James Chance and the Contortions (initially known simply as Contortions, a spin-off group is called James White and the Blacks) was a musical group led by saxophonist and vocalist

James Chance James Chance, also known as James White (born James Siegfried, April 20, 1953), is an American saxophonist, keyboard player, and singer. A key figure in no wave, Chance has been playing a combination of improvisational jazz-like music and pun ...

, formed in 1977. They were a central act of New York City's downtown no wave music scene in the late 1970s, and were featured on the influential compilation ''

No New York ''No New York'' is a compilation album released in 1978 by record label Antilles under the curation of producer Brian Eno. Although it only contained songs by four different artists, some consider it to be a definitive single album documenting Ne ...

'' (1978).

Recording history

Their first recording, credited solely as ''Contortions'', was on the 1978 compilation, ''

'', produced by

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

. The following year, two albums were issued almost simultaneously on

ZE Records ZE Records was originally a New York-based record label, started in 1978 in music, 1978 by Michael Zilkha and Michel Esteban. It was reestablished by Esteban in 2003. History Michael Zilkha (b. 1954) is a British-born Oxford University, Oxford ...

; '' Buy'' and '' Off White'' under the moniker James White and the Blacks. The same musicians recorded both records, though none are credited on the album cover. The Contortions appeared in

Rosa von Praunheim Holger Bernhard Bruno Mischwitzky (born Holger Radtke; 25 November 1942), known professionally as Rosa von Praunheim, is a German film director, author, painter and one of the most famous gay rights activists in the German-speaking world. In ov ...

's film ''Das Todesmagazin'' in 1979. In 2016, Chance released his first single with his original Contortions band in nearly 30 years, entitled "Melt Yourself Down". A music video for the single was directed, filmed and animated by 19 year old Dylan Greenberg and is considered the first Contortions music video to make significant use of dramatic digital effects, such as Chance's face being manipulated to appear as if it were melting.

Band members

Original Contortions guitarist

Pat Place Pat Place (born 1953) is an American artist, photographer, and musician noted for her work as a founding member and guitarist of no wave bands James Chance and the Contortions and Bush Tetras. Art Place grew up in Chicago. She studied art in col ...

went on to found the group

Bush Tetras Bush Tetras are an American post-punk band from New York City, formed in 1979. They are best known for the 1980 song "Too Many Creeps", which exemplified the band's sound of "jagged rhythms, slicing guitars, and sniping vocals".Lydia Lunch Lydia Lunch (born Lydia Anne Koch; June 2, 1959)Martin Charles Strong. ''The Great Indie Discography''. 2003, page 85 is an American singer, poet, writer, actress and self-empowerment speaker. Her career began during the 1970s New York City no ...

and Michael Paumgarten in

8-Eyed Spy 8 Eyed Spy was an American no wave band from New York City, consisting of Lydia Lunch (ex-Teenage Jesus and the Jerks and Beirut Slump) and Jim Sclavunos (also ex-Teenage Jesus and Beirut Slump), Michael Paumgardhen, Pat Irwin and George Scott I ...

. Shortly thereafter, guitarist

Jody Harris Jody Harris is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer who was born in Kansas and became a central figure in the seminal no wave scene in New York City in the 1970s. Career history Harris was lead guitarist in the Contortions, an ...

formed

Raybeats The Raybeats were an American instrumental neo-surf rock combo from New York City that arose from the No Wave musical scene. The original line-up consisted of Don Christensen (drums), Jody Harris (guitar), Pat Irwin (guitar, saxophone, Acetone ...

with Don Christensen, George Scott III and

Pat Irwin Pat Irwin (born May 17, 1955) is an American composer and musician who was a founding member of two bands that grew out of New York City's No Wave scene in the late 1970s, the Raybeats and 8-Eyed Spy. He joined The B-52s from 1989 through 200 ...

. Keyboardist Adele Bertei formed the Bloods, after which she released a solo record, ''Little Lives'', in 1988. In 1979 George Scott toured with

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...

, as documented on the album ''Sabotage Live''. Scott died of a heroin overdose on August 5, 1980. Steven Kramer played organ and percussion in the second incarnation of the Contortions in 1979-80. Some of the members of James White and the Blacks, notably

Joseph Bowie Joseph Bowie (born October 17, 1953) is an American jazz trombonist and vocalist. The brother of trumpeter Lester Bowie, Joseph is known for leading the jazz-punk group Defunkt and for membership in the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble. Career Bowi ...

, separated from Chance and formed the band

Defunkt Defunkt is an American musical group founded by the trombonist and singer Joseph Bowie in 1978 in New York City. Their music touches on elements of punk rock, funk, and jazz. Career Joseph Bowie is the brother of big band musician Byron Bo ...

. On November 30, 2010 James Chance, Pat Place, Don Christensen, Jody Harris,

Adele Bertei Adele Maria Bertei (born 1955) is an American singer, songwriter, writer and director. Early life Bertei was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1955. She is the oldest of three children born to Katherine (née Murphy) and Umberto Bertei. Her father w ...

, and

Robert Aaron Robert Aaron (born Robert Arron Vineberg; November 13, 1955) is a Canadian jazz musician. According to John Leland of the New York Times "Mr. Aaron played flute, saxophone, clarinet and piano, then taught himself guitar, trumpet, bassoon, Fren ...

reunited as James Chance and the Contortions at

Le Poisson Rouge (Le) Poisson Rouge (often referred to as LPR) is a music venue and multimedia art cabaret in New York City founded in 2008 by Justin Kantor and David Handler on the former site of the Village Gate at 158 Bleecker Street. The performance space w ...

for a single performance. Robert Aaron was not an original member but frequently collaborated with Chance.

Discography

* ''

'' (1978) (compilation contribution, as Contortions) * '' Buy'' (1979) (as Contortions) * ''Live aux Bains Douches'' (1980) * ''Live in New York'' (1981) * ''Soul Exorcism'' (1991) * ''Lost Chance'' (1995) * ''Molotov Cocktail Lounge'' (Enemy, 1996) * ''White Cannibal'' (2000) * ''The Flesh is Weak'' (2016)

References

Bibliography

Carlo McCormick Carlo McCormick is an American culture critic and curator living in New York City. He is the author of numerous books, monographs and catalogues on contemporary art and artists. Pedagogic and art writing activities McCormick was Senior Edito ...

, ''The Downtown Book: The New York Art Scene, 1974–1984'', Princeton University Press, 2006 * Marc Masters, ''No Wave'', London: Black Dog Publishing, 2007

External links

"X-Magazine Benefit"
by

Coleen Fitzgibbon Coleen Fitzgibbon (born 1950) is an American experimental film artist associated with Collaborative Projects, Inc. (a.k.a. Colab). She worked under the pseudonym Colen Fitzgibbon between the years 1973-1980. Fitzgibbon currently resides on Ludlow ...

and Alan W. Moore 1978/2009, video, 11 minutes of

Colab Colab is the commonly used abbreviation of the New York City artists' group Collaborative Projects, which was formed after a series of open meetings between artists of various disciplines. History Colab members came together as a collective in ...

's X Magazine Benefit that documents the punk rock performances of James Chance and the Contortions, DNA and

Boris Policeband Boris Policeband (a.k.a. Policeband & a.k.a. Boris Pearlman a.k.a. Mark Perelman) was a no wave noise music performer who used dissonant violin, police radio transmissions, and voice. Boris Pearlman was a classically trained violist from New York ...

James Chance & the Contortions played LPR (pics & video)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chance and the Contortions, James No wave groups American sound artists American experimental musicians American noise rock music groups Musical groups from New York City ROIR artists American jazz ensembles from New York City Free jazz ensembles Punk rock groups from New York (state) American experimental musical groups American post-punk music groups Musical groups established in 1977 Jazz musicians from New York (state) Enemy Records artists ZE Records artists