![Vernon Reid 06N5991](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Vernon_Reid_06N5991.jpg)
Vernon Alphonsus Reid (born 22 August 1958) is an English-born American
guitarist
A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...
and
songwriter
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...
. Reid is the founder and primary songwriter of the rock band
Living Colour
Living Colour is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. The band currently consists of guitarist Vernon Reid, lead vocalist Corey Glover, drummer Will Calhoun and bassist Doug Wimbish (who replaced Muzz Skillings in 1992). S ...
, Reid was named No. 66 on ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' magazine's 2003 list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.
Critic Steve Huey writes, "
eid'srampant eclecticism encompasses everything from heavy metal and punk to
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
, R&B and avant-garde
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 ...
, and his anarchic, lightning-fast solos have become something of a hallmark as well."
Early life
Born in London, England to
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
parents, Reid was raised in
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 ...
. He attended
Brooklyn Technical High School
Brooklyn Technical High School, commonly called Brooklyn Tech and administratively designated High School 430, is an elite public high school in New York City that specializes in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It is one of th ...
, then
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
.
Career
Early career
He first came to prominence in the 1980s in the band of drummer
Ronald Shannon Jackson
Ronald Shannon Jackson (January 12, 1940 – October 19, 2013) was an American jazz drummer from Fort Worth, Texas. A pioneer of avant-garde jazz, free funk, and jazz fusion, he appeared on over 50 albums as a bandleader, sideman, arranger, and ...
. 1984's ''
Smash & Scatteration
''Smash & Scatteration'' is an album by guitarists Vernon Reid and Bill Frisell which was originally released on the Minor Music in 1985 before being rereleased on CD on Rykodisc.
Reception
The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow called it a "hectic ...
'' was a duo record with guitarist
Bill Frisell
William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist, composer and arranger. Frisell first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts ...
. In 1985, Reid co-founded the
Black Rock Coalition
The Black Rock Coalition is a New York-based artists' collective and nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the creative freedom and works of black musicians.
Founding and purpose
The BRC was founded in 1985 in New York City
...
with journalist
Greg Tate
Gregory Stephen Tate (October 14, 1957December 7, 2021) was an American writer, musician, and producer. A long-time critic for ''The Village Voice'', Tate focused particularly on African-American music and culture, helping to establish hip-h ...
and producer Konda Mason.
Living Colour
Reid is best known for leading Living Colour. Early versions of the group formed in New York City in 1983, but the personnel solidified in 1985–86, and Reid led the group for about another decade.
Their debut album ''
Vivid
Vivid may refer to:
Music
* Vivid (band), a Japanese rock band
* "Vivid" (song), by Electronic, 1999
*"ViViD", a 2016 song by Loona from '' HeeJin''
Albums
* ''Vivid'' (Vivian Green album), 2015
* ''Vivid'' (Crystal Kay album), 2012
* ''Vivi ...
'' was released in 1988 and sold double Platinum. Its successor ''
Time's Up'' was released 1990 and was gold-certified. They received two consecutive
Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
in the category of Best Hard Rock Performance. They opened for the
Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
' 1989 "
Steel Wheels" tour; and appeared on the first
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...
tour in the summer of 1991.
Living Colour broke up in 1995 but reformed in 2000. Since then, they have released three more albums: ''
Collideøscope
''Collideøscope'' is the fourth album by Living Colour. Released in 2003, it was their first studio album in eight years. Living Colour began recording ''Collideøscope'' in 2001; many of the songs are about the September 11 attacks.
The album c ...
'' in October 2003 on
Sanctuary Records
Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is as of 2013 a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest m ...
, ''
The Chair in the Doorway
''The Chair in the Doorway'' is the fifth studio album by Living Colour, which was released on September 15, 2009. It is their first studio album since the release of ''Collideøscope'' in 2003, and their first release on Megaforce Records. The al ...
'' in September 2009, and ''
Shade'' in September 2017 on
Megaforce Records
Megaforce Records is an American independent record label founded in 1982 by Jon Zazula and his wife Marsha Zazula to release the first works of Metallica, and devoted primarily to hard rock and heavy metal. It has offices in New York City (w ...
.
Solo career
In addition to his work with Living Colour, Reid has been engaged in a number of other projects. He released
''Mistaken Identity'', his first solo album, in 1996,
and has collaborated with the choreographers
Bill T. Jones on ''Still/Here'' and
Donald Byrd
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013) was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few hard bop m ...
on ''Jazztrain''. He performed "Party 'Til The End of Time" at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) with
The Roots
The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...
, an end of the 2000 millennium tribute featuring the music of
Prince's album
''1999''. He also composed and performed "Bring Your Beats" a children's program for BAM.
Reid has also undertaken significant work as a record producer, including two Grammy-nominated albums: ''
Papa'' (1999) by the African vocalist
Salif Keita
Salif Keïta () (born 25 August 1949) is a Malian singer-songwriter, referred to as the "Golden Voice of Africa". He is a member of the Keita royal family of Mali.
Biography Early life
Salif Keita was born a traditional prince in the village o ...
and ''
Memphis Blood: The Sun Sessions'' (2001) by guitarist
James Blood Ulmer
James "Blood" Ulmer (born February 8, 1940) is an American jazz, free funk and blues guitarist and singer. Ulmer plays a Gibson Byrdland guitar. His guitar sound has been described as "jagged" and "stinging". His singing has been called "ragge ...
. Ulmer's subsequent albums, ''
No Escape from the Blues: The Electric Lady Sessions'' (2003), ''
Birthright
Birthright is the concept of things being due to a person upon or by fact of their birth, or due to the order of their birth. These may include rights of citizenship based on the place where the person was born or the citizenship of their paren ...
'' (2005), and ''
Bad Blood in the City: The Piety Street Sessions'' (2007), were also produced by Reid.
Reid also appears on ''
Guitar Oblique'' (
Knitting Factory
The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United States.
The Knitting Factory gave its audience poetry readings, perform ...
) with guitarists
David Torn
David M. Torn (born May 26, 1953) is an American guitarist, composer, and producer. He is known for combining electronic and acoustic instruments and for his use of looping.
Background
Torn has contributed to recordings by artists as diverse ...
and
Elliott Sharp
Elliott Sharp (born March 1, 1951) is an American contemporary classical composer, multi-instrumentalist, and performer.
A central figure in the avant-garde and experimental music scene in New York City since the late 1970s, Sharp has released ...
. Reid was also featured in the program presented by BAM and the Experience Music Project in Seattle entitled "Magic Science", which includes
Medeski Martin & Wood
Medeski Martin & Wood (or MMW) is an American jazz fusion band formed in 1991, consisting of John Medeski on keyboards, Billy Martin on drums, and Chris Wood on bass. The band is influenced by musical traditions including funk and hip hop and ...
and the
Gil Evans
Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian–American jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators in jazz, playing an important role ...
Orchestra performing Gil Evans' arrangements of songs by
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
.
Reid composed the score for the film ''
Paid in Full'', directed by
Charles Stone III
Charles Stone III (born 1966) is an American film director. He is best known for ''Drumline'' starring Nick Cannon, '' Mr. 3000'' starring Bernie Mac, and '' Paid in Full''.
Stone directed the video to " What They Do" by The Roots, featuring t ...
(well known for creating the "Wasssup!" series of commercials for
Budweiser
Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, part of AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States.
''Budweiser'' may also refer to an unrelat ...
as well as directing three videos for Living Colour) and released by
Miramax
Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California.
It was initially a leadi ...
in the fall of 2002. Reid also composed the score for the celebrated documentary ''Ghosts of Attica'' (directed by Brad Lichtenstein), which aired on
Court TV
Court TV is an American digital broadcast network and former cable television channel. It was originally launched in 1991 with a focus on crime-themed programs such as true crime documentary series, legal analysis talk shows, and live news cove ...
in the fall of 2001 and has been featured at several film festivals. He composed the score for another documentary directed by Lichtenstein, ''Almost Home'', which aired in 2006 on the PBS series ''Independent Lens.''
Reid and
DJ Logic
DJ Logic (born 1972 as Jason Kibler) is an American turntablist active primarily in nu-jazz/ acid jazz and with jam bands.
Kibler was born and raised in The Bronx, NY. Because of an early interest in hip hop, Kibler started using the turntabl ...
, calling themselves "Yohimbe Brothers", released an album in September 2002 entitled ''
Front End Lifter
''Front End Lifter'' is an album by the Yohimbe Brothers, featuring guitarist Vernon Reid and turntablist DJ Logic. It was recorded at DharmaLab, Reid's home studio in Staten Island, New York, and was released in 2002 by Ropeadope Records. On the ...
''. The Yohimbe Brothers have been touring on and off since the release of the album. Reid was also the music supervisor for the film ''
Mr. 3000
''Mr. 3000'' is a 2004 American sports comedy film directed by Charles Stone III. It stars Bernie Mac and Angela Bassett. The film's plot surrounds a retired Major League Baseball player who makes a comeback at age 47 in order to attain 3,000 h ...
'', starring
Bernie Mac
Bernard Jeffrey McCullough (October 5, 1957 – August 9, 2008), better known by his stage name Bernie Mac, was an American comedian and actor. Born and raised on Chicago's South Side, Mac gained popularity as a stand-up comedian. He joined fell ...
and directed by Charles Stone III; the film was released in September 2004. Vernon's album with Masque (
Leon Gruenbaum – keyboards and
Samchillian, Hank Schroy – bass and Marlon Browden – drums), an instrumental album entitled ''
Known Unknown'', was released in April 2004, and on 18 April 2006 Vernon Reid and Masque released ''
Other True Self
''Other True Self'' is an album by American guitarist and Living Colour member Vernon Reid, his third as a leader. It was recorded in October 2005 at Gigantic Studios in New York City, and was released in 2006 by Favored Nations. On the album, Reid ...
'', both on
Favored Nations
Favored Nations Entertainment is a record label founded in 1999 by guitarist Steve Vai and Ray Scherr, former owner of Guitar Center.
The first album released by the label was ''Coming to Your Senses'' by guitarist Frank Gambale in 2000. Soon af ...
records, owned by another guitarist,
Steve Vai
Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist for ...
.
Reid has a prolific session output in a variety of contexts. He has played live or on record with The Roots, Eye & I,
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
, Ambitious Lovers,
Rollins Band
Rollins Band was an American rock band formed in Van Nuys, California. The band was active from 1987 to 2006 and was led by former Black Flag vocalist Henry Rollins. They are best known for the songs "Low Self Opinion" and " Liar", which both e ...
, Spearhead,
Public Enemy
"Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe p ...
,
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...
,
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...
,
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. Chapman is best known for her hit singles "Fast Car" and "Give Me One Reason".
Chapman was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987. The following year she released ...
,
Ronald Shannon Jackson
Ronald Shannon Jackson (January 12, 1940 – October 19, 2013) was an American jazz drummer from Fort Worth, Texas. A pioneer of avant-garde jazz, free funk, and jazz fusion, he appeared on over 50 albums as a bandleader, sideman, arranger, and ...
,
Don Byron
Donald Byron (born November 8, 1958) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. He primarily plays clarinet but has also played bass clarinet and saxophone in a variety of genres that includes free jazz and klezmer.
Biography
His mother w ...
,
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 Bowi ...
,
Santana
Santana may refer to:
Transportation
* Volkswagen Santana, an automobile
* Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles
* Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer
Boats
* Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...
,
Bernie Worrell
George Bernard Worrell, Jr. (April 19, 1944 – June 24, 2016) was an American keyboardist and record producer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll ...
,
MC 900 Ft. Jesus,
B.B. King
Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...
,
Madeleine Peyroux
Madeleine Peyroux (born April 18, 1974) is an American jazz singer and songwriter who began her career as a teenager on the streets of Paris. She sang vintage jazz and blues songs before finding mainstream success in 2004 when her album ''Carele ...
, Meridiem,
Jack Bruce
John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and bassist of British rock band Cream. After the group disbande ...
,
Terry Bozzio
Terry John Bozzio (born December 27, 1950) is an American drummer best known for his work with Missing Persons and Frank Zappa. He has been featured on nine solo or collaborative albums, 26 albums with Zappa and seven albums with Missing Person ...
, Black Sugar Transmission (Reid solos on the title track of 2009's ''USE IT'' EP) and
DJ Spooky
Paul Dennis Miller (born September 6, 1970), known professionally as DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid, is an American electronic and experimental hip hop musician whose work is often called by critics "illbient" or "trip hop". He is a turntabli ...
.
Reid played at America's Millennium Gala, New Year's Eve 31 December 1999, and 1 January 2000, at the
Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial is a U.S. national memorial built to honor the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., across from the Washington Monument, and is in the ...
, performing "
Fortunate Son
"Fortunate Son" is a song by the American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival released on their fourth studio album, ''Willy and the Poor Boys'' in November 1969. It was previously released as a single, together with "Down on the Corner", in ...
" with
John Fogerty
John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty
Thomas Richard Fogerty (November 9, 1941 – September 6, 1990) was an American mu ...
. Among those in the audience were
President Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again f ...
and
First Lady Hillary Clinton.
In March 2007, Reid played with
Jamaaladeen Tacuma
Jamaaladeen Tacuma (born Rudy McDaniel; June 11, 1956) is an American free jazz bassist born in Hempstead, New York. He was a bandleader on the Gramavision label and worked with Ornette Coleman during the 1970s and 1980s, mostly in Coleman's Pr ...
, and G. Calvin Weston at Tonic in New York and Tritone in Philadelphia, which led them to record as Free Form Funky Freqs. Their debut recording, ''
Urban Mythology Volume One
''Urban Mythology Volume One'' is the debut album by American experimental power trio Free Form Funky Frēqs, featuring guitarist Vernon Reid, bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma, and drummer G. Calvin Weston. It was recorded during the summer of 2007 at F ...
'', was released in 2008.
In July 2008, Vernon Reid assembled a one-off solo band for his appearance at the
G-TARanaki Guitar Festival
GTaranaki, also known as G-TARanaki, was New Zealand's first international guitar festival held in New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand annually from July 2008. The week-long festival brings some of worlds best guitarists to Taranaki to perform, ...
in
Taranaki
Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont.
The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, with keyboard player Jonathan Crayford, bassist Crete Haami and drummer
Magesh Magesh. At the
Puke Ariki
Puke Ariki is a combined museum and library at New Plymouth, New Zealand which opened in June 2003. It is an amalgamation of the New Plymouth Public Library (founded in 1848) and the Taranaki Museum (founded in 1919). Its name, Māori for "hill ...
"Midnight Session" concert, Vernon performed an all-star jam with
Uli Jon Roth
Uli Jon Roth (born Ulrich Roth; 18 December 1954) is a German guitarist who became famous for his work with the hard rock band Scorpions and is one of the earliest contributors to the neoclassical metal genre. He is also the founder of Sky Aca ...
,
Gilby Clarke
Gilbert J. "Gilby" Clarke (born August 17, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He had a 3-year tenure as the rhythm guitarist of Guns N' Roses, replacing Izzy Stradlin in 1991 during the Use Your Illusion Tour ...
and
Alex Skolnick
Alex Skolnick (born September 29, 1968) is an American musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist and one of the songwriters of the thrash metal band Testament and has played with several other bands, including The Alex Skolnick Trio, Tra ...
.
In 2008, Reid also played a series of Blue Note Club tribute concerts to the Tony Williams Lifetime in Japan with
Jack Bruce
John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and bassist of British rock band Cream. After the group disbande ...
,
Cindy Blackman
Cindy Blackman Santana (born November 18, 1959), sometimes known as Cindy Blackman, is an American jazz and rock drummer. Blackman has recorded several jazz albums as a bandleader and has performed with Pharoah Sanders, Sonny Simmons, Ron Carter ...
and
John Medeski
Anthony John Medeski (born June 28, 1965) is an American jazz keyboard player and composer. Medeski is a veteran of New York's 1990s avant-garde jazz scene and is known popularly as a member of Medeski Martin & Wood. He plays the acoustic piano ...
. In June 2012 the collaboration released a self-titled album ''
Spectrum Road
''Spectrum Road'' is the debut album by the American supergroup of the same name, featuring bassist and vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist Vernon Reid, keyboard player John Medeski, and drummer Cindy Blackman Santana. The group's sole release, it was ...
'' on the US jazz record label
Palmetto. This was accompanied by a series of dates at large jazz festivals in North America and Europe throughout June and July.
In 2018, Reid signed with
Mascot Label Group
Mascot Label Group is an independently-owned record label. Founded in 1989 in The Netherlands under the name Mascot Records, the company was renamed Mascot-Provogue in 1999 and since 2010 has been known as the Mascot Label Group. The company is ba ...
. He has an album slated for release in 2019.
An Underground Railroad of the Mind
In 2017, Reid debuted his semi-monthly broadcast on the streaming radio station Home. His show, titled "An Underground Railroad of the Mind", features Reid playing vinyl records from his record collection.
Personal life
Reid resides in
Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
with his wife
Gabri Christa
Gabri Christa is a Dutch performance artist, choreographer, professor, film-maker and writer. She is an associate professor of Professional Practice at Barnard College and also the Director for the Movement Lab there.
Christa is a Senior Atlant ...
, a choreographer and filmmaker, and their daughter Idea (born 30 June 2003).
Influences
Reid has cited
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...
,
James Brown
James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...
,
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
,
Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is a British musician, songwriter, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session ...
,
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...
,
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...
,
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...
,
Carlos Santana
Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist who rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band Santana, which pioneered a fusion of Rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound featured ...
,
Eddie Hazel
Edward Earl Hazel (April 10, 1950 – December 23, 1992) was an American guitarist and singer in early funk music who played lead guitar with Parliament-Funkadelic. Hazel was a posthumous inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in ...
,
John McLaughlin John or Jon McLaughlin may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* John McLaughlin (musician) (born 1942), English jazz fusion guitarist, member of Mahavishnu Orchestra
* Jon McLaughlin (musician) (born 1982), American singer-songwriter
* John McLaug ...
,
Jimmy Page
James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...
,
Eddie Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he co-founded along ...
, and
Dr. Know among his influences.
Equipment
![Vernon Reid](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Vernon_Reid.jpg)
During the early years of Living Colour, Reid used a multi-colored
ESP
ESP most commonly refers to:
* Extrasensory perception, a paranormal ability
ESP may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment Music
* ESP Guitars, a manufacturer of electric guitars
* E.S. Posthumus, an independent music group formed in 2000, ...
Mirage with
EMG pickups, and he was an endorser of the A/DA MP-1 preamp. During the mid-1980s, Reid commissioned a highly figured maple custom guitar from Vancouver-based luthier Martini Guitars. This guitar was later acquired by Bob Wiseman, a founding member of the band Blue Rodeo. In later years, Reid has used custom
Hamer guitars
Hamer Guitars was an American manufacturer of electric guitars founded in 1973, in Wilmette, Illinois, by vintage guitar shop owners Paul Hamer and Jol Dantzig. The company's early instruments featured guitar designs based on the Gibson Explorer ...
, and started a relationship with
Parker Guitars
Parker Guitars was an American manufacturer of electric and acoustic guitars and basses, founded by luthier Ken Parker in 1993. Parker guitars were distinguished for their characteristic light weight and the use of composite materials. , who built the ''DF824VR'' Vernon Reid signature model based on their ''Dragonfly'' design. it has EMG-X pickups in a
H SS layout with 5-way switching system, a
Floyd Rose
The Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo, or simply Floyd Rose, is a type of locking vibrato arm for a guitar. Floyd D. Rose invented the locking vibrato in 1976, the first of its kind, and it is now manufactured by a company of the same name. The Floyd R ...
vibrato (a first for Parker), and a
Roland
Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...
GK divided pickup.
In 2016, he switched to
PRS and was working on a signature model with them. The result is the PRS S2 VR Vela.
ESP Released the 86-run limited edition Cult '86 based on the original used on "
Cult of Personality
A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create an id ...
."
Selected discography
With Living Colour
With Masque
* ''
Mistaken Identity
Mistaken identity is a defense in criminal law which claims the actual innocence of the criminal defendant, and attempts to undermine evidence of guilt by asserting that any eyewitness to the crime incorrectly thought that they saw the defendan ...
'' (Sony, 1996)
* ''
Known Unknown'' (Sony, 2004)
* ''
Other True Self
''Other True Self'' is an album by American guitarist and Living Colour member Vernon Reid, his third as a leader. It was recorded in October 2005 at Gigantic Studios in New York City, and was released in 2006 by Favored Nations. On the album, Reid ...
'' (2006)
With Yohimbe Brothers
* ''
Front End Lifter
''Front End Lifter'' is an album by the Yohimbe Brothers, featuring guitarist Vernon Reid and turntablist DJ Logic. It was recorded at DharmaLab, Reid's home studio in Staten Island, New York, and was released in 2002 by Ropeadope Records. On the ...
'' (2002)
* ''
The Tao of Yo
''The Tao of Yo'' is an album by the Yohimbe Brothers, featuring guitarist Vernon Reid and turntablist DJ Logic. It was released in 2004 by Thirsty Ear Recordings.
Reception
In a review for AllMusic, Sean Westergaard called the album a "genre-sma ...
'' (2004)
Obscure and/or unreleased
* ''This Little Room'' (Sony, 2000)
In collaboration
* With
Bill Frisell
William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist, composer and arranger. Frisell first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts ...
: ''
Smash & Scatteration
''Smash & Scatteration'' is an album by guitarists Vernon Reid and Bill Frisell which was originally released on the Minor Music in 1985 before being rereleased on CD on Rykodisc.
Reception
The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow called it a "hectic ...
'' (Minor Music, 1984)
* With
Elliott Sharp
Elliott Sharp (born March 1, 1951) is an American contemporary classical composer, multi-instrumentalist, and performer.
A central figure in the avant-garde and experimental music scene in New York City since the late 1970s, Sharp has released ...
and
David Torn
David M. Torn (born May 26, 1953) is an American guitarist, composer, and producer. He is known for combining electronic and acoustic instruments and for his use of looping.
Background
Torn has contributed to recordings by artists as diverse ...
: ''
GTR OBLQ'' (1998)
* With
Jack Bruce
John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and bassist of British rock band Cream. After the group disbande ...
,
John Medeski
Anthony John Medeski (born June 28, 1965) is an American jazz keyboard player and composer. Medeski is a veteran of New York's 1990s avant-garde jazz scene and is known popularly as a member of Medeski Martin & Wood. He plays the acoustic piano ...
and
Cindy Blackman Santana
Cindy Blackman Santana (born November 18, 1959), sometimes known as Cindy Blackman, is an American jazz and rock drummer. Blackman has recorded several jazz albums as a bandleader and has performed with Pharoah Sanders, Sonny Simmons, Ron Cart ...
: ''
Spectrum Road
''Spectrum Road'' is the debut album by the American supergroup of the same name, featuring bassist and vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist Vernon Reid, keyboard player John Medeski, and drummer Cindy Blackman Santana. The group's sole release, it was ...
'' (2012)
* With
Melvin Gibbs
Melvin Gibbs is an American bass guitarist who has appeared on close to 200 albums in diverse genres of music. Among others, Gibbs is known for working in jazz with drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson and guitarist Sonny Sharrock, and in rock music ...
/
Mary Halvorson
Mary Halvorson (born October 16, 1980) is an American avant-garde jazz composer and guitarist from Brookline, Massachusetts.
Among her many collaborations, she has: led a trio with and Ches Smith, and a quintet with the addition of Jon Irabago ...
/
Lee Ranaldo
Lee Mark Ranaldo (born February 3, 1956) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, guitarist, writer, visual artist and record producer, best known as a co-founder of the alternative rock band Sonic Youth (guitar and vocals). In 2004, ''Rolling ...
/Vernon Reid/
Elliott Sharp
Elliott Sharp (born March 1, 1951) is an American contemporary classical composer, multi-instrumentalist, and performer.
A central figure in the avant-garde and experimental music scene in New York City since the late 1970s, Sharp has released ...
''
Christian Marclay
Christian Marclay (born January 11, 1955) is a visual artist and composer. He holds both American and Swiss nationality.
Marclay's work explores connections between sound, noise, photography, video, and film. A pioneer of using gramophone records ...
:
Graffiti Composition'' (2010;
Dog w/ a Bone Records)
As sideman
With
Geri Allen
Geri Antoinette Allen (June 12, 1957 – June 27, 2017) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. In addition to her career as a performer and bandleader, Allen was also an associate professor of music at the University of Pittsburgh ...
*''
The Gathering'' (Verve, 1998)
With
Cindy Blackman
Cindy Blackman Santana (born November 18, 1959), sometimes known as Cindy Blackman, is an American jazz and rock drummer. Blackman has recorded several jazz albums as a bandleader and has performed with Pharoah Sanders, Sonny Simmons, Ron Carter ...
* ''
Another Lifetime'' (4Q, 2010)
With
Jack Bruce
John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and bassist of British rock band Cream. After the group disbande ...
*''
More Jack than God
''More Jack than God'' is the thirteenth studio album by Scottish musician Jack Bruce, released in August 2003. It was the second of two Bruce albums to be co-produced by Kip Hanrahan.
Track listing
# "So They Invented Race" (Bruce, Kip Hanrah ...
'' (Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., 2003)
With
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. Chapman is best known for her hit singles "Fast Car" and "Give Me One Reason".
Chapman was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987. The following year she released ...
* ''
Matters of the Heart'' (Elektra Records, 1992)
With Free Form Funky Freqs
*''
Urban Mythology Volume One
''Urban Mythology Volume One'' is the debut album by American experimental power trio Free Form Funky Frēqs, featuring guitarist Vernon Reid, bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma, and drummer G. Calvin Weston. It was recorded during the summer of 2007 at F ...
'' (2008)
*''Bon Vivant'' (2013)
*''Hymn of the 3rd Galaxy'' (Ropeadope, 2022)
With
Ronald Shannon Jackson
Ronald Shannon Jackson (January 12, 1940 – October 19, 2013) was an American jazz drummer from Fort Worth, Texas. A pioneer of avant-garde jazz, free funk, and jazz fusion, he appeared on over 50 albums as a bandleader, sideman, arranger, and ...
and the Decoding Society
*''
Mandance
''Man Dance'' is an album by Ronald Shannon Jackson and The Decoding Society, recorded in 1982 for the Antilles label.
Reception
The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow stated: "The ensemble-oriented 'free funk' music of drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson ...
'' (Antilles, 1982)
*''
Barbeque Dog
''Barbeque Dog'' is an album by Ronald Shannon Jackson and The Decoding Society, recorded in 1983 for the Antilles Records, Antilles label. '' (Antilles, 1983)
*''Montreux Jazz Festival'' (Knit Classics, 1983)
*''
Decode Yourself
''Decode Yourself'' is an album by Ronald Shannon Jackson and The Decoding Society, recorded in 1985 for the Island Records, Island label.
Critical reception
The AllMusic review by Stephen Cook stated: "The range of styles found on drummer Ronald ...
'' (Island, 1985)
With
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
* ''
Primitive Cool
''Primitive Cool'' is the second solo album by English singer Mick Jagger and was released in 1987. As the follow-up to Jagger's 1985 album ''She's the Boss'', ''Primitive Cool'' was another attempt by Jagger to make him a solo star.
Background ...
'' (Columbia Records, 1987)
With
Garland Jeffreys
Garland Jeffreys (born June 29, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter in rock and roll, reggae, blues, and soul music.
Career
Jeffreys is from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, of African American and Puerto Rican heritage. He majored in art hist ...
* ''
Don't Call Me Buckwheat
''Don't Call Me Buckwheat'' is an album by Garland Jeffreys. It was released in 1992 by RCA Records, his first album in nine years. The title of the album is a reference to a derogatory remark directed toward Jeffreys at a Mets game.
The lead sin ...
'' (RCA Records, 1991)
With
K'naan
Keinan Abdi Warsame (born 1 February 1978) ( so, Keynaan Cabdi Warsame, ar, كَينَان عَبدِ وَرسَمَ ''Kaynān ʿAbdi Warsama''), better known by his stage name K'naan (), is a Somali-Canadian musician. He rose to prominence ...
* ''
Troubadour
A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...
'' (A&M, 2009)
With
Public Enemy
"Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe p ...
* ''
Yo! Bum Rush the Show
''Yo! Bum Rush the Show'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop group Public Enemy, released on February 10, 1987. It was recorded at Spectrum City Studios in Hempstead, New York, and became one of the fastest-selling hip hop records, but ...
'' (Def Jam, 1987)
With
DJ Spooky
Paul Dennis Miller (born September 6, 1970), known professionally as DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid, is an American electronic and experimental hip hop musician whose work is often called by critics "illbient" or "trip hop". He is a turntabli ...
and
Dave Lombardo
David Lombardo (born February 16, 1965) is a Cuban-American drummer, best known as a co-founding member of American thrash metal band Slayer. He is currently playing drums with Testament, Fantômas, Suicidal Tendencies, Dead Cross, Mr. Bungle ...
* ''
Drums of Death'' (Thirsty Ear, 2005)
With Mitch Winston and the Band of Natural Selection
* ''Right Back'' (2002)
Media appearances
* ''Cyberpunk'' (1990)
References
External links
Vernon Reidat
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
Vernon Reid video interviewTracie Morris, Vernon Reid interview ''BOMB'' 43/Spring 1993
Vernon Reid Interview - NAMM Oral History Library (2016)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, Vernon
1958 births
Living people
Ableton Live users
American rock guitarists
Alternative metal guitarists
American heavy metal guitarists
American musicians of Caribbean descent
British emigrants to the United States
Lead guitarists
Living Colour members
New York University alumni
People from Staten Island
550 Music artists
Brooklyn Technical High School alumni
20th-century American guitarists
Thirsty Ear Recordings artists
Ropeadope Records artists
Knitting Factory Records artists
African-American rock musicians
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American musicians