Annette Peacock is an American composer, musician, songwriter, producer, and arranger. She is a pioneer in electronic music who combined her voice with one of the first Moog synthesizers in the late 1960s.

Biography

Annette Peacock was writing music by the time she was four years old. She is self-taught except for her time as a student at The Juilliard School in the early 1970s. She grew up in California. She moved to New York to marry jazz bassist Gary Peacock in 1960. During the early 1960s, she was an associate and guest of

Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from bold oracle to publicity hound. He was "a her ...

. and

Ram Das Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert; April 6, 1931 – December 22, 2019), also known as Baba Ram Dass, was an American spiritual teacher, guru of modern yoga, psychologist, and author. His best-selling 1971 book '' Be Here Now'', which has been d ...

at Millbrook, and was among the first to study Zen Macrobiotics with Michio Kushi, a discipline she continues to uphold. Peacock toured Europe with avant-garde jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler while she was married to Gary Peacock, then pianist Paul Bley. Her compositions appeared on his album ''

Ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

'' and influenced the style of

ECM Records ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) is an independent record label founded by Karl Egger, Manfred Eicher and Manfred Scheffner in Munich in 1969. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a variety of recordings, and ECM's ...

. She was a pioneer in synthesizing electronic vocals after having been given a prototype of the first designed

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 2014 ...

by its inventor,

Robert Moog Robert Arthur Moog ( ; May 23, 1934 – August 21, 2005) was an American engineer and electronic music pioneer. He was the founder of the synthesizer manufacturer Moog Music and the inventor of the first commercial synthesizer, the Moog synthes ...

. She performed with the Bley-Peacock Synthesizer Show at New York's

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually house ...

in November 1969 and the next month at Philharmonic Hall which she promoted with late-night TV ads and an appearance on The Johnny Carson Show. Her official debut solo album, '' I'm the One'' (

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Ar ...

), was released in 1972. During the 1970s and '80s, she worked with

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before moving back to the U.S. The album '' An Acrobat's Heart'' (ECM, 2000) took two years to compose and arrange, and broke her twelve-year hiatus from recording.

Critical reception

"Annette Peacock is a stone cold original – an innovator, an outlier, authentically sui generis," said John Doran of ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

''.

Discography

As leader

* 1972 '' I'm the One'' (

) (reissued in 2010 on ironic US, and in 2012 on Future Days) * 1978 '' X-Dreams'' (Aura Records) * 1979 '' The Perfect Release'' (Aura) * 1982 ''Sky Skating'' (ironic) * 1983 ''Been in the Streets Too Long'' (ironic) * 1986 ''I Have No Feelings'' (ironic) * 1988 ''Abstract-Contact'' (ironic) * 2000 '' An Acrobat's Heart'' (

ECM ECM may refer to: Economics and commerce * Engineering change management * Equity capital markets * Error correction model, an econometric model * European Common Market Mathematics * Elliptic curve method * European Congress of Mathematics ...

) * 2005 ''31:31'' (ironic US) * 2014 ''I Belong to a World That's Destroying Itself'' ka ''Revenge''(ironic US)

Singles

* "Don't Be Cruel" / "Dear Bela" (Aura, 1978) * "Love's Out to Lunch" / "Rubber Hunger" (Aura, 1979) * "Sky-skating" / "Taking It as It Comes" (ironic, 1981)

Compilations

* 2004 ''My Mama Never Taught Me How To Cook... (The Aura Years 1978 -1982)'' (Sanctuary Records)

As co-leader or sidewoman

* 1971 ''Revenge: The Bigger The Love The Greater The Hate'', Bley-Peacock Synthesizer Show * 1971 '' The Paul Bley Synthesizer Show'', Paul Bley (composer only) * 1971 '' Improvisie'', with Paul Bley * 1972 '' Dual Unity'' with Paul Bley * 1978 ''

Feels Good to Me ''Feels Good to Me'' is the 1978 debut solo album by former Yes and King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford. The band Bruford grew out of the line-up assembled for this album. The album features guitarist Allan Holdsworth, bassist Jeff Berlin, keyboar ...

'',

* 2006 '' Sound Mirrors'',

Coldcut Coldcut are an English electronic music duo composed of Matt Black and Jonathan More. Credited as pioneers for pop sampling in the 1980s, Coldcut are also considered the first stars of UK electronic dance music due to their innovative style, ...

Compositions appeared on

*1965: Paul Bley Trio - '' Touching'' ("Touching", "Both" & "Cartoon") *1966: Paul Bley Trio - '' Closer'' ("Cartoon") *1967: Paul Bley - ''

Ramblin' ''Ramblin' on My Mind'' is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams, released in 1979, by Folkways Records. Produced by Tom Royals, and recorded in Mississippi in the late 1970s, the album features a collection of tra ...

'' ("Both", "Albert's Love Theme" & "Touching") *1967: Paul Bley, Gary Peacock,

Barry Altschul Barry Altschul (born January 6, 1943, New York City) is a free jazz and hard bop drummer who first came to notice in the late 1960s for performing with pianists Paul Bley and Chick Corea. Biography Altschul is of Russian Jewish heritage, the ...

- ''

Virtuosi A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'' or , "virtuous", Late Latin ''virtuosus'', Latin ''virtus'', "virtue", "excellence" or "skill") is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as ...

'' (all compositions: "Butterflies" & "Gary") *1968: Paul Bley - ''

Mr. Joy ''Mr. Joy'' is an album led by jazz pianist Paul Bley recorded in the studio and in concert in Seattle in 1968 and released on the Limelight label.

'' (all compositions: "Kid Dynamite", "Nothing Ever Was, Anyway", "El Cordobes", "Touching", "Blood" & "Mr. Joy") *1968: Paul Bley - ''

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'' ("Mr. Joy" & "Kid Dynamite") *1968: Karin Krog and Friends - ''Joy'' ("Mr. Joy") *1970: Paul Bley & Gary Peacock - ''

Paul Bley with Gary Peacock ''Paul Bley with Gary Peacock'' is an album by Canadian jazz pianist Paul Bley with American bassist Gary Peacock recorded in 1963 and 1968 and released on the ECM Records, ECM label in 1970.

'' (all compositions: "Gary" & "Albert's Love Theme") *1971: Paul Bley - '' The Paul Bley Synthesizer Show'' (all compositions:"Mr. Joy", "The Archangel", "Nothing Ever Was, Anyway", "Gary", "Snakes", "Parks" & "Circles") *1971: Paul Bley - ''

'' (all compositions:"Ending", "Circles" & "So Hard It Hurts") *1972: Paul Bley - '' Open, to Love'' ("Open, to Love" & "Nothing Ever Was, Anyway") *1973:

Al Kooper Al Kooper (born Alan Peter Kuperschmidt; February 5, 1944) is a retired American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears, although he did not stay with the group long enough to share its popularity. ...

- ''

Naked Songs ''Naked Songs'' is the sixth album by American singer-songwriter Al Kooper for Columbia Records, released in 1973. Two singles were released in the fall of 1972, preceding the album. Background A contract-fulfilling release, coming months after ...

'' ("Been and Gone") *1973: Paul Bley &

Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (, 27 May 1946 – 19 April 2005), also known by his abbreviated nickname NHØP, was a Danish jazz double bassist. Biography Pedersen was born in Osted, near Roskilde, on the Danish island of Zealand, the son of ...

- ''

Paul Bley/NHØP ''Paul Bley/NHØP'' is a jazz duet album by Paul Bley and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, released on SteepleChase Records in 1973.Mick Ronson Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session music ...

- '' Slaughter on 10th Avenue'' ("I'm the One") & (7 Days) *1974: Paul Bley &

Jaco Pastorius John Francis Anthony "Jaco" Pastorius III (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987) was an American jazz bassist, composer and producer. He recorded albums as a solo artist and band leader and was a member of Weather Report from 1976 to 1981. ...

- '' Jaco'' ("Blood") *1975: Paul Bley – ''

Alone, Again ''Alone, Again'' is a solo piano album by Paul Bley, recorded in Norway in 1974 and released on Bley's own Improvising Artists label in 1975.

'' ("Dreams") *1978:

- ''

'' ("Back to the Beginning", "Seems Like a Lifetime Ago (Part One)", "Adios A La Pasada (Goodbye to the Past)") *1986: Paul Bley - '' Fragments'' ("Nothing Ever Was, Anyway") *1992: Paul Bley, Franz Koglmann, Gary Peacock - '' Annette'' ("Touching" (2 takes), "El Cordobes", "Cartoon", "Albert's Love Theme", "Kid Dynamite", "Miracles", "Blood (2 takes), "Both", "Mister Joy") *1996:

Marilyn Crispell Marilyn Crispell (born March 30, 1947) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Scott Yanow described her as "a powerful player... who has her own way of using space... She is near the top of her field." Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrot ...

, Gary Peacock &

Paul Motian Stephen Paul Motian (March 25, 1931 – November 22, 2011) was an American jazz drummer, percussionist, and composer. Motian played an important role in freeing jazz drummers from strict time-keeping duties. He first came to prominence in the ...

- '' Nothing Ever Was, Anyway: Music of Annette Peacock'' (all compositions: "Nothing Ever Was, Anyway", "Butterflies That I Feel Inside Me", "Open, to Love", "Cartoon", "Albert's Love Theme", "Dreams (If Time Weren't)", "Touching", "Both", "You've Left Me", "Miracles", "Ending" & "Blood") *2006:

- "Just For The Kick" ft. Annette Peacock *2014: Eric Plandé, Uwe Oberg, Peter Perfido - ''Touching'' ("Touching") *2015: Uwe Oberg - '' Twice, At Least'' ("Touching") *2016:

Nels Cline Nels Courtney Cline (born January 4, 1956) is an American guitarist and composer. He has been the guitarist for the band Wilco since 2004. In the 1980s he played jazz, often in collaboration with his twin brother Alex, a percussionist. He has w ...

- '' Lovers'' medley of ("So Hard It Hurts/Touching") arranged by Michael Leonhart *2016: Uwe Oberg & Silke Eberhard - '' Turns'' ("Both", "Mr. Joy")

References

External links

Official website
- offline (Nov. 13, 2017) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Peacock, Annette Living people Musicians from Brooklyn American contraltos American jazz composers American women composers American women jazz musicians American women jazz singers American jazz singers American women in electronic music 1941 births Jazz musicians from New York (state) ECM Records artists 21st-century American women