Arthur Rhames

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Arthur Rhames (born October 25, 1957 in Brooklyn , New York City , † December 27, 1989 ) was an American tenor saxophonist , guitarist and pianist of free jazz .

Arthur Rhames

Act

The Brooklyn-born saxophonist is one of those tragic artists who enjoyed a legendary reputation among their colleagues, but who still failed to start a successful career. Rhames was one of the most important Coltrane successors, but never had a record deal. At the age of only 32, he died of complications from AIDS .

Rhames began his career as a street musician and in 1978 had a trio as guitarists, accompanied by bassist Cleve Allyne and drummer Collin Young . In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he played frequently as a saxophonist with Coltrane drummer Rashied Ali . They eventually formed the Dynamic Duo and performed at the Willisau Jazz Festival in Switzerland in 1981 . In the same year, recordings of his then trio of pianist John Esposito and drummer Jeff Siegel were made at a New York club session in October; they later appeared on the Japanese DIW label ( Live from Soundscape ) with impressive interpretations of Coltrane classics such as “ Giant Steps ”, “ Moment's Notice ” and “ Bessies's Blues ”, as well as references to Albert Ayler's work (“ I Want Jesus to Talk with Me "). Rhames was 24 years old when these recordings were made. In 1988, shortly before his death, Rhames performed again with Rashied Ali's quartet in the New York Knitting Factory .

In his saxophone playing, Rhames was strongly based on John Coltrane, but also on Charles Gayle ; in his piano playing his role model was McCoy Tyner .

Discographic notes

  • Rashied Ali & Arthur Rhames: The Dynamic Duo Remember Trane & Bird (Ayler Records, 1981)
  • Arthur Rhames Trio: Live from Soundscape (DIW, 1981)

literature

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ On the first CD, the 2CD album contains an introduction given by Ali to his friend and former colleague after Rhames' death, underlaid with a few musical quotations. Disc 2 begins with a 23-minute version of the Coltrane classic " Mr. PC ", which includes many topics related to Coltrane's playing. They also play " I Want to Talk About You ", a Coltrane medley with " Giant Steps " and a 10-minute Charlie Parker medley.
  2. ↑ Arthur Rhames (alto saxophone), Antoine Roney (tenor saxophone) and Greg Murphy (electric piano)
personal data
SURNAME Rhames, Arthur
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American tenor saxophonist, guitarist and pianist of free jazz
DATE OF BIRTH October 25, 1957
PLACE OF BIRTH Brooklyn , New York City
DATE OF DEATH December 27, 1989
Place of death New York City