first recording under his own name, ''[[Archie Shepp - Bill Dixon Quartet]]'', was released on [[Savoy Records]] in 1963 and features a composition by [[Ornette Coleman]].<ref name=CbOct63>{{cite news |title=New Album Releases – Pop |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/60s/1963/CB-1963-10-12-OCR-Page-0106.pdf |work=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]|editor-last=Ostrow|editor-first=Marty|location=New York|publisher=Cash Box Publications|page=38|date=October 12, 1963}}</ref><ref name="jdisco">{{cite web|url=http://www.jazzdisco.org/archie-shepp/discography|title=Archie Shepp Discography|access-date=July 30, 2009|publisher=Jazzdisco.org}}</ref> Along with alto saxophonist [[John Tchicai]] and trumpeter [[Don Cherry (trumpeter)|Don Cherry]], Shepp formed the [[New York Contemporary Five]].<ref name="AM">{{cite web|last1=Wynn|first1=Ron|title=Archie Shepp|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/archie-shepp-mn0000503279/biography|website=AllMusic|access-date=November 9, 2017}}</ref> [[John Coltrane]]'s admiration for Shepp 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 joined by Tchicai, trombonist [[Roswell Rudd]], trumpeter [[Alan Shorter]], bassist [[Reggie Workman]] and drummer [[Charles Moffett]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Jones |first=Leroi |author-link=Leroi Jones |title=Black Music |publisher=AkashiClassics |date=2010 |pages=151–155 |chapter=Four for Trane }}</ref> | ||
===Early career=== | ===Early career=== | ||
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 release (they were made available for the first time on a 2002 reissue).<ref name="AM" /> However, Shepp, along with Tchicai and others from the ''Four for Trane'' sessions, then recorded ''[[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. | 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 release (they were made available for the first time on a 2002 reissue).<ref name="AM" /> However, Shepp, along with Tchicai and others from the ''Four for Trane'' sessions, then recorded ''[[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. | ||
[[File:Archie Shepp interview 1978.webm|thumb|left|thumbtime=2|(video) Interview from 1978 | [[File:Archie Shepp interview 1978.webm|thumb|left|thumbtime=2|(video) Interview from 1978: Shepp discusses jazz trends, poverty, politics, civil rights, culture and society.]] | ||
[[File:S.B.Foy-Archie Shepp.jpg|thumb|upright=1.05| | [[File:S.B.Foy-Archie Shepp.jpg|thumb|upright=1.05| Shepp with the singer [[Shirley Bunnie Foy]], with whom he recorded the 1975 album ''[[A Sea of Faces]]'']] | ||
In 1965, Shepp released ''[[Fire Music (Archie Shepp album)|Fire Music]]'', which included the first signs of his developing political consciousness and his increasingly Afrocentric orientation. The album took its title from a ceremonial African music tradition and included a reading of an elegy for [[Malcolm X]].<ref name="AM" /> Shepp's 1967 ''[[The Magic of Ju-Ju]]'' also took its name from African musical traditions, and the music was strongly rooted in African music, featuring 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 rhythms and cultural concepts from Africa. | In 1965, Shepp released ''[[Fire Music (Archie Shepp album)|Fire Music]]'', which included the first signs of his developing political consciousness and his increasingly Afrocentric orientation. The album took its title from a ceremonial African music tradition and included a reading of an elegy for [[Malcolm X]].<ref name="AM" /> Shepp's 1967 ''[[The Magic of Ju-Ju]]'' also took its name from African musical traditions, and the music was strongly rooted in African music, featuring 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 rhythms and cultural concepts from Africa. | ||
Shepp was invited to perform in [[Algiers]] for the 1969 Pan-African Cultural Festival<ref name="All About Jazz">{{cite web|title=Archie Shepp Profile|url=https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/archieshepp| website=All About Jazz|access-date= November 9, 2017}}</ref> of the [[Organization of African Unity]], along with [[Dave Burrell]], [[Sunny Murray]], and [[Clifford Thornton]]. | Shepp was invited to perform in [[Algiers]] for the 1969 Pan-African Cultural Festival<ref name="All About Jazz">{{cite web|title=Archie Shepp Profile|url=https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/archieshepp| website=All About Jazz|access-date= November 9, 2017}}</ref> of the [[Organization of African Unity]], along with [[Dave Burrell]], [[Sunny Murray]], and [[Clifford Thornton]]. This ensemble then recorded several sessions in Paris at the [[BYG Actuel]] studios. | ||
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]].<ref name="AM" /> Shepp also writes for theater; his works include ''The Communist'' (1965)<ref name="All About Jazz" /> and ''Lady Day: A Musical Tragedy'' (1972).<ref name="Lady">{{cite web|title=Lady Day: A Musical Tragedy|url=http://www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com/shows_l/ladyday.html| website= Guide to Musical Theater|access-date= November 9, 2017}}</ref> Both were produced by [[Robert Kalfin]] at the [[Chelsea Theater Center]].<ref name="NYM">{{cite web|title=New York Magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HecCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA15| website=Google Books|publisher=New York Media, LLC|access-date= November 9, 2017|page=15|date= October 23, 1972}}</ref> | 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]].<ref name="AM" /> Shepp also writes for theater; his works include ''The Communist'' (1965)<ref name="All About Jazz" /> and ''Lady Day: A Musical Tragedy'' (1972).<ref name="Lady">{{cite web|title=Lady Day: A Musical Tragedy|url=http://www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com/shows_l/ladyday.html| website= Guide to Musical Theater|access-date= November 9, 2017}}</ref> Both were produced by [[Robert Kalfin]] at the [[Chelsea Theater Center]].<ref name="NYM">{{cite web|title=New York Magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HecCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA15| website=Google Books|publisher=New York Media, LLC|access-date= November 9, 2017|page=15|date= October 23, 1972}}</ref> | ||
[[File:Archie Shepp022.JPG|thumb|right| | [[File:Archie Shepp022.JPG|thumb|right| Shepp in France, 1982]] | ||
In the late 1960s, Shepp began his teaching career as a professor of African-American Studies at [[State University of New York|SUNY]] in [[Buffalo, New York]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.arts.gov/honors/jazz/archie-shepp |title=National Endowment for the Arts |publisher=National Endowment for the Arts |access-date=May 18, 2023}}</ref> In 1971, Shepp was recruited to the [[University of Massachusetts Amherst]] by [[Randolph Bromery]],<ref name="umassobit">{{cite web|title=Randolph W. Bromery, Champion of Diversity, Du Bois and Jazz as UMass Amherst Chancellor, Dead at 87| url=http://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/article/randolph-w-bromery-champion-diversity-du-bois-and-jazz-umass-amherst-chancellor-dead-87|website=umass.edu|access-date= November 9, 2017|date= February 27, 2013}}</ref> beginning a 30-year career as a professor of music. Shepp's first two courses were entitled "Revolutionary Concepts in African-American Music" and "Black Musician in the Theater".<ref name="retired">{{cite web|title=Retired Prof. Archie Shepp discuses legendary career|first=Bradley|last= Farberman| url=http://dailycollegian.com/2007/01/29/retired-prof-archie-shepp-discuses-legendary-career/|website=The Massachusetts Daily Collegian|access-date= November 9, 2017|date= January 29, 2007}}</ref> | In the late 1960s, Shepp began his teaching career as a professor of African-American Studies at [[State University of New York|SUNY]] in [[Buffalo, New York]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.arts.gov/honors/jazz/archie-shepp |title=National Endowment for the Arts |publisher=National Endowment for the Arts |access-date=May 18, 2023}}</ref> In 1971, Shepp was recruited to the [[University of Massachusetts Amherst]] by [[Randolph Bromery]],<ref name="umassobit">{{cite web|title=Randolph W. Bromery, Champion of Diversity, Du Bois and Jazz as UMass Amherst Chancellor, Dead at 87| url=http://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/article/randolph-w-bromery-champion-diversity-du-bois-and-jazz-umass-amherst-chancellor-dead-87|website=umass.edu|access-date= November 9, 2017|date= February 27, 2013}}</ref> beginning a 30-year career as a professor of music. Shepp's first two courses were entitled "Revolutionary Concepts in African-American Music" and "Black Musician in the Theater".<ref name="retired">{{cite web|title=Retired Prof. Archie Shepp discuses legendary career|first=Bradley|last= Farberman| url=http://dailycollegian.com/2007/01/29/retired-prof-archie-shepp-discuses-legendary-career/|website=The Massachusetts Daily Collegian|access-date= November 9, 2017|date= January 29, 2007}}</ref> | ||
[[File:Archie Shepp at Keystone Korner, San Francisco, August 19, 1982.jpg|thumb|left| | [[File:Archie Shepp at Keystone Korner, San Francisco, August 19, 1982.jpg|thumb|left| Shepp at [[Keystone Korner]], [[San Francisco]], August 19, 1982]] | ||
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 (Archie Shepp and Horace Parlan album)|Goin' Home]]'' with [[Horace Parlan]]) and tributes to more traditional jazz figures such as [[Charlie Parker]] and [[Sidney Bechet]], while at other times dabbling in [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]], and recording with various European artists including [[Jasper van't Hof]], Tchangodei and [[Dresch Mihály]]. | 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 (Archie Shepp and Horace Parlan album)|Goin' Home]]'' with [[Horace Parlan]]) and tributes to more traditional jazz figures such as [[Charlie Parker]] and [[Sidney Bechet]], while at other times dabbling in [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]], and recording with various European artists including [[Jasper van't Hof]], Tchangodei and [[Dresch Mihály]]. | ||
===Later career=== | ===Later career=== | ||
[[File:Shepp workman mergentheim 06.jpg|right|thumb| | [[File:Shepp workman mergentheim 06.jpg|right|thumb| Shepp in 2016]] | ||
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 footage of Shepp playing with Sun Ra's Arkestra. | 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 footage of Shepp playing with Sun Ra's Arkestra. | ||
Since the early 1990s, he has often played with the French trumpeter [[Eric Le Lann]]. In 1993, | Since the early 1990s, he has often played with the French trumpeter [[Eric Le Lann]]. In 1993, Shepp worked with [[Michel Herr]] to create the original score for the film ''[[Just Friends (1993 film)|Just Friends]]''. | ||
In 2002, Shepp appeared on the [[Red Hot Organization]]'s tribute album to [[Fela Kuti]], ''[[Red Hot and Riot]]''. Shepp appeared on a track entitled "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 includes collaborations with [[Jacques Coursil]], Monica Passos, Bernard Lubat, and Frank Cassenti. | In 2002, Shepp appeared on the [[Red Hot Organization]]'s tribute album to [[Fela Kuti]], ''[[Red Hot and Riot]]''. Shepp appeared on a track entitled "[[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 includes collaborations with [[Jacques Coursil]], Monica Passos, [[Bernard Lubat]], and [[Frank Cassenti]]. | ||
==Discography== | ==Discography== | ||
| Line 56: | Line 56: | ||
* {{AllMusic}} {{Bandcamp}} {{Discogs artist}} {{MusicBrainz artist}} | * {{AllMusic}} {{Bandcamp}} {{Discogs artist}} {{MusicBrainz artist}} | ||
{{commons category|Archie Shepp}} | {{commons category|Archie Shepp}} | ||
* [ | * [https://www.archieshepp.org/ Official site] | ||
* Stewart Smith, [http://www.summerhall.co.uk/press/archie-shepp-interview/ "Archie Shepp interview"], Summerhall, July 31, 2012. | * Stewart Smith, [http://www.summerhall.co.uk/press/archie-shepp-interview/ "Archie Shepp interview"], Summerhall, July 31, 2012. | ||
* Phil Freeman, [http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/magazine/archie-shepp-interview "Interview: Archie Shepp on John Coltrane, the Blues and More"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429214158/http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/magazine/archie-shepp-interview |date=2015-04-29 }}, Red Bull Music Academy, August 25, 2014. | * Phil Freeman, [http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/magazine/archie-shepp-interview "Interview: Archie Shepp on John Coltrane, the Blues and More"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429214158/http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/magazine/archie-shepp-interview |date=2015-04-29 }}, Red Bull Music Academy, August 25, 2014. | ||
| Line 67: | Line 67: | ||
[[Category:1937 births]] | [[Category:1937 births]] | ||
[[Category:Living people]] | [[Category:Living people]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:20th-century American male musicians]] | ||
[[Category:20th-century American pianists]] | |||
[[Category:21st-century American male musicians]] | |||
[[Category:21st-century American saxophonists]] | |||
[[Category:African-American pianists]] | [[Category:African-American pianists]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:American jazz composers]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:American jazz pianists]] | ||
[[Category:American jazz tenor saxophonists]] | [[Category:American jazz tenor saxophonists]] | ||
[[Category:American male jazz composers]] | |||
[[Category:American male jazz pianists]] | |||
[[Category:American male saxophonists]] | [[Category:American male saxophonists]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Arista Records artists]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Avant-garde jazz musicians]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Black & Blue Records artists]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:BYG Actuel artists]] | ||
[[Category:Enja Records artists]] | [[Category:Enja Records artists]] | ||
[[Category:Freedom Records artists]] | [[Category:Freedom Records artists]] | ||
[[Category:Goddard College alumni]] | |||
[[Category:Impulse! Records artists]] | [[Category:Impulse! Records artists]] | ||
[[Category:Jazz musicians from Florida]] | |||
[[Category:Jazz musicians from Philadelphia]] | |||
[[Category:MPS Records artists]] | [[Category:MPS Records artists]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:NEA Jazz Masters]] | ||
[[Category:New York Contemporary Five members]] | [[Category:New York Contemporary Five members]] | ||
[[Category:Prestige Records artists]] | |||
[[Category:Sackville Records artists]] | [[Category:Sackville Records artists]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Savoy Records artists]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:SteepleChase Records artists]] | ||
[[Category:University of Massachusetts Amherst faculty]] | |||
[[Category: | |||
Latest revision as of 15:42, 27 October 2025
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz.[1]
Biography
Early life
Archie Vernon Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, but was raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1] He began playing banjo with his father, then studied piano and saxophone while attending high school in Germantown. He studied drama at Goddard College from 1955 to 1959.[2]
He played in a Latin jazz band for a short time before joining the band of avant-garde pianist Cecil Taylor. In 1962, Shepp performed with trumpeter Bill Dixon at the 8th World Festival of Youth and Students in Helsinki, Finland.[3] Shepp's first recording under his own name, Archie Shepp - Bill Dixon Quartet, was released on Savoy Records in 1963 and features a composition by Ornette Coleman.[4][5] Along with alto saxophonist John Tchicai and trumpeter Don Cherry, Shepp formed the New York Contemporary Five.[6] John Coltrane's admiration for Shepp 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 joined by Tchicai, trombonist Roswell Rudd, trumpeter Alan Shorter, bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Charles Moffett.[7]
Early career
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 release (they were made available for the first time on a 2002 reissue).[6] However, Shepp, along with Tchicai and others from the Four for Trane sessions, then recorded 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 developing political consciousness and his increasingly Afrocentric orientation. The album took its title from a ceremonial African music tradition and included a reading of an elegy for Malcolm X.[6] Shepp's 1967 The Magic of Ju-Ju also took its name from African musical traditions, and the music was strongly rooted in African music, featuring 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 avant-garde saxophone lines coupled with rhythms and cultural concepts from Africa.
Shepp was invited to perform in Algiers for the 1969 Pan-African Cultural Festival[8] of the Organization of African Unity, along with Dave Burrell, Sunny Murray, and Clifford Thornton. This ensemble then recorded several sessions in Paris at the BYG Actuel studios.
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 and The Cry of My People, he spoke out for civil rights; the former album was a response to the Attica Prison riots.[6] Shepp also writes for theater; his works include The Communist (1965)[8] and Lady Day: A Musical Tragedy (1972).[9] Both were produced by Robert Kalfin at the Chelsea Theater Center.[10]
In the late 1960s, Shepp began his teaching career as a professor of African-American Studies at SUNY in Buffalo, New York.[11] In 1971, Shepp was recruited to the University of Massachusetts Amherst by Randolph Bromery,[12] beginning a 30-year career as a professor of music. Shepp's first two courses were entitled "Revolutionary Concepts in African-American Music" and "Black Musician in the Theater".[13]
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 with Horace Parlan) and tributes to more traditional jazz figures such as Charlie Parker and Sidney Bechet, while at other times dabbling in R&B, and recording with various European artists including Jasper van't Hof, Tchangodei and Dresch Mihály.
Later career
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 footage of Shepp playing with Sun Ra's Arkestra.
Since the early 1990s, he has often played with the French trumpeter Eric Le Lann. In 1993, Shepp worked with Michel Herr to create the original score for the film Just Friends.
In 2002, Shepp appeared on the Red Hot Organization's tribute album to Fela Kuti, Red Hot and Riot. Shepp appeared on a track entitled "No Agreement" alongside Res, 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 includes collaborations with Jacques Coursil, Monica Passos, Bernard Lubat, and Frank Cassenti.
Discography
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
- ↑ a b "Archie Shepp: American Musician and Educator", Encyclopaedia Britannica.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
External links
- Template:First word Template:PAGENAMEBASE at AllMusicTemplate:EditAtWikidata Template:Bandcamp Template:Wikidata Template:PAGENAMEBASE discography at DiscogsTemplate:EditAtWikidata Template:MusicBrainz meta discography at MusicBrainzTemplate:EditAtWikidata
- Official site
- Stewart Smith, "Archie Shepp interview", Summerhall, July 31, 2012.
- Phil Freeman, "Interview: Archie Shepp on John Coltrane, the Blues and More" Template:Webarchive, Red Bull Music Academy, August 25, 2014.
- Template:Trim/ Template:PAGENAMEBASE at IMDbTemplate:EditAtWikidataScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Categories:
- Pages with script errors
- Pages with broken file links
- 1937 births
- Living people
- 20th-century American male musicians
- 20th-century American pianists
- 21st-century American male musicians
- 21st-century American saxophonists
- African-American pianists
- American jazz composers
- American jazz pianists
- American jazz tenor saxophonists
- American male jazz composers
- American male jazz pianists
- American male saxophonists
- Arista Records artists
- Avant-garde jazz musicians
- Black & Blue Records artists
- BYG Actuel artists
- Enja Records artists
- Freedom Records artists
- Goddard College alumni
- Impulse! Records artists
- Jazz musicians from Florida
- Jazz musicians from Philadelphia
- MPS Records artists
- NEA Jazz Masters
- New York Contemporary Five members
- Prestige Records artists
- Sackville Records artists
- Savoy Records artists
- SteepleChase Records artists
- University of Massachusetts Amherst faculty