Category Archives: psychedelic music

Goodbye 2024

avant-garde, classical, electroacoustic, electronic music, experimental music, folk / folk-rock, improvisation, jazz, Krautrock, music, obituary, progessive rock, psychedelic music, vocal, ,
Damo Suzuki

Once again the music world has lost another long list of people. From Damo Suzuki to Françoise Hardy to Dickie Betts to Quincy Jones. Luckily, many led very long and productive lives and gave us a large legacy to look back upon.

Steve Albini (American musician for Big Black, and recording engineer for In Utero)
Dave Allison (Canadian guitarist and singer for Anvil)
Ian Amey (English musician and singer for Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich)
Alfa Anderson (American singer for Chic)
John Barbata (American rock drummer for The Turtles, Jefferson Airplane)
Aston “Family Man” Barrett (Jamaican musician for Bob Marley and the Wailers)
Jim Beard (American keyboardist for Steely Dan)
Ernest Berger (Czechoslovak-born British drummer for Heatwave)
Dickey Betts (American musician for The Allman Brothers Band)
Frankie Beverly (American singer for Maze
John Blunt (British drummer for The Searchers)
Angela Bofill (American singer-songwriter)
Vincent Bonham (American singer for Raydio)
Mike Brewer (American musician for Brewer & Shipley)
Dean Brown (American jazz guitarist)
Jon Card (German-born Canadian drummer for SNFU)
Eric Carmen (American singer, songwriter, and musician for Raspberries)
Buzz Cason (American singer and songwriter)
Joe Chambers (American singer for The Chambers Brothers)
James Chance (American musician for James Chance and the Contortions)
Tony Clarkin (English guitarist and songwriter for Magnum)
Charlie Colin (American bassist and guitarist for Train)
Pat Collier (English musician for The Vibrators)
Eleanor Collins (Canadian jazz singer, television host and civic leader)
Gerry Conway (English drummer and percussionist)
Michael Cuscuna (American jazz record producer and music journalist for DownBeat, co-founder of Mosaic Records)
Daddae (English musician for Soul II Soul)
Palle Danielsson (Swedish jazz double bassist)
James Darren (American singer)
Sir Andrew Davis (English conductor for BBC Symphony Orchestra)
Rohan de Saram (British-born Sri Lankan cellist for Arditti Quartet)
Paul Di’Anno (English heavy metal singer for Iron Maiden)
Lou Donaldson (American jazz saxophonist)
Slim Dunlap (American guitarist for The Replacements)
Duane Eddy (American guitarist)
Joe Egan (Scottish songwriter singer for Stealers Wheel)
Ben Eldridge (American five-string banjo player for The Seldom Scene)
Péter Eötvös (Hungarian composer, conductor and teacher)
Duke Fakir (American singer for Four Tops)
Henry Fambrough (American singer for The Spinners)
Frank Farian (German singer, songwriter and record producer for Milli Vanilli)
Herbie Flowers (English musician for Blue Mink)
Tom Fowler (American bass guitarist and musician for Frank Zappa)
Artt Frank (American jazz drummer and biographer for Chet Baker)
Kinky Friedman (American musician, writer, and politician)
Agnes Buen Garnås (Norwegian singer)
Cynthia Garrison (American singer for The Three Degrees)
Paul Gilmartin (British drummer for The Danse Society)
Benny Golson (American jazz saxophonist and composer)
Gabriel Gonzalez (American musician for No Doubt)
Nick Gravenites (American blues musician for The Electric Flag)
Robin Guy (British drummer for Sham 69)
Guylaine Guy (Canadian singer and painter)
Françoise Hardy (French singer-songwriter and actress)
Steve Harley (English songwriter, producer, and musician for Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel)
Alex Hassilev (American musician for The Limeliters)
Jimmy Hastings (British musician for Caravan)
Michel Hausser (French jazz vibraphonist)
John Hawken (English keyboard player for The Nashville Teens, Strawbs)
Roy Haynes (American jazz drummer)
Gaps Hendrickson (British musician and vocalist for The Selecter)
Fritz Hinz (Canadian drummer for Helix)
Malcolm Holcombe (American singer-songwriter)
Bill Holman (American jazz composer and saxophonist)
Cissy Houston (American singer for The Sweet Inspirations)
Frank Ifield (Australian singer)
Doug Ingle (American musician for Iron Butterfly)
Reuben Jackson (American poet and jazz historian)
Tito Jackson (American musician for The Jackson 5)
Jimmy James (Jamaican-British singer)
Laurie Johnson (English composer and bandleader)
Jack Jones (American singer)
Quincy Jones (American record producer and composer)
Chris Karrer (German guitarist and composer for Amon Düül II)
Toby Keith (American country singer)
Conrad Kelly (Jamaican-born British drummer for Steel Pulse)
Rashid Khan (Indian Hindustani classical musician)
Greg Kihn (American musician for The Greg Kihn Band)
Steve Kille (American musician for Dead Meadow)
John Koerner (American songwriter and guitarist for Koerner, Ray & Glover)
James Kottak (American drummer for Scorpions)
Wayne Kramer (American songwriter and guitarist for MC5)
Kris Kristofferson (American actor and musician for The Highwaymen)
Neil Kulkarni (British music journalist for Melody Maker)
Linda LaFlamme (American singer)
Alcides Lanza (Argentine-born Canadian composer)
Ben Lanzarone (American composer for The Love Boat)
Teddy Lasry (French sax player for MAGMA)
Steve Lawrence (American actor and singer for Steve & Eydie)
Keith LeBlanc (American drummer for Little Axe)
Martin Lee (English singer for Brotherhood of Man)
Phil Lesh (American Hall of Fame musician for Grateful Dead)
Steve Lewinson (British bass guitarist for Simply Red)
David Libert (American music executive, musician for The Happenings)
Dave Loggins (American singer and songwriter)
John Lowe (English pianist for The Quarrymen)
Russell Malone (American jazz guitarist)
Richard Macphail (English musician for Anon)
Ed Mann (American drummer and keyboardist for Frank Zappa)
Brother Marquis (American rapper for 2 Live Crew)
Shaun Martin (American record producer and musician for Snarky Puppy)
John Mayall (English songwriter and musician for John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers)
Albert Mayr (Italian composer of experimental and contemporary music)
Melanie (American singer-songwriter and guitarist)
Sérgio Mendes (Brazilian bossa nova musician)
Jerry Miller (American musician for Moby Grape)
Zoot Money (English singer and keyboardist for The Animals)
Roli Mosimann (Swiss-born American musician for Swans)
Johnny Neel (American musician for The Allman Brothers Band)
Phill Niblock (American composer, filmmaker and videographer)
Annie Nightingale (English radio and television broadcaster for Old Grey Whistle Test, BBC Radio 1)
Phil Nimmons (Canadian jazz clarinetist)
Mojo Nixon (American musician and actor)
Rocket Norton (Canadian drummer for Prism)
Seiji Ozawa (Japanese conductor for Boston Symphony Orchestra)
Larry Page (English pop singer and record producer)
Roger Palm (Swedish drummer for ABBA)
Del Palmer (English singer-songwriter, bass guitarist, and sound engineer)
Liam Payne (English singer for One Direction)
Colin Petersen (Australian drummer for Bee Gees)
Barre Phillips (American jazz bassist)
Mike Pinera (American guitarist for Blues Image)
Mike Pinder (English musician for The Moody Blues)
John Pisano (American jazz guitarist)
Maurizio Pollini (Italian pianist)
Sandy Posey (American singer)
Catherine Ribeiro (French singer for Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes)
Wolfgang Rihm (German composer)
Lucy Rimmer (British vocalist for The Fall)
Gerry Robinson (British musician for The Purple Gang)
Chita Rivera (American actress and singer)
Chan Romero (American singer-songwriter and guitarist)
Dexter Romweber (American musician for Flat Duo Jets)
Jack Russell (American singer and songwriter for Great White)
Freddie Salem (American guitarist for Outlaws)
David Sanborn (American alto saxophonist and television host for Night Music)
Dennis Schiavon (British musician for The Rezillos)
Peter Schickele (American composer and musical satirist for P. D. Q. Bach)
B. B. Seaton (Jamaican songwriter, record producer and singer for The Gaylads)
Leif Segerstam (Finnish conductor for Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra)
Marlena Shaw (American singer)
Screamin’ Scott Simon (American pianist and singer for Sha Na Na)
Peter Sinfield (English lyricist, record producer, and musician for King Crimson)
Nell Smith (Canadian singer for The Flaming Lips)
Jo-El Sonnier (American singer-songwriter and accordionist)
David Soul (American-British actor and singer)
JD Souther (American singer-songwriter)
Mark Spiro (American songwriter and record producer)
T. M. Stevens (American bass guitarist for The Pretenders)
Roni Stoneman (American bluegrass banjo player for Hee Haw)
Damo Suzuki (Japanese songwriter and singer for Can)
Shel Talmy (American record producer)
Richard Tandy (English musician for Electric Light Orchestra)
Pooch Tavares (American singer for Tavares)
Bobby Tench (British musician for The Jeff Beck Group)
Dennis Thompson (American Hall of Fame drummer MC5)
Johnny Thunder (American singer)
Libby Titus (American singer-songwriter)
Ken Tobias (Canadian singer-songwriter)
Happy Traum (American folk singer
Andrew Turner (British broadcaster for BBC Radio 1)
Mick Underwood (English drummer for Quatermass)
Jimmy Van Eaton (American rock drummer, singer and record producer)
Karl Wallinger (Welsh songwriter and musician for World Party)
Max Werner (Dutch singer and drummer for Kayak)
Gavin Webb (Australian rock bassist for The Masters Apprentices)
Mary Weiss (American singer for The Shangri-Las)
Harry Williams (American singer for Bloodstone)
Russ Wilson (Canadian bass guitarist for Junkhouse)
Steve Wright (English disc jockey for BBC Radio 1 and television presenter for Top of the Pops)
Marian Zazeela (American visual and musical artist)


Françoise Hardy

Goodbye 2023

classical, electroacoustic, electronic music, experimental music, Gone Gone Gone, improvisation, jazz, music, obituary, progessive rock, psychedelic music, vocal, , , , , ,
Jeff Beck

We lost another batch of big name musicians in 2023 including Jeff Beck, Burt Bacharach, Robbie Robertson, Gordon Lightfoot, Carla Bley, Charles Gayle, David Crosby, Ahmad Jamal, Tony McPhee, Shane MacGowan, Sinéad O’Connor, Tony Oxley, Kaija Saariaho and Tina Turner.

I was especially saddened to learn of the passing of a couple of people who used to send me their music to air on my radio programme over the course of my 25 years on the radio. Both Gloria Coates and Steve Roden have made their way onto the list this year.

Ed Ames (American actor and singer for Ames Brothers)
Katherine Anderson (American singer for The Marvelettes)
Stanley Appel (British television producer for Top of the Pops)
Kirk Arrington (American drummer for Metal Church)
Clarence Avant (American music executive and film producer, founder of Sussex Records)
Burt Bacharach (American Hall of Fame composer, six-time Grammy winner)
Robbie Bachman (Canadian hard rock drummer for Bachman-Turner Overdrive)
Tim Bachman (Canadian guitarist for Bachman-Turner Overdrive)
Ian Bairnson (Scottish musician for The Alan Parsons Project)
Philip Balsam (Canadian songwriter for Fraggle Rock)
Clarence Barlow (British composer)
Bruce Barthol (American bassist for Country Joe and the Fish)
Russell Batiste Jr (American drummer for The Meters)
Jeff Beck (British guitarist for The Yardbirds, The Jeff Beck Group)
Harry Belafonte (American Hall of Fame musician)
Tony Bennett (American singer)
Karl Berger (German jazz pianist, composer, and educator)
Jane Birkin (English-French singer and actress)
Jeff Blackburn (American songwriter and guitarist for Blackburn & Snow, Moby Grape)
Carla Bley (American jazz composer and musician for Jazz Composer’s Orchestra)
Peter Brötzmann (German jazz saxophonist)
Pete Brown (English poet, lyricist and singer)
Angelo Bruschini (English guitarist for Massive Attack)
Dennis Budimir (American jazz and rock guitarist for The Wrecking Crew)
Jimmy Buffett (American singer-songwriter)
Colin Burgess (Australian rock drummer The Masters Apprentices, AC/DC)
Bobby Caldwell (American singer and songwriter)
Ronnie Caryl (English guitarist for Flaming Youth, Phil Collins)
Paul Cattermole (English singer for S Club 7)
Monte Cazazza (American artist and composer)
Gloria Coates (American composer)
Tony Coe (English jazz musician)
Michael Cooper (Jamaican musician for Inner Circle)
David Crosby (American songwriter and singer for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young)
John Cutler (American record producer and audio engineer for Grateful Dead)
Dean Daughtry (American keyboard player for Atlanta Rhythm Section)
Richard Davis (American jazz bassist)
Charlie Dominici (American singer for Dream Theater)
Bobby Eli (American guitarist for MFSB)
Simon Emmerson (English record producer, DJ, and musician for Afro Celt Sound System)
José Evangelista (Spanish composer)
Johnny Fean (Irish guitarist for Horslips)
John Fitzpatrick (Irish violinist for Nightnoise and Jeff Johnson)
Jeffrey Foskett (American singer and songwriter for Beach Boys)
Pete Garner (British bassist for The Stone Roses)
Charles Gayle (American jazz saxophonist and pianist)
Renée Geyer (Australian singer)
John Giblin (Scottish bass player for Kate Bush)
Astrud Gilberto (Brazilian samba and bossa nova singer)
Brian Godding (Welsh jazz rock guitarist for Blossom Toes, Centipede)
Myles Goodwyn (Canadian singer for April Wine)
Jim Gordon (American convicted murderer and musician for Eric Clapton, Derek and the Dominos)
John Gosling (English keyboardist for The Kinks)
Bruce Guthro (Canadian singer-songwriter and musician for Runrig)
Dickie Harrell (American Hall of Fame drummer for Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps)
Wee Willie Harris (English rock and roll singer)
Steve Harwell (American singer for Smash Mouth)
Fuzzy Haskins (American singer for Parliament-Funkadelic)
Redd Holt (American jazz drummer)
Brad Houser (American musician for Edie Brickell & New Bohemians)
Ron Howden (English drummer for Nektar)
Ralph Humphrey (American rock drummer for The Mothers of Invention)
Rudolph Isley (American songwriter and singer for The Isley Brothers)
Chuck Jackson (American R&B singer)
Ahmad Jamal (American jazz pianist)
Stu James aka Slater (British music executive and singer for The Mojos)
Bob Johnson (British guitarist, singer and songwriter for Steeleye Span)
Scott Johnson (American composer)
Howie Kane (American pop singer for Jay and the Americans)
Seán Keane (Irish fiddler for The Chieftains)
Scott Kempner (American guitarist for The Dictators)
Terry Kirkman (American songwriter and musician for The Association)
Jean Knight (American singer)
David LaFlamme (American singer and violinist for It’s a Beautiful Day)
Denny Laine (English musician for Wings and singer for Moody Blues)
Bill Lee (American jazz musician and film composer)
Rita Lee (Brazilian singer for Os Mutantes)
Mylon LeFevre (American Christian rock singer)
Linda Lewis (English singer-songwriter)
Gordon Lightfoot (Canadian Hall of Fame singer-songwriter)
David Lindley (American musician)
Lord Creator (Trinidadian-born Jamaican singer-songwriter)
Robin Lumley (British jazz keyboardist for Brand X)
Ralph Lundsten (Swedish composer)
Laura Lynch (American musician for Dixie Chicks)
Shane MacGowan (Irish singer for The Pogues)
Steve Mackey (English record producer and bassist for Pulp)
Bernie Marsden (English rock guitarist for Whitesnake)
Manny Martínez (American drummer for The Misfits)
Brian McBride (American musician for Stars of the Lid)
Les McCann (American jazz musician)
Tony McPhee (English guitarist for The Groundhogs)
Randy Meisner (American musician for Eagles)
Mendelson Joe ( Canadian singer-songwriter)
Butch Miles (American jazz drummer)
Essra Mohawk (American singer-songwriter)
Francis Monkman (English musician for Curved Air)
Napoleon XIV (American singer)
Peter Nero (American pianist and conductor for Philly Pops)
Chas Newby (British early bassist for The Beatles)
Sinéad O’Connor (Irish singer)
Blackie Onassis (American rock drummer for Urge Overkill)
Tony Oxley (English free improvising drummer, co-founder of Incus Records)
Jon Povey (British musician for Pretty Things)
Lisa Marie Presley (American singer-songwriter)
Alberto Radius (Italian guitarist and singer-songwriter for Formula 3)
Alan Rankine (Scottish musician for The Associates)
Lee Rauch (American drummer for Megadeth)
Lance Reddick (American actor and musician)
Otis Redding III (American singer for The Reddings)
Sheldon Reynolds (American guitarist for Earth, Wind & Fire)
Robbie Robertson (Canadian musician for The Band and film composer)
Sixto Rodriguez (American singer-songwriter)
Steve Roden (American contemporary artist and musician for Forms of Paper)
Bernt Rosengren (Swedish jazz tenor saxophonist)
Gary Rossington (American Hall of Fame guitarist for Lynyrd Skynyrd)
Andy Rourke (English bassist for The Smiths)
Kaija Saariaho (Finnish composer)
Ryuichi Sakamoto (Japanese musician for Yellow Magic Orchestra)
Renata Scotto (Italian operatic soprano for La Scala)
Don Sebesky (American composer, arranger, and conductor)
Bob Segarini (American-Canadian radio presenter and musician for The Wackers)
Jah Shaka (Jamaican dub and reggae sound system operator)
Sweet Charles Sherrell (American bassist for James Brown)
Wayne Shorter (American jazz saxophonist)
Ray Shulman (English musician for Gentle Giant)
Mick Slattery (British guitarist for Hawkwind)
Huey “Piano” Smith (American R&B pianist and songwriter)
Tom Smothers (American comedian, musician for Smothers Brothers)
Floyd Sneed (Canadian drummer for Three Dog Night)
Jack Sonni (American musician for Dire Straits)
Seymour Stein (American Hall of Fame music executive, founder of Sire Records)
Lester Sterling (Jamaican saxophonist for The Skatalites)
April Stevens (American singer)
Mark Stewart (English musician for The Pop Group)
Chris Strachwitz (American record company founder and executive for Arhoolie Records)
Barrett Strong (American singer and songwriter)
Yukihiro Takahashi (Japanese drummer and singer for Yellow Magic Orchestra)
Ted “Kingsize” Taylor (British singer and guitarist for Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes)
Teresa Taylor (American drummer for Butthole Surfers)
Charlie Thomas (American Hall of Fame singer for The Drifters)
George Tickner (American rock guitarist for Journey)
Top Topham (English guitarist for The Yardbirds)
Ismaïla Touré (Senegalese musician for Touré Kunda)
Vivian Trimble (American musician for Luscious Jackson)
Trugoy the Dove (David Jude Jolicoeur) (American rapper for De La Soul)
Tina Turner (American-born Swiss Hall of Fame singer)
Dwight Twilley (American singer-songwriter)
Nancy Van de Vate (American composer)
Conny Van Dyke (American singer and actress)
Tom Verlaine (American musician for Television)
John Waddington (English guitarist for The Pop Group)
Geordie Walker (English guitarist for Killing Joke)
Lillian Walker (American singer for The Exciters)
Algy Ward (English heavy metal bassist for The Damned)
André Watts (American pianist and academic)
Cynthia Weil (American Hall of Fame songwriter)
Lasse Wellander (Swedish guitarist for ABBA)
George Winston (American pianist)
Fred White (American Hall of Fame drummer for Earth, Wind & Fire)
Roger Whittaker (British singer-songwriter)
Mars Williams (American saxophonist for The Waitresses, The Psychedelic Furs)
Gary Wright (American singer-songwriter and musician for Spooky Tooth)
Gary Young (American drummer for Pavement)

Kaija Saariaho

Goodbye 2022

avant-garde, classical, electroacoustic, electronic music, experimental music, folk / folk-rock, Gone Gone Gone, improvisation, jazz, Krautrock, music, obituary, progessive rock, psychedelic music
Klaus Schulze

Once again, many big names have left us. From Christine McVie to Angelo Badalamenti. As a fan of electronic music coming out of Germany since the 1970s, the deaths of both Klaus Schulze and Manuel Göttsching hit particularly hard. Also the deaths of Indian musicians Shivkumar Sharma and Lata Mangaeshkar.

The following list is just a small representation of some of the people that we have lost over the past year.

Jerry Allison (drummer for The Crickets)
Bruce Anderson (American guitarist for MX-80)
Jon Appleton (American composer and educator)
Angelo Badalamenti (American film and television composer for Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet)
Chris Bailey (Kenyan-born Australian musician and songwriter for The Saints)
John Beckwith (Canadian composer, writer and pianist)
Thom Bell (Jamaican-born American songwriter, arranger and record producer)
Sir Harrison Birtwistle (English composert)
Jet Black (English drummer for The Stranglers)
Gary Brooker (English singer-songwriter and pianist for Procol Harum)
Boris Brott (Canadian conductor)
Mira Calix (South African-born British visual artist and musician)
Irene Cara (American singer and actress)
Aaron Carter (American singer)
Steve Broughton (British rock musician for Edgar Broughton Band)
Manny Charlton (Scottish rock guitarist for Nazareth)
Coolio (American rapper)
Julee Cruise (American singer, musician and actress)
George Crumb (American composer)
Betty Davis (American funk and soul singer)
Jerry Doucette (Canadian musician)
Norman Dolph (American songwriter and record producer)
Lamont Dozier (American Hall of Fame songwriter, record producer and singer)
Martin Duffy (English keyboardist for Primal Scream)
Judith Durham (Australian singer for The Seekers)
Shirley Eikhard (Canadian singer-songwriter)
Ralph Emery (American disc jockey and television host)
Anton Fier (American composer, producer, and drummer for The Feelies, The Golden Palominos)
Andy Fletcher (English Hall of Fame keyboardist for Depeche Mode)
Ricky Gardiner (Scottish composer and guitarist Beggars Opera)
Mickey Gilley (American country singer)
Robert Gordon (American rockabilly singer)
Manuel Göttsching (German musician for Ash Ra Tempel)
Guitar Shorty (American blues musician)
Terry Hall (English singer for The Specials)
Ronnie Hawkins (American-Canadian rock and roll singer-songwriter)
Taylor Hawkins (American musician for Foo Fighters)
Paavo Heininen (Finnish composer and pianist)
Judy Henske (American folk singer)
Jeff Howell (American rock bassist for Foghat)
Toshi Ichiyanagi (Japanese composer and pianist)
Susan Jacks (Canadian singer-songwriter for The Poppy Family)
Philip Jeck (English composer)
James Johnson (American blues guitarist for Slim Harpo)
Jimmy Johnson (American blues guitarist and singer)
Wilko Johnson (English guitarist for Dr. Feelgood)
Syl Johnson (American blues singer)
Naomi Judd (American country singer for The Judds)
Danny Kalb (American blues guitarist for The Blues Project)
William Kraft (American composer and conductor)
Mark Lanegan (American singer-songwriter and musician for Screaming Trees)
Michael Lang (American concert producer, co-creator of Woodstock)
Keith Levene (English guitarist for Public Image Ltd., The Clash)
Gord Lewis (Canadian guitarist for Teenage Head)
Jerry Lee Lewis (American Hall of Fame singer and pianist)
Ramsey Lewis (American jazz pianist, composer)
Radu Lupu (Romanian pianist)
Loretta Lynn (country singer-songwriter)
Lata Mangeshkar (Indian playback singer and composer)
Ingram Marshall (American composer)
Dan McCafferty (Scottish songwriter and singer for Nazareth)
C. W. McCall (American country singer)
Ian McDonald (English musician for King Crimson)
Christine McVie (Fleetwood Mac, Chicken Shack)
Meat Loaf (American singer)
Charnett Moffett (American jazz bassist)
Grachan Moncur III (American jazz trombonist)
Massimo Morante (Italian guitarist for Goblin)
James Mtume (American percussionist for Mtume)
Rachel Nagy (American singer for The Detroit Cobras)
Sandy Nelson (American drummer)
Olivia Newton-John (British-Australian singer)
Nichelle Nichols (American actress on Star Trek and singer)
Mo Ostin (American record executive for Warner Bros. Records)
Mimi Parker (American singer and drummer for Low)
Ric Parnell (English drummer for Spinal Tap)
Kelly Joe Phelps (American blues musician)
Paul Plimley (Canadian free jazz pianist and vibraphonist)
Ned Rorem (American composer)
Badal Roy (American tabla player, percussionist and recording artist)
Bobby Rydell (American singer and actor)
Paul Ryder (English bassist for Happy Mondays)
Pharoah Sanders (American jazz saxophonist)
Klaus Schulze (German electronic musician and composer for Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel)
Jim Schwall (American blues musician for Siegel–Schwall Band)
Alexander Scriabin (Russian musicologist and composer)
Jim Seals (American songwriter and musician for Seals and Crofts)
Burke Shelley (Welsh bassist and vocalist for Budgie)
Paul Siebel (American singer-songwriter)
Shivkumar Sharma (Indian composer and santoor player for Shiv–Hari)
Mark Shreeve (British electronic songwriter and composer)
Kim Simmonds (British rock guitarist for Savoy Brown)
Lucy Simon (American composer and folk singer for The Simon Sisters)
Ronnie Spector (American Hall of Fame singer for The Ronette
Fredy Studer (Swiss drummer)
Creed Taylor (American jazz trumpeter and record producer, founder of Impulse! Records and CTI Records)
R. Dean Taylor (Canadian singer-songwriter)
Nicky Tesco (British singer for The Members)
Barbara Thompson (English jazz saxophonist for Colosseum)
Nik Turner (English musician for Hawkwind)
Ian Tyson (Canadian singer for Ian & Sylvia)
Vangelis (Greek film composer and musician for Aphrodite’s Child)
Fred Van Hove (Belgian jazz musician)
Natty Wailer (Jamaican musician)
Norma Waterson (English musician for The Watersons)
Alan White (drummer for Yes)
Roland White (American bluegrass music artist)
Don Wilson (American guitarist for The Ventures)
Drummie Zeb (English reggae record producer and musician for Aswad)

Christine McVie

Goodbye 2021 (another year to forget)

2021, avant-garde, classical, electroacoustic, electronic music, experimental music, folk / folk-rock, improvisation, jazz, music, obituary, progessive rock, psychedelic music
Jon Hassell

2021 was yet another year when Covid-19 dominated the news. I’m sure that we’re all glad to see the end of it. Let’s all hope for a better 2022.

The following list is just a small representation of some of the people that we have lost over the past year.

Louis Andriessen (Dutch composer for La Commedia)
Astro (British singer and musician for UB40)
Chris Barber (English jazz bandleader and trombonist)
Andy Barker (British musician for 808 State)
Byron Berline (American fiddler)
Jay Black (American singer for Jay and the Americans)
Tim Bogert (American rock bassist for Bogert & Appice)
Juini Booth (American jazz double-bassist for Sun Ra Arkestra)
Leslie Bricusse (British composer)
Gil Bridges (American musician for Rare Earth)
Ron Bushy (American drummer for Iron Butterfly)
Sylvano Bussotti (Italian composer, poet, and artistic director for Puccini Festival)
Alan Cartwright (English rock bassist for Procol Harum)
Malcolm Cecil (British musician for Tonto’s Expanding Head Band, Blues Incorporated and record producer for Stevie Wonder)
Joel Chadabe (American electronic music pioneer)
Emmett Chapman (American jazz musician, inventor of the Chapman Stick)
Michael Chapman (English singer-songwriter and guitarist)
Richard Cole (English music manager for Led Zeppelin)
Charles Connor (American drummer for Little Richard)
Billy Conway (American drummer for Morphine)
Gary Corbett (American rock keyboardist for KISS, Cinderella)
Chick Corea (American jazz keyboardist)
Paul Cotton (American musician for Poco)
DMX (American rapper)
John Drake (American singer for The Amboy Dukes)
Graeme Edge (English drummer for The Moody Blues)
Les Emmerson (Canadian singer for Five Man Electrical Band)
Sergio Esquivel (Mexican singer-songwriter)
Don Everly (American Hall of Fame singer for The Everly Brothers)
Bobby Few (American jazz pianist)
Pat Fish (English musician for The Jazz Butcher)
George Frayne IV (American country singer and keyboardist for Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen)
Denny Freeman (American blues guitarist and keyboardist)
Curtis Fuller (American jazz trombonist)
Djivan Gasparyan (Armenian musician and composer)
James Mac Gaw (French guitarist for Magma)
John Goodsall (American-British rock guitarist for Atomic Rooster, Brand X)
Milford Graves (American jazz drummer for New York Art Quartet)
Burton Greene (American jazz pianist)
Nanci Griffith (American singer-songwriter)
Tom T. Hall (American singer-songwriter)
Jon Hassell (American trumpeter and composer)
Roger Hawkins (American drummer and recording studio owner for Muscle Shoals Sound Studio)
Dusty Hill (American songwriter and musician for ZZ Top)
John Hinch (British drummer for Judas Priest)
John Dee Holeman (American Piedmont blues guitarist, singer and songwriter)
Paul Humphrey (Canadian musician for Blue Peter)
Paul Jackson (American jazz bassist for The Headhunters)
Stonewall Jackson (American country singer)
Bob James (American rock singer-songwriter for Montrose)
Joey Jordison (American musician for Slipknot)
Richard H. Kirk (English electronic musician for Cabaret Voltaire)
Bob Koester (American music executive, founder of Delmark Records)
Alexi Laiho (Finnish death metal singer-songwriter and guitarist for Children of Bodom)
Rick Laird (Irish jazz fusion bassist for Mahavishnu Orchestra)
Alan Lancaster (English rock bassist for Status Quo)
Anita Lane (Australian singer-songwriter for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds)
Bob Lanois (Canadian record producer and recording engineer)
David Lasley (American singer-songwriter)
John Lawton (English hard rock singer for Uriah Heep)
James Levine (American conductor and pianist for Metropolitan Opera)
Janice Long (English disc jockey for BBC Radio 1)
Alvin Lucier (American composer)
Kenny Malone (American drummer)
Junior Mance (American jazz pianist and educator)
Carlos Marín (Spanish singer for Il Divo)
Jon Mark (English singer-songwriter and guitarist)
Pat Martino (American jazz guitarist and composer)
Nobesuthu Mbadu (South African mbaqanga singer for Mahotella Queens)
Count M’Butu (American percussionist for The Derek Trucks Band)
Biz Markie (American rapper and actor)
Gerry Marsden (English musician for Gerry and the Pacemakers)
Barry Mason (English songwriter)
Marilyn McLeod (American singer-songwriter)
Les McKeown (Scottish singer for Bay City Rollers)
Mensi (English punk rock singer for Angelic Upstarts)
John Miles (British singer-songwriter and musician)
Mike Mitchell (American musician for The Kingsmen)
Paddy Moloney (Irish musician for The Chieftains)
Everett Morton (Kittitian-born British drummer for The Beat / The English Beat)
Juan Nelson (American bassist for Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals)
Michael Nesmith (American musician for The Monkees)
Melvin Parker (American drummer for James Brown)
Anthony Payne (English composer)
Lee “Scratch” Perry (Jamaican reggae songwriter and musician for The Upsetters)
Ralph Peterson Jr (American jazz drummer for The Jazz Messengers)
Christopher Plummer (Canadian actor for The Sound of Music)
Dee Pop (American drummer for Bush Tetras, The Gun Club)
Lloyd Price (American R&B singer)
Peter Rehberg (Austrian-British electronic musician for KTL)
Mike Renzi (American composer and music director for Sesame Street)
Jimmie Rodgers (American pop singer)
Frederic Rzewski (American composer and pianist for The People United Will Never Be Defeated!)
Phil Schaap (American disc jockey and jazz historian)
Al Schmitt (American recording engineer)
Robbie Shakespeare (Jamaican bassist for Sly and Robbie)
Sonny Simmons (American jazz saxophonist)
Joe Simon (American soul and R&B singer)
Johnny Solinger (American singer-songwriter for Skid Row)
Stephen Sondheim (American composer and lyricist for West Side Story)
Phil Spector (American record producer)
Michael Stanley (American rock guitarist, singer and songwriter)
Pervis Staples (American Hall of Fame gospel singer for The Staple Singers)
Robby Steinhardt (American singer and violinist for Kansas)
Jim Steinman (American musician, composer and lyricist)
Dean Stockwell (American actor and recording artist)
Sylvain Sylvain (American guitarist for New York Dolls)
Gene Taylor (American pianist for Canned Heat, The Fabulous Thunderbirds)
B. J. Thomas (American singer)
Mikis Theodorakis (Greek composer)
Rosalie Trombley (Canadian music director for CKLW)
U-Roy (Jamaican reggae singer)
Hilton Valentine (English Hall of Fame guitarist for The Animals)
Leo van de Ketterij (Dutch guitarist for Shocking Blue)
Yoshi Wada (Japanese sound installation artist and musician)
Bunny Wailer (Jamaican reggae singer for Bob Marley and the Wailers)
Rusty Warren (American singer for Knockers Up!)
Charlie Watts (English drummer for The Rolling Stones)
George Wein (American festival promoter and jazz pianist for Newport Jazz Festival)
Chuck E. Weiss (American songwriter and vocalist)
Mary Wilson (American singer for The Supremes)
Rusty Young (American musician for Poco)
Wanda Young (American singer for The Marvelettes)

Alvin Lucier
Richard H. Kirk

Isolation Viewing: Krautrock

electronic music, experimental music, Krautrock, music, progessive rock, psychedelic music, , , , ,

Whether or not you are still feeling the isolation blues, it’s always nice to have something to watch. Especially in the way of interesting musical clips.

I sometimes scour youtube in search of enticing tidbits in the way of music. I quite often discover some quite interesting stuff.

Back in the ’70s, progressive music from Germany started to make inroads outside of the country and the British music press soon latched onto it giving it the name Krautrock. Some of the names which soon became familiar were Can, Amon Duul II, Kraftwerk, Cluster, Tangerine Dream and Neu! to name but a few.

Here are a few clips which I’ve collected for your viewing pleasure.

Kraftwerk on the German TV programme Beat Club ca. 1971. What is interesting here is that it is Florian Schneider accompanied by Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger who would later go on to be known as the duo Neu!

Here is another German TV clip for 1971 featuring Ralf and Florian with Wolfgang Flur on his freshly built electronic drum set.

Now, here is Can ca. 1970 on the German programme Rockpalast. Nearly an hour and a half. The Damo Suzuki era.

A wonderful documentary which covers the band’s career. Another hour and a half of Can bliss.

Here is a groovy set by Amon Duul II from Beat Club in 1970.

A compilation of Amon Duul II material spanning 1969 to 1975. Over two hours!

Here is a very unique clip of Tangerine Dream live in Berlin, 1969. This was before they acquired synthesisers and were a psychedelic, freak-out group. Edgar Froese, guitar. Klaus Schulze, drums. “Happy” Dieter, bass (according to the video notes).

The legendary performance of Tangerine Dream at Coventry Cathedral in 1975.

Well, that should keep you busy for a while!

All Gates Open by Rob Young & Irmin Schmidt

avant-garde, books, experimental music, improvisation, Krautrock, progessive rock, psychedelic music, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Rob Young & Irmin Schmidt – All Gates Open (Faber & Faber, 2018)

When the FM airwaves started to emit the sounds of “underground radio” in the late 1960s, a whole new world of music began to open. WABX was the first such station to enter this area in Detroit in 1968. A short while later, CJOM hit the airwaves on my side of the border in Windsor, Ontario.

One of the most interesting things to appear were programmes which features “import” records. Suddenly, people were able to hear music which was not even available on domestic labels. These LPs often never got released in North America.

It was on one episode of these broadcasts that I first experienced the music of Can. It was 1970 and Monster Movie had just been issued in Germany (and the UK). The disc jockey talked about the band and even before he started playing the record, you knew that you were in for something special. I vividly recall his playing Father Cannot Yell and Outside My Door followed by the side-long epic Yoo Doo Right. From that moment, I knew that I would be a fan of this band.

Unfortunately, import records were few and far between at my local shops and it would be a while before I had my own copy of this record. My first purchase was their album Ege Bamyasi which was closely followed by Future Days. At that point, import LPs were starting to become easier to obtain and I was able to get copies of Monster Movie, Soundtracks and Tago Mago.

I kept following their work through articles in magazines like Melody Maker and  was able to keep up with their LP releases from that point.

Over the years, there have been a couple of books published about the band. The Can Book by Pacal Bussy and Andy Hall was an essential purchase for any self -respecting Can fan. There was also another book which was available as part of the Can Box (book, VHS video and 2 CD set of live recordings). Those, however, were mainly a mild warm-for this new volume.

All Gates Open is actually two books in one. The first two thirds feature Rob Young’s details of the individual members’ lives and their subsequent collaboration in one of Germany’s most revered and respected bands.

The final portion of the book belongs to found member Irmin Schmidt. This section is decidedly different to Rob Young’s writings.

From Young, we get a flavour of the times in Europe when the various members of the band were growing up. The four core members of the group all came from quite diverse backgrounds. Irmin Schmidt was making his name as an orchestra conductor. Holger Czukay was fascinated with all things electric including radios. Jaki Leibeziet was a jazz drummer who had worked his way into free jazz with Manfred Schoof. Michael Karoli was some ten years younger than the others with a more rock vision in his guitar playing.

The only things that any of the members really had in common was that both Schmidt and Czukay had both studied with the legendary German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen.

It’s this diversity of talent and vision which was soon to give Can its unique approach to producing inventive and original sounds.

Vocalists also made an appearance in the group. This started with Malcolm Mooney and continued with a Japanese busker in the form of Damo Suzuki.

Throughout his portion of the book, Young paints a vivid picture of the environment in which Can existed. His presents details about their recording process, live performances and track by track analysis of their albums. This is the kind of material that any hardcore fan of the band will relish as they make their way through the pages of the book.

Irmin Schmidt’s portion of the book is a totally different affair. He edits together conversations with a host of interesting people from music, art and film.

Featured in the conversations are Mark E. Smith (The Fall), Geoff Barrow (Portishead), Bobby Gillespie (Primal Scream), Hans-Joachim Irmler (Faust), Peter Saville, Wim Wenders, Duncan Fallowell, Nick Kent, John Maokovich and many others.

These vignettes open up the conversation to many aspects of music and all types of artistic communication. It’s a fascinating glimpse into creativity.

Schmidt also relates many entries from his diary which also give a look into his creative life.

Overall, this is probably the book that all fans of Can have been waiting for over the years. It’s a detailed look at the band from the inside and the outside. A compelling read for those who have listened to the intriguing and original sounds of one of the most compelling bands to ever put sound onto recording tape.

 

 

Psychedelia and Other Colours by Rob Chapman

books, experimental music, progessive rock, psychedelic music, vinyl, , , , , , , , , ,

Rob Chapman – Psychedelia and Other Colours (Faber)

From the appearance of the cover, one might think that this is going to be a fab book with all kinds of wonderfully groovy colourful photos of bands performing with a backdrop of psychedelic lights projected behind them. Well, you know the old expression about a book and its cover. In fact, there is not one single photo contained in the over 600 pages of this tome.

What you do get in this book is a hefty amount of information relating to the progress of the drug culture and its impact on the music scene in the latter half of the 1960s. It’s a book that fits in right between two other recent volumes – 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded by Jon Savage and Never a Dull Moment: 1971 – The Year That Rock Exploded by David Hepworth.

No mention of things exploding in the sub-title of this book but, the text inside certainly does relate a lot of heads exploding as psychedelic drugs (more specifically LSD) began to make inroads into the counterculture movement of the sixties.

Jon Savage’s book goes into great detail about the social and cultural times leading up to the year 1966. There’s a bit of a sense of deja vu when reading Chapman’s book but, that is what I was expecting. So, not much of a disappointment there.

After a general introduction, Chapman divides his time towards firstly concentrating on the scene in the USA and then on the UK. This shows both the parallels and differences in the way in which psychedelia took shape in the midst of both (counter)cultural situations.

While you’ll see familiar names from this era appear – such as Timothy Leary – there are also many more people discussed who may not have been as vibrant on the radar (at the time or since).

Throughout the book, Chapman does an enviable job of connecting the dots which relate to musical events in both the live performance realm and the release of specific recordings. Of course, a fair amount of time is spent on such artists as The Beatles and their turning (on) into the direction of pot and LSD and Pink Floyd’s areas of cerebral and sonic explorations.

But, as you’d expect in such and exhaustive cultural and musical survey, it’s the efforts of the countless minor figures that accounts for a great deal of the story. Some of the here today, gone tomorrow artists mentioned include The Drivin’ Stupid, Fe-Fi-Four Plus Two, The Factory, Jason Crest, Tintern Abbey etc… Of course, there are a lot of the more familiar bands like, Love, Moby Grape, The Incredible String Band, Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead and other usual suspects.

To conclude the volume, the final section – Afterglow (Which Dreamed It?) – attempts to tie up some loose ends and reflects on the aftereffects.

For anyone with a keen interest in this era and specifically psychedelic music, this book stands as a well-researched and extremely detailed survey. It sent me scrambling to my music collection to find out if I had recordings of many of the songs mentioned on my various psych LP and CD collections. That’s usually the sign of a good book for me.