David Axelrod (musician)

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David "Dave" Axelrod (born April 17, 1931 in Hollywood , † February 5, 2017 in Burbank , California ) was an American composer , arranger and producer . Axelrod, who became known for his pompous sound and was involved in the creation of soul jazz , has been sampled a lot in hip-hop .

Live and act

Childhood and youth

Axelrod was born in Hollywood in 1931 to Pearl Plaskoff and the union official Morris George Axelrod. Dave grew up in South Central , a poor and mostly black area. Dave took an early interest in black music and attended the jazz and rhythm and blues clubs on Central Avenue in Los Angeles.

After a period as a boxer and an interlude in the Navy , Axelrod studied music with the jazz pianist Gerald Wiggins , who taught him arranging and reading sheet music. He then worked as a studio musician. As early as 1959, Axelrod produced the first long-playing records, the hard bop albums "Free for All" by Frank Rosolino and "The Fox" by jazz saxophonist Harold Land .

Producer at Capitol

Soon afterwards, Axelrod got a job as executive producer at Capitol Records , where he composed, arranged and produced albums by soul singer Lou Rawls and actor David McCallum , among others . For David McCallum ( solo for ONCEL ) the orchestral instrumental piece "The Edge" was created (which was sampled in 1999 by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg in a prominent place for "The Next Episode" on the 2001 album ).

Axelrod also produced the albums of jazz saxophonist Julian “Cannonball” Adderley from 1964 until his death in 1975 , including his greatest commercial success Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at 'The Club' from 1966. The composition of the same name , Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, penned by the Austrian pianist Joe Zawinul, is considered by many to be the prelude to the new genre of soul jazz . He also produces albums by Gene Ammons and Joe Williams .

For Capitol's psychedelic rock band The Electric Prunes, he composed and arranged their third studio record, Mass in F minor , in 1968 . The demanding concept album with the Gregorian chants and the church organ finally led to the dissolution and complete reshuffle of the Electric Prunes and had to be completed by studio musicians. The track "Kyrie Eleison" made it into the cult film Easy Rider and on its soundtrack.

In addition, David Axelrod released several albums under his own name. The instrumental piece "Holy Thursday" from his eclectic debut album Song of Innocence goes back to a poem by William Blake and became Axelrod's most famous composition. He also co-wrote dozens of songs for Sesame Street .

Late years

Axelrod released his album Marchin ' in 1980 . After his style, which was influenced by jazz and funk , was no longer in demand in the eighties, he took a longer break. In 1993 he returned with Requiem Requiem: The Holocaust . Two years later he recorded a tribute to roots music, The Big Country . The discovery of his musical work by a new generation of musicians brought him renewed attention. Axelrod's music was sampled a lot and often in hip-hop, for example by De La Soul ("I Am I Be"), Ghostface Killah ("Stay True"), Lauryn Hill ("The Miseducation of ...") and DJ Shadow (" Midnight in a Perfect World ").

Discography (selection)

arranger

producer

Lou Rawls
  • Lou Rawls Soulin ' (Capitol 2566, 1966)
  • Lou Rawls Carryin 'On! (Capitol 2632, 1967)
  • Too Much! (Capitol 2713, 1967)
  • That's Lou (Capitol 2756, 1967)
  • The Way It Was - The Way It Is (Capitol 215, 1969)
  • Your Good Thing (Capitol 325, 1969)
  • You've Made Me so Very Happy (Capitol 427, 1970)
David McCallum
  • Music ... A Part Of Me (Capitol ST 2432, 1966)
  • Music ... A Bit More Of Me (Capitol ST 2498, 1966)
  • Music ... It's Happening Now! (Capitol ST 2651, 1967)
  • McCallum (Capitol ST 2748, 1968)
Cannonball Adderley
  • Cannonball Adderley Live! (Capitol, 1964)
  • Live session! (Capitol, 1964)
  • Cannonball Adderley's Fiddler on the Roof (Capitol, 1964)
  • Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at 'The Club' (Capitol, 1966)
  • 74 Miles Away (Capitol, 1967)
  • Why Am I Treated So Bad! (Capitol, 1967)
  • Accent on Africa (Capitol, 1968)
  • Country Preacher (Capitol, 1969)
  • The Cannonball Adderley Quintet & Orchestra (Capitol, 1970)
  • Love, Sex, and the Zodiac (Capitol, 1970)
  • The Price You Got to Pay to Be Free (Capitol, 1970)
  • Soul Zodiac (Capitol, 1972)
  • The Happy People (Capitol, 1972)
  • The Black Messiah (Capitol, 1972)
  • Music You All (Capitol, 1976)

Web links

Single receipts

  1. ↑ Heavy Ax: A Guide to David Axelrod on Red Bull Music Academy Daily .
  2. ↑ a b c David Axelrod, Music Producer Who Bridged Genres, Dies at 85 , New York Times obituary of February 16, 2017. (English)
  3. ↑ Christoph Dallach: Music: David Axelrod In: Der Spiegel from October 29, 2001.
  4. ↑ Eothen Alapatt: The David Axelrod interview from Big Daddy magazine on WaxPoetics.com . (English)
  5. ↑ David Axelrod, Influential Producer and Composer, Dead at 83 , obituary on rollingstone.com dated February 6, 2017.
personal data
SURNAME Axelrod, David
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Axelrod, Dave
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American composer, arranger and producer
DATE OF BIRTH April 17, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH los Angeles
DATE OF DEATH 5th February 2017
Place of death Burbank , California