Alan Silva (born Alan Lee da Silva; January 22, 1939 in

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians during ...

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

ist and

keyboard player A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...

Biography

Silva was born a British subject to an Azorean/

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

mother, Irene da Silva, and a black Bermudian father known only as "Ruby". He emigrated to the United States at the age of five with his mother, eventually acquiring

U.S. citizenship Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

by the age of 18 or 19. He adopted the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

of Alan Silva in his twenties. Silva was quoted in a Bermudan newspaper in 1988 as saying that although he left the island at a young age, he always considered himself Bermudian. He was raised in the

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

neighborhood of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where he first began studying the

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

, and moved on to study the

upright bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

. Silva is known as one of the most inventive bass players in jazz and has performed with many in the world of

avant-garde jazz Avant-garde jazz (also known as avant-jazz and experimental jazz) is a style of music and improvisation that combines avant-garde art music and composition with jazz. It originated in the early 1950s and developed through to the late 1960s. Orig ...

, including

Cecil Taylor Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet. Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in complex ...

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific out ...

Albert Ayler Albert Ayler (; July 13, 1936 – November 25, 1970) was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer. After early experience playing R&B and bebop, Ayler began recording music during the free jazz era of the 1960s. Howev ...

Sunny Murray James Marcellus Arthur "Sunny" Murray (September 21, 1936 – December 7, 2017) was an American musician, and was one of the pioneers of the free jazz style of drumming. Biography Murray was born in Idabel, Oklahoma, where he was raised by an ...

, and

Archie Shepp 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. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...

. Silva performed in 1964's

October Revolution in Jazz The October Revolution in Jazz was a four-day festival of new jazz music which took place at the Cellar Café in New York City. It occurred from October 1–4, 1964, and was organized by composer and trumpeter Bill Dixon. The success of the festi ...

as a pioneer in the

movement, and for Ayler's ''Live in Greenwich Village'' album. He has lived mainly in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

since the early 1970s, where he formed the Celestrial Communication Orchestra, a group dedicated to the performance of free jazz with various instrumental combinations. In the 1990s he picked up the

electronic keyboard An electronic keyboard, portable keyboard, or digital keyboard is an electronic musical instrument, an electronic derivative of keyboard instruments. Electronic keyboards include synthesizers, digital pianos, stage pianos, electronic organs an ...

, declaring that his bass playing no longer surprised him. He has also used the

electric violin An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument intentionally made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body. It can also refer to a violin fi ...

and electric

sarangi The sārangī is a bowed, short-necked string instrument played in traditional music from South Asia – Punjabi folk music, Rajasthani folk music, and Boro folk music (there known as the ''serja'') – in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. It is ...

on his recordings. In the 1980s, Silva opened a music school I.A.C.P. (Institute for Art, Culture and Perception) in Central Paris, introducing the concept of a Jazz Conservatory patterned after France's traditional conservatories devoted to European classical music epochs. Since around 2000, he has performed more frequently as a bassist and

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or ...

, notably at New York City's annual Vision Festivals.

Discography

As leader or co-leader

As sideman

with

* '' Albert Ayler in Greenwich Village'' (

Impulse! Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ...

, 1967) – live recorded in 1966-67 * ''

Love Cry ''Love Cry'' is a 1968 album by jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler, released on Impulse! Records in 1968. It was originally reissued on CD by GRP with two previously unreleased alternate takes and one previously unreleased outtake. The cover claimed ...

'' (

, 1968) – recorded in 1966-67 with Abdelhai Bennani * ''Enfance'' (Marge, 1998) * ''Entrelacs'' (Tampon Ramier, 2003) – live recorded in 1999 * ''New Today, New Everyday'' (Improvising Beings, 2012) * ''Free Form Improvisation Ensemble 2013'' (Improvising Beings, 2015) CD with

Dave Burrell Herman Davis "Dave" Burrell (born September 10, 1940) is an American jazz pianist. He has played with many jazz musicians including Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, Marion Brown and David Murray. Biography Born in Middletown, Ohio, United Sta ...

* ''

Echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the list ...

'' (

BYG Actuel BYG Records was a French record label known for the Actuel series specializing in free jazz. However, the label released a handful of non-jazz recordings by artists such as Musica Elettronica Viva, Freedom and Gong. History BYG Records was found ...

, 1969) * '' After Love'' (America, 1971) – recorded in 1970 with

Bill Dixon William Robert “Bill” Dixon (October 5, 1925 – June 16, 2010) was an American composer, improviser, visual artist, activist, and educator. Dixon was one of the seminal figures in free jazz and late twentieth-century contemporary music. Hi ...

* ''

Bill Dixon in Italy Volume One ''Bill Dixon in Italy Volume One'' is an album by American jazz trumpeter Bill Dixon, recorded in Milan in 1980 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.Stubenrauch, R.Bill Dixon discographyaccessed November 16, 2014 Reception In his review f ...

'' (

Soul Note Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

, 1980) * ''

Bill Dixon in Italy Volume Two ''Bill Dixon in Italy Volume Two'' is an album by American jazz trumpeter Bill Dixon, recorded in Milan in 1980 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.Stubenrauch, R.Bill Dixon discographyaccessed November 16, 2014 The album resulted after pr ...

'' (Soul Note, 1981) * '' Considerations 1'' (Fore, 1981) * '' November 1981'' (Soul Note, 1982) with

Bobby Few Bobby Few (October 21, 1935 – January 6, 2021) was an American jazz pianist and vocalist. Early life Few was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and grew up in the Fairfax neighborhood of the city's East Side. Upon his mother's encouragement, he stud ...

* ''More Or Less Few'' (Center of the World) * ''Rhapsody in Few'' (

Black Saint Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

) * ''Solos & Duets'' with Frank Wright (

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny C ...

) with

* ''

'' (

ESP Disk ESP-Disk is a New York-based record company and label founded in 1963 by lawyer Bernard Stollman. History Though it originally existed to release Esperanto-based music, beginning with its second release (Albert Ayler's ''Spiritual Unity''), ESP b ...

, 1966) * ''

Big Chief "Big Chief" is a song composed by Earl King in the early 1960s. It became a hit in New Orleans for Professor Longhair in 1964,Berry/Foose/Jones, ''Up from the Cradle of Jazz''. University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press, 2009, p. 148. featuring a ...

'' (

Pathé Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French people, French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest ...

, 1969) * ''

Sunshine Sunlight is a portion of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun, in particular infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. On Earth, sunlight is scattered and filtered through Earth's atmosphere, and is obvious as daylight when th ...

'' (

, 1969) * ''

Homage to Africa ''Homage to Africa'' (also released as ''Hommage to Africa'') is an album by American free jazz drummer Sunny Murray. It was recorded in Paris in August 1969, and released on the BYG Actuel label in 1970. On the album, Murray is joined by saxopho ...

'' (BYG Actuel, 1970) * ''Aigu-Grave'' (Marge, 1980) * '' Perles Noires'' Volume 1 (Eremite, 2005) – live recorded in 2002-04 with

* '' Sun Ra-Featuring Pharoah Sanders and Black Harold'' (Saturn, 1976) – live recorded in 1964 * ''Nuit de la Fondation Maeght Vol. 1'' (Shandar) * ''Nuit de la Fondation Maeght Vol. 2'' (Shandar) * ''

It's After the End of the World ''It's After the End of the World'' (subtitled ''Live at the Donaueschingen and Berlin Festivals'') is a live album by American composer, bandleader and keyboardist Sun Ra recorded in 1970 in Donaueschingen and Berlin and released on the MPS la ...

'' (MPS, 1970) – live * ''Out In Space'' (MPS) with

* ''

Poem for Malcolm ''Poem for Malcolm'' is a jazz album by Archie Shepp. Recorded in Paris in August 1969 only two days after ''Yasmina, a Black Woman'', it again features musicians from the Art Ensemble of Chicago. This time, the tone is resolutely set to avant g ...

'' (

, 1969) * ''

Live at the Pan-African Festival ''Live at the Pan-African Festival'' is a live recording of Archie Shepp's performance in Algiers on July 29–30, 1969, when his free jazz group was complemented by several North African musicians. Track listing ''All songs arranged by Shepp. ...

'' (

, 1971) – live recorded in 1969 with

* ''

Unit Structures ''Unit Structures'' is a 1966 studio album by free jazz pianist Cecil Taylor, released by Blue Note Records. Background ''Unit Structures'' was Taylor's first album on Blue Note. He released ''Conquistador!'' on the label in the same year, with a ...

'' (

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...

, 1966) * ''

Conquistador! ''Conquistador!'' is a 1968 studio album recorded in 1966 by free jazz pianist Cecil Taylor, released by Blue Note Records. Critical reception Writing for AllMusic, Scott Yanow gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars, stating that "During the two le ...

'' (Blue Note, 1968) – recorded in 1966 * ''Les Grandes Répétitions'' (

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

, ot released – recorded in 1966 * ''

It is in the Brewing Luminous ''It is in the Brewing Luminous'' is a live album by Cecil Taylor recorded at Fat Tuesdays, NYC, on February 8 & 9, 1980 and released on the Hat Hut label. The album features performances by Taylor with Jimmy Lyons, Ramsey Ameen, Alan Silva, Jer ...

'' (

hat Hut Hathut Records is a Swiss record company and label founded by Werner Xavier Uehlinger in 1974 that specializes in jazz and classical music. The name of the label comes from the artwork of Klaus Baumgartner. Hathut encompasses the labels hat ART, ...

, 1981) – live recorded in 1980 with Frank Wright * '' Center of the World'' (Center of the World, 1972) – live * ''

Last Polka in Nancy? ''Last Polka in Nancy?'' is the second album by the free jazz quartet Center of the World, consisting of saxophonist Frank Wright, pianist Bobby Few, bassist Alan Silva and drummer Muhammad Ali. It was recorded live in 1973 at the Nancy Jazz Pul ...

'' (Center of the World, 1973) – live * ''Solos & Duets'' with Bobby Few (

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

, 1975) * ''

Unity Unity may refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, Liverpool, UK; two buildings in England * Unity Chapel, Wyoming, Wisconsin, US; a h ...

'' (ESP-Disk, 2006) with others *

Jacques Coursil Jacques Coursil (March 31, 1938 – June 26, 2020) was a composer, jazz trumpeter, scholar, and professor of literature, linguistics, and philosophy. Early life Coursil was born in Paris, France, of Martinican parents. At age nine, he began studyi ...

, '' Trails of Tears'' (Sunnyside, 2010) – recorded in 2007-09 * The

Globe Unity Orchestra The Globe Unity Orchestra is a free jazz ensemble. Globe Unity was formed in autumn 1966 with a commission received by Alexander von Schlippenbach from the Berlin Jazz Festival. It had its debut at the Berliner Philharmonie on 3 November combining ...

, ''Intergalactic Blow'' (JAPO, 1983) *

Burton Greene Burton Greene (June 14, 1937 – June 28, 2021) was an American free jazz pianist born in Chicago, Illinois, though most known for his work in New York City. He explored multiple genres, including avant-garde jazz and the Klezmer medium. Biogra ...

, ''Firmanence'' (Fore, 1980) * Andrew Hill, ''

Strange Serenade ''Strange Serenade'' is an album by American jazz pianist Andrew Hill recorded in 1980 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.Soul Note Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

, 1980) *

Franz Koglmann Franz Koglmann (born 22 May 1947) is an Austrian jazz composer. He performs on both the trumpet and flugelhorn in a variety of contexts, most often within avant-garde jazz and third stream contexts. An award-winning composer, Koglmann has perfo ...

and Bill Dixon, ''

Opium for Franz ''Opium for Franz'' (also listed as ''Opium/For Franz'') is an album by trumpeters Franz Koglmann and Bill Dixon. It was recorded during 1975 and 1976 in Vienna and Paris, and was issued on LP with hand-made cover art by the small, obscure Pipe lab ...

'' (Pipe, 1977) – recorded in 1976; 3 tracks reissued on ''

Opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...

'' (Between the Lines, 2001) * Shipen Lebzelter, ''Rock and Other Four Letter Words'' ( Columbia, 1968) *

Jimmy Lyons Jimmy Lyons (December 1, 1931 – May 19, 1986) was an American alto saxophone player. He is best known for his long tenure in the Cecil Taylor Unit. Lyons was the only constant member of the band from the mid-1960s until his death. Taylor neve ...

, ''

Other Afternoons ''Other Afternoons'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Jimmy Lyons, recorded in 1969 and released in 1970 on the BYG label as part of their Actuel series. His first recording as leader, it features Lyons on alto saxophone along with trumpe ...

'' (

, 1970) – recorded in 1969 *

Grachan Moncur III Grachan Moncur III (June 3, 1937 – June 3, 2022) was an American jazz trombonist. He was the son of jazz bassist Grachan Moncur II and the nephew of jazz saxophonist Al Cooper. Biography Born in New York City, United States, (his paternal gran ...

, ''New Africa'' (

, 1969) *

Itaru Oki was a Japanese jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist. Oki was born in Kobe. He began studying koto as a child, under instruction from his mother, who was a professional kotoist. He took up trumpet from 1955 and played in high school bands, then en ...

, ''Paris-Ohraï'' (Ohraï, 2001) * William Parker, ''

Requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

'' with

Charles Gayle Charles Gayle (born February 28, 1939) is an American free jazz musician. Initially known as a saxophonist who came to prominence in the 1990s after decades of obscurity, Gayle also performs as pianist, bass clarinetist, bassist, and percussioni ...

(Splasc(H), 2006) * Francois Tusques, ''Intercommunal Music'' (Shandar, 1971)

Filmography

*2001 -
Inside Out in the Open
' (2001). Directed by Alan Roth.

References

External links

The Celestrial Communication Orchestra on Discogs

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silva, Alan 1939 births Living people 21st-century double-bassists 21st-century American male musicians American jazz double-bassists American jazz keyboardists American male jazz musicians American people of Azorean descent American people of Portuguese descent Bermudian emigrants to the United States Bermudian jazz musicians Bermudian people of Portuguese descent BYG Actuel artists Columbia Records artists ESP-Disk artists Male double-bassists