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 studied classical piano but later discovered jazz upon listening to his father's Jazz at the Philharmonic records. His father became his first booking agent and soon Few was gigging around the greater Cleveland area with other local musicians including Bill Hardman, Bob Cunningham, Cevera Jefferies and Frank Wright. He was exposed to Tadd Dameron and Benny Bailey as a youth and knew Albert Ayler, with whom he played in high school. As a young man, Few also gigged with local tenor legend Tony "Big T" Lovano – Joe Lovano's father.

Career

In the late 1950s Few relocated to New York, where he led a trio from 1958 to 1964; there, he met and began working with many world-class musicians, including singer Brook Benton, and saxophonists Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Jackie McLean, Joe Henderson and Ayler. Few played on several of Ayler's albums and also recorded with Alan Silva, Noah Howard, Muhammad Ali, Booker Ervin, and . In 1969 he moved to France and rapidly integrated the expatriate jazz community, working frequently with Archie Shepp, Sunny Murray, Steve Lacy and Rasul Siddik. From 2001, he toured internationally with American saxophonist Avram Fefer, with whom he recorded four critically acclaimed CDs.

Few played extensively around Europe and madeWhitehead, Kevin (April 4, 2002)
"Avram Fefer & Bobby Few"
''Chicago Reader''. regular trips back to the United States. Recently, he played with saxophonist Charles Gayle and led his own trio in Paris. He was working on a Booker Ervin tribute project called ''Few's Blues'' that featured tenor player Tony Lakatos, bassist Reggie Johnson and drummer Doug Sides. Few was interviewed in a 2008 documentary, later released on DVD, on drummer Sunny Murray – "Sunny's Time Now".

Bobby Few died in January 2021, aged 85.

Playing style

Some of Few's various playing styles were described by Kevin Whitehead: "He can play delicate single-note melodies, roll out lush romantic chords, rap out explicitly Monkish close-interval clanks – though he's a busier pianist than Monk – or roil around in classic free style, using a sustain pedal to shape the density of his sound".

Discography

As leader or co-leader

As sideman

Years in brackets refer to dates of recording.

With Albert Ayler
*'' Music is the Healing Force of the Universe'' (Impulse!, 1969)
*'' The Last Album'' (Impulse!, 1969)
With Jacques Coursil
*'' Trails of Tears'' (Sunnyside, 2010)
With Hans Dulfer
*''El Saxofón'' (Catfish, 1970)
With Mike Ellis
*''What Else is New?'' (Alfa, 1985)
With Booker Ervin
*'' The In Between'' (Blue Note, 1968)
With Zusaan Kali Fasteau
*''Sensual Hearing'' (Flying Note, 1994–95)
*''Camaraderie'' (Flying Note, 1997)
*''Making Waves'' (Flying Note, 2004)
With Avram Fefer
*''Few and Far Between'' (Boxholder 2002) w/ Wilber Morris
*''Kindred Spirits'' (Boxholder, 2005)
*''Heavenly Places'' (Boxholder, 2005)
*''Sanctuary'' (CIMP, 2006) w/ Newman Taylor Baker, Hill Greene
With Ricky Ford
*''Songs for My Mother'' (Jazz Friends Production, 2001)
With Noah Howard
*''Space Dimension'' (America, 1969)
*''Red Star'' (Mercury, 1977)
*''Traffic'' (Frame, 1980)
*''In Concert'' (Cadence, 1997)
*''Live at the Unity Temple'' (Ayler, 1997)
With Talib Kibwe
*''Egyptian Oasis'' (Cryonic, 1986)
With Steve Lacy
*''Songs'' (hat ART, 1981) with Brion Gysin
*''Ballets'' (hat ART, 1981)
*'' The Flame'' (Soul Note, 1982)
*'' Blinks'' (hat ART, 1983)
*''Lift the Bandstand'' (1983) DVD
*'' Prospectus'' (hat ART, 1983) also released as ''Cliches''
*''The Condor'' (Soul Note, 1985)
*'' The Gleam'' (Silkheart, 1986)
*''Momentum'' (RCA Novus, 1987)
*'' The Door'' (RCA Novus, 1988)
*''Anthem'' (RCA Novus, 1989)
*''Itinerary'' (hat ART, 1991)
*'' Live at Sweet Basil'' (RCA Novus, 1992)
*''Associates'' (Felmay 1992)
*''Clangs'' (hat ART, 1993)
*''Vespers'' (Soul Note, 1993)
*''Findings'' (CMAP, 1994)
With David Murray
*'' Flowers Around Cleveland'' (Bleu Regard, 1995)
With Sunny Murray
*''Aigu-Grave'' (Marge, 1979)
With Archie Shepp
*'' Pitchin Can'' (America, 1970)
*'' Coral Rock'' (America, 1970)
With Alan Silva
*''Seasons'' (BYG, 1971)
*'' H.Con.Res.57/Treasure Box'' (Eremite, 2003)
With Marzette Watts
*''The Marzette Watts Ensemble'' (Savoy, 1968)
With Joe Lee Wilson
*''Secrets From The Sun'' (Sun, 1977)
With Frank Wright
*'' Uhuru na Umoja'' (Emarcy, 1970)
*''One for John'' (BYG, 1970)
*''Church Number Nine'' (Odeon, 1971)
*'' Center of the World'' (Center of the World, 1972)
*''For Example – Workshop Freie Musik 1969–1978'' ( FMP, 1972)
*'' Last Polka in Nancy?'' (Center of the World, 1973)
*''Unity'' (ESP-Disk, 1974)

References

External links

*AllMusic biographybr>All About Jazz
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Few, Bobby
1935 births
2021 deaths
American jazz pianists
American male pianists
Musicians from Cleveland
CIMP artists
20th-century American pianists
Jazz musicians from Ohio
21st-century American pianists
20th-century American male musicians
21st-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians