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Gong (band)
Gong are a progressive rock band that incorporates elements of jazz and space rock into their musical style. The group was formed in Paris in 1967 by Australian musician Daevid Allen and English vocalist Gilli Smyth. Band members have included Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, Steve Hillage, Mike Howlett, Pierre Moerlen, Bill Laswell and Theo Travis. Others who have played on stage with Gong include Don Cherry, Chris Cutler, Bill Bruford, Brian Davison, Dave Stewart and Tatsuya Yoshida. Gong's 1970 debut album, ''Magick Brother'', featured a psychedelic pop sound. By the following year, the second album, ''Camembert Electrique'', featured the more psychedelic rock/space rock sound with which they would be most associated. Between 1973 and 1974, Gong released their best known work, the allegorical ''Radio Gnome Invisible'' trilogy, describing the adventures of Zero the Hero, the Good Witch Yoni and the Pot Head Pixies from the Planet Gong. In 1975, Allen and Smyth left the band, whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steve Hillage
Stephen Simpson Hillage (born 2 August 1951) is an English musician, best known as a guitarist. He is associated with the Canterbury scene and has worked in experimental domains since the late 1960s. Besides his solo sound recording and reproduction, recordings he has been a member of Khan (band), Khan, Gong (band), Gong and System 7 (band), System 7. History Bands 1968–75 Hillage was born in Chingford, which was then in Essex but is now part of Greater London. Whilst still at school, he joined his first band, a blues rock band called Uriel (band), Uriel, with Dave Stewart (keyboardist), Dave Stewart, Mont Campbell and Clive Brooks. The band split up in 1968 with the other members going on to form Egg (band), Egg, but they briefly re-united under assumed names to record the album ''Arzachel (band), Arzachel'' in 1969. Hillage also guested on Egg's 1974 album ''The Civil Surface''. In 1969, Hillage began studies at the University of Kent in Canterbury, befriending local bands ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strontium 90 (band)
Strontium 90 were a short-lived British band active in 1977 whose members were Mike Howlett (bass, vocals) from the band Gong, Sting (vocals, guitar, bass), Stewart Copeland (drums), and Andy Summers (guitar). The band is most notable for introducing Summers to Sting and Copeland, who as a trio would go on to massive success as the Police. Strontium 90 was formed in mid-1977 by Howlett after he quit Gong and recruited Sting and Summers to participate in a new project. Chris Cutler was unavailable to play drums, so Sting brought along Copeland, with whom he had been playing in an early lineup of the Police. Strontium 90 recorded several demo tracks at Virtual Earth Studios, and then performed at a Gong reunion concert in Paris on 28 May 1977. An album with some of these studio and live tracks was released in 1997 under the name '' Strontium 90: Police Academy'' on Ark 21 Records Ark 21 Records was a record label established by Miles & Stewart Copeland in 1997, based in Sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chris Cutler
Chris Cutler (born 4 January 1947) is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English avant-rock group Henry Cow, Cutler was also a member and drummer of other bands, including Art Bears, News from Babel, Pere Ubu and (briefly) Gong/Mothergong. He has collaborated with many musicians and groups, including Fred Frith, Lindsay Cooper, Zeena Parkins, Peter Blegvad, Telectu and The Residents, and has appeared on over 100 recordings. Cutler's career spans over four decades and he still performs actively throughout the world. Cutler created and runs the British independent record label Recommended Records and is the editor of its sound-magazine, ''RēR Quarterly''. He has given a number of public lectures on music, published numerous articles and papers, and written a book on the political theory of contemporary music, ''File Under Popular'' (1984). Cutler also assembled and released ''The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set'' (200 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don Cherry (trumpeter)
Donald Eugene Cherry (November 18, 1936 – October 19, 1995) was an American jazz trumpeter. Cherry had a long association with free jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman, which began in the late 1950s. He also performed alongside musicians such as John Coltrane, Charlie Haden, Sun Ra, Ed Blackwell, the New York Contemporary Five, and Albert Ayler. In the 1970s, Cherry became a pioneer in world fusion music, drawing on traditional African, Middle Eastern, and Hindustani music. He was a member of the ECM group Codona, along with percussionist Naná Vasconcelos and sitar and tabla player Collin Walcott. AllMusic called him "one of the most influential jazz musicians of the late 20th century." Early life Cherry was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to a mother of Choctaw descent and an African-American father. His mother and grandmother played piano and his father played trumpet. His father owned Oklahoma City's Cherry Blossom Club, which hosted performances by Charlie Christian an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theo Travis
Theo Travis (born 7 July 1964 in Birmingham, England) is a British saxophonist, flautist and composer. He is best known for being a member of Soft Machine which he joined in 2006 while the group was still using the "Legacy" suffix and for being a member of Gong from 1999 to 2010. Biography Travis received his degree in music from the University of Manchester specialising in the works of Shostakovich. He has made eleven solo albums, mostly as a band leader working in the field of jazz, composing and arranging most of the material. However, 2003's ''Slow Life'', on which he is the sole performer, is an ambient album employing loops which prefigures his later work with Travis & Fripp. He has made about the same number of albums again credited to himself and one (or occasionally more) other collaborator(s), including John Foxx and, as half of Travis & Fripp with Robert Fripp. On his albums as band leader, Travis has played with numerous other jazz musicians. These have included, on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Laswell
William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, world music, jazz, dub, and ambient styles. According to music critic Chris Brazier, "Laswell's pet concept is 'collision music' which involves bringing together musicians from wildly divergent but complementary spheres and seeing what comes out." The credo of one record label run by Laswell which typifies much of his work is "Nothing Is True, Everything Is Permitted". Although his bands may be credited under the same name and often feature the same roster of musicians, the styles and themes explored on different albums can vary dramatically. Material began as a noisy dance music band, but later albums concentrated on hip hop, jazz, or spoken word readings by William S. Burroughs. Most versions of the band Praxis have included guitarist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pierre Moerlen
Pierre Moerlen (23 October 1952, Colmar, Haut-Rhin – 3 May 2005, Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, near Strasbourg) was a French drummer and percussionist, best known for his work with Gong and Mike Oldfield and as Pierre Moerlen's Gong. Biography Pierre Moerlen was born in Colmar (Haut-Rhin) on 23 October 1952, third of five children. His father was an organist and his mother was a music teacher. All five siblings learned music with their parents and all became musicians. Pierre's younger brother, Benoît Moerlen, is also a percussionist (he also worked with Gong and Mike Oldfield). Pierre left Colmar for Strasbourg to learn percussion with Jean Batigne, founder of Les Percussions de Strasbourg. He was also a member of two rock and rock-jazz bands, including Hasm Congélateur (with included future Magma guitarist Gabriel Federow), whose most notable performance was the opening slot at the Seloncourt Festival in September 1972, headlined by Ange, Genesis and Robert Wyatt's Matchin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Howlett
Michael John Gilmour Howlett (born 27 April 1950) is a record producer and teacher based in the United Kingdom and Australia. Career In the late 1960s, Howlett was the bassist in Sydney pop band the Affair, which included vocalist Kerrie Biddell. The group travelled to England after winning a prize in the Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds band competition. Howlett settled in London and in 1973 joined renowned British progressive rock group Gong, which had been founded by an Australian expatriate, Daevid Allen. He remained with Gong until 1977, recording several albums with them and co-writing much of their material later in this period with drummer Pierre Moerlen. After leaving Gong, Howlett formed the short-lived band Strontium 90, which consisted of himself, Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers. In addition to being the band's lead bassist and chief songwriter, Howlett performed most of the lead vocals in live performances. The band recorded several demos and played at a Par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pip Pyle
Phillip "Pip" Pyle (4 April 1950 – 28 August 2006) was an English-born drummer from Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, who later resided in France. He is best known for his work in the progressive rock Canterbury scene bands Gong, Hatfield and the North and National Health.Allmusic biography/ref> Biography Pyle joined Phil Miller, a friend from kindergarten, and Phil's brother Steve, in forming Bruno's Blues Band, which rapidly evolved into Delivery. However, Pyle left the band in 1970 after arguing with singer Carol Grimes. He briefly played in blues band Chicken Shack and Steve Hillage's band Khan.Biography a Calyx the |
Didier Malherbe
Didier Malherbe (born January 22, 1943 in Paris), is a French jazz, rock and world music musician, known as a member of the bands Gong and Hadouk, as well as a poet. His first instrument was a saxophone, but he also plays flutes, alto clarinet, ocarina, Laotian Khen, Bawu flute, Hulusi and many other wind instruments. Since 1995, duduk has been his preferred instrument. Before Gong (1960–69) Didier Malherbe began playing saxophone at age 13 after hearing Charlie Parker's "Bloomdido", a title he later would adopt as his nickname. After two years of formal training on saxophone he began to participate in jam sessions at various Paris jazz clubs alongside the likes of Alby Cullaz, Eddy Louiss, Jacques Thollot ... He then moved away from jazz. "I had grown puzzled about bebop because of so many rules. Then free jazz arrived, which got rid of all the rules... I decided I'd rather look elsewhere". In 1962, after hearing the first Ravi Shankar album, he travelled to India, where ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major form of musical expression in traditional and popular music. Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, complex chords, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation. Jazz has roots in European harmony and African rhythmic rituals. As jazz spread around the world, it drew on national, regional, and local musical cultures, which gave rise to different styles. New Orleans jazz began in the early 1910s, combining earlier brass band marches, French quadrilles, biguine, ragtime and blues with collective polyphonic improvisation. But jazz did not begin as a single musical tradition in New Orleans or elsewhere. In the 1930s, arranged dance-oriented swing big bands, Kansas City jazz (a hard-swinging, bluesy, improvisationa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Progressive Rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Initially termed "progressive pop", the style was an outgrowth of psychedelic bands who abandoned standard pop traditions in favour of instrumentation and compositional techniques more frequently associated with jazz, folk, or classical music. Additional elements contributed to its " progressive" label: lyrics were more poetic, technology was harnessed for new sounds, music approached the condition of "art", and the studio, rather than the stage, became the focus of musical activity, which often involved creating music for listening rather than dancing. Progressive rock is based on fusions of styles, approaches and genres, involving a continuous move between formalism and eclecticism. Due to its historical reception, the scope of progressiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
