Archie Shepp
Archie Shepp live at Jazzkeller Frankfurt 1993
Background information
Born	May 24, 1937 (1937-05-24) (age 70) Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
Genre(s)	Jazz
Instrument(s)	Tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone

Archie Shepp is an American jazz saxophonist. Image File history File links Archieshepp. ... For other uses, see Frankfurt (disambiguation). ... is the 144th day of the year (145th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Fort Lauderdale, known as the Venice of America, is a city located in Broward County, Florida. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Largest metro area Miami metropolitan area Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,795[1] sq mi (170,304[1] km²)  - Width 361 miles (582 km)  - Length 447 miles (721 km)  - % water 17. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Jazz (disambiguation). ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax. ... The soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument. ... For other uses, see Jazz (disambiguation). ... A saxophonist is a musician who plays the saxophone. ...

Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on May 24, 1937, but raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he studied piano, clarinet and alto saxophone before focusing on tenor saxophone (he occasionally plays soprano saxophone). Fort Lauderdale, known as the Venice of America, is a city located in Broward County, Florida. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Largest metro area Miami metropolitan area Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,795[1] sq mi (170,304[1] km²)  - Width 361 miles (582 km)  - Length 447 miles (721 km)  - % water 17. ... is the 144th day of the year (145th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Philadelphia (disambiguation) and Philly. ... Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 km²)  - Width 280 miles (455 km)  - Length 160 miles (255 km)  - % water 2. ... A short grand piano, with the top up. ... Two soprano clarinets: a Bâ™­ clarinet (left, with capped mouthpiece) and an A clarinet (right, with no mouthpiece). ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax. ... The soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument. ...

Shepp is best known for his passionately Afrocentric music of the late sixties which focused on highlighting the injustices faced by the African race, as well as for his work with the New York Contemporary Five and his collaborations with his "New Thing" contemporaries, most notably Cecil Taylor and John Coltrane. An 1812 map of Africa Afrocentrism is an approach to the study of world history which stresses the distinctive identity and contributions of African cultures. ... The 1960s, or The Sixties, in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. ... World map showing location of Africa A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second_largest continent in both area and population, after Asia. ... For other uses, see Race (disambiguation). ... Cecil Percival Taylor (born March 15 or March 25, 1929 in New York City) is an American pianist and poet. ... “Coltrane” redirects here. ...

Life and career

Early career and Cecil Taylor

Shepp studied drama at Goddard College from 1955 to 1959, but after a lack of success in securing acting jobs after moving to New York, he turned to music professionally. He played in a Latin jazz band for a short time before joining the band of avantgarde pianist Cecil Taylor, who at that time was just beginning to blossom from merely a very eccentric Thelonious Monk-influenced young upstart into one of the most important and controversial figures of the 1960s avantgarde. Shepp appeared on Air, The World Of Cecil Taylor and Cell Walk For Celeste, all of which remain defining Taylor recordings. Goddard College is a private college located in Plainfield, Vermont which grants BA and MA and MFA degrees. ... Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the state. ... Latin jazz is the general term given to music that combines rhythms from African and Latin American countries with jazz harmonies from the United States. ... Cecil Percival Taylor (born March 15 or March 25, 1929 in New York City) is an American pianist and poet. ... Thelonious Sphere Monk (October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was a jazz pianist and composer. ...

John Coltrane

His first notable forays into recording under his own name came with the New York Contemporary Five band, which included Don Cherry. John Coltrane's admiration led to recordings for Impulse!, the first of which was Four for Trane in 1964, an album of mainly Coltrane compositions on which he was sided by his long-time friend, trombonist Roswell Rudd, bassist Reggie Workman and alto player John Tchicai. The album Giant Steps had been one of Coltrane's best-known, and this collection of new versions on Coltrane's own label was a statement that jazz was not standing still. And Coltrane, Shepp and others were about to move it forward again. Don Cherry (November 18, 1936–October 19, 1995) was an innovative jazz trumpeter probably best known for his long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman. ... Impulse! Records is a United States based jazz record label, originally launched in the early 1960s by Creed Taylor as a subsidiary of ABC-Paramount Records in New York City. ... Roswell Rudd (born Roswell Hopkins Rudd, Jr. ... Reggie Workman (b. ... John Martin Tchicai (born April 28, 1936) is a Danish jazz saxophonist. ... Giant Steps is a 1960 album by jazz musician John Coltrane. ...

Shepp participated in the sessions for Coltrane's A Love Supreme in early 1965 but none of the takes he participated in were included on the final LP release (they were made available for the first time on a 2002 reissue). However, Shepp, along with Tchichai and others from the Four for Trane sessions, then cut the massively influential and extremely avantgarde Ascension with Coltrane in 1965, and his place alongside Trane at the forefront of the avantgarde scene was epitomized when the pair split a record (the first side a Coltrane set, the second a Shepp set) entitled New Thing At Newport released in late 1965. Some critics felt Shepp was rather too heavily influenced by Coltrane, though Trane's influence at the time was so vast that nearly every saxophonist who was attaining stardom at the time was on the receiving end of this criticism at one point in their careers (most notably Wayne Shorter). A Love Supreme is a jazz album recorded by John Coltranes quartet on December 9, 1964 at the Van Gelder studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... A gramophone record, (also phonograph record - often simply record) is an analog sound recording medium: a flat disc rotating at a constant angular velocity, with inscribed spiral grooves in which a stylus or needle rides. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Ascension is a jazz album by John Coltrane. ... Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz composer and saxophonist. ...

Fire Music

1965 also saw the release of the Fire Music LP which included the first signs of Shepp's increasingly prominent political consciousness and Afrocentricity: it included the reading of an elegy for Malcolm X, and the title is derived from a ceremonial African music tradition and highlights the passion and anger of the whole project. It also saw Shepp pushing the boundaries of jazz but remaining somewhat tethered to bebop traditions, as the saxophonist performed standards "Prelude To A Kiss" and "The Girl From Ipanema" with a variety of tempos and interplay of horns. Fire Music is a studio album by Archie Shepp released on Impulse! Records in 1965. ... The Girl from Ipanema (Garota de Ipanema) is a well known bossa nova song, and was a worldwide hit in the mid-1960s. ...

The Magic Of Ju-Ju

The Magic Of Ju-Ju in 1967 also took its name from African musical traditions and this time the music too dived headlong into the continent's music itself, utilising a frenetic African percussion ensemble. At this time, many African-American jazzmen were becoming increasingly aware of Afrocentrism and the musical traditions of the African continent; along with Pharoah Sanders, Archie Shepp was at the forefront of this movement. The Magic Of Ju-Ju defined Shepp's sound for the next few years - seemingly chaotic avantgarde sax lines coupled with the rhythms and ideologies of Africa. Languages Predominantly American English Religions Protestantism (chiefly Baptist and Methodist); Roman Catholicism; Islam Related ethnic groups Sub-Saharan Africans and other African groups, some with Native American groups. ... Reggie Workman, Pharoah Sanders, and Idris Muhammad, c. ...

Archie Shepp in France, 1982

Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 528 pixelsFull resolution (3633 × 2397 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 528 pixelsFull resolution (3633 × 2397 pixel, file size: 2. ...

The 70s and after

Shepp continued to experiment into the new decade, at various times including harmonica players and spoken word poets in his ensembles. Attica Blues and The Cry Of My People, meanwhile, from 1972 were Shepp's angriest statements of black freedom yet. The former his response to the Attica Prison riots. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Spoken word is a form of music or artistic performance in which lyrics, poetry, or stories are spoken rather than sung. ... Poets are authors of poems. ... Attica Blues is an album by avant-garde jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Attica Prison riots were a rebellion by prisoners at the Attica Correctional Facility in Attica, New York, United States. ...

In the late 1970s and beyond, Shepp's career zigzagged between various old territories and various new territories. He continued to explore the music of Africa, while also recording blues, ballads, spirituals (on the 1977 album Goin' Home with Horace Parlan) and tributes to more traditional jazz figures like Charlie Parker and Sidney Bechet while at other times dabbling in R&B, and recording with various European artists like Jasper Van't Hof and Dresch Mihály. Since the early nineties he often plays with the French trumpet player Eric Le Lann with whom he recorded the album Live in Paris in 1995. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... Horace Parlan (born 1931 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American jazz piano player. ... Charles Bird Parker, Jr. ... Sidney Bechet Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was a jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. ... Rhythm and blues (or R & B) is a musical marketing term introduced in the United States in the late 1940s by Billboard magazine. ... Mihály Dresch (born 1955 in Budapest) is one of the most interesting Hungarian jazz- and folk musicians in the current scene. ... Live in Paris is the seventh album by Canadian jazz pianist and vocalist Diana Krall, released in 2002 (see 2002 in music). ...

Other media

Shepp has returned to his first love, drama, at various times in his career - his works include The Communist (1965) and Lady Day: A Musical Tragedy (1972). Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

From the 1970s to the early 2000s Archie Shepp was a professor in the African-American Studies department at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he taught both music and music history. During the early 1970s Shepp was also a professor of African American Studies at SUNY at Buffalo.

Shepp is featured in the 1981 documentary film Imagine the Sound, in which he discusses and performs his music and poetry. Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to document reality. ... Imagine the Sound is a 1981 Canadian documentary film about free jazz, directed by Ron Mann. ...

Shepp also appears in Mystery, Mr. Ra, a 1984 French documentary about Sun Ra, in which he is interviewed about his experience with the enigmatic jazz legend. The film also includes footage of Shepp playing with Sun Ra's Arkestra. Sun Ra (Born Herman Poole Blount; legal name Le Sonyr Ra;[1] born May 22, 1914 in Birmingham, Alabama, died May 30, 1993 in Birmingham, Alabama) was an innovative jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his cosmic philosophy, musical compositions and performances. ...

Quotes

"Negro music and culture are intrinsically improvisational, existential. Nothing is sacred." - Archie Shepp 1990

Selected Recordings

• Four for Trane - (1964) Impulse Records
• Fire Music - (1965) Impulse Records
• On This Night (1965) w Bobby Hutcherson on vibes
• The Magic of Ju-Ju (1967)
• The Way Ahead (1968) - Impulse Records
• Kwanza - (1968-69) - more tracks from the Impulse archive, includes Woody Shaw on trumpet
• Attica Blues (1972) - Verve Records
• The Cry of My People (1972) - Impulse Records

The Impulse Story is a compilation of his recordings for the label 1964-1972 Impulse! Records is a United States based jazz record label, originally launched in the early 1960s by Creed Taylor as a subsidiary of ABC-Paramount Records in New York City. ... Impulse! Records is a United States based jazz record label, originally launched in the early 1960s by Creed Taylor as a subsidiary of ABC-Paramount Records in New York City. ... Bobby Hutcherson (born January 27, 1941 in Los Angeles) is a jazz vibraphone and marimba player. ... Impulse! Records is a United States based jazz record label, originally launched in the early 1960s by Creed Taylor as a subsidiary of ABC-Paramount Records in New York City. ... Woody Herman Shaw II (December 24, 1944 – May 10, 1989) was an American trumpeter and flugelhorn player. ... Verve Records is an American Jazz record label, founded by Norman Granz in 1956, which absorbed the catalogues of his earlier labels: Norgran Records and Clef Records (founded 1953). ... Impulse! Records is a United States based jazz record label, originally launched in the early 1960s by Creed Taylor as a subsidiary of ABC-Paramount Records in New York City. ...

• Archie Shepp and Horace Parlan - Goin' Home (1977) -
• Archie Shepp and Dollar Brand Duet - (1978) -
• Blue Ballads - (1995) - With John Hicks (piano), George Mraz (bass) and Billy Drammond (drums).
• Archie Shepp and Roswell Rudd Live in New York (2001) - reunion concert

Horace Parlan (born 1931 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American jazz piano player. ... Abdullah Ibrahim, also known as Dollar Brand, is a South African pianist and composer who was born in Cape Town in 1934. ... For other persons named John Hicks, see John Hicks (disambiguation). ... George Mraz (born Jiří Mráz on September 9, 1944 in Písek) is a jazz bassist and alto soxophonist. ... Roswell Rudd (born Roswell Hopkins Rudd, Jr. ...

External links

• http://www.archieshepp.com Official homepage
• Site featuring a comprehensive discography and reviews of many Shepp recordings