Dennis Charles
Denis Alphonso Charles , also Dennis Charles (born December 4, 1933 in Saint Croix ( US Virgin Islands ), † March 26, 1998 in New York City ) was an American jazz drummer.
life and work
Denis Charles began his musical career as a child; At the age of nine he was already playing bongos in a popular island band. In 1945 he moved with his younger brother to his mother's home in Harlem , New York, where he first played in calypso and mambo orchestras. Charles felt drawn to jazz, however, his role models during this time were Roy Haynes and Art Blakey - he acquired his musical skills self-taught. In 1952 he met Cecil Taylor , in whose formations he played from 1955 to 1960. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Charles also worked with Gil Evans ( Great Jazz Standards , 1959), Jimmy Giuffre , Sonny Rollins and Steve Lacy . During this time he became acquainted with Ed Blackwell , who had a strong influence on him. In the second half of the 1960s he worked with Archie Shepp, among others . In the late 1960s, Charles disappears from the scene because of his heroin addiction.
Around 1980 he was "rediscovered", toured again and made recordings with Steve Lacy, Billy Bang , Jemeel Moondoc, among others . Wilber Morris , William Parker and Charles Tyler .
Denis Charles died four days after the end of a five-week European tour of the Borgmann / Morris / Charles (BMC) Trio , in which he played with Wilber Morris and Thomas Borgmann . The trio gave its last concert in Berlin's Willy Brandt House . He had recorded four CDs with the BMC Trio in the last two years of his life.
In 2001 Veronique N. Doumbe completed the documentary Denis A. Charles: An Interrupted Conversation .
Discographic notes
- Albums under your own name
- with Billy Bang: Bangception, Willisau 1982 ( Hat Musics , 1983)
- Queen Mary ( Silkheart Records , 1989) with Wilber Morris
- Captain of the Deep , 1991 ( Eremite Records , 1998) with Jemeel Moondoc
- Borgmann / Morris / Charles (BMC) Trio: The Last Concert - Dankeschön (Silkheart Records, 1999)
- Albums as a sideman
- Cecil Taylor: Jazz Advance ( Transition Records , 1956), Looking Ahead! ( Contemporary Records , 1959)
- Sonny Rollins: What's New? ( RCA Victor , 1962)
- Steve Lacy-Roswell Rudd Quartet: School Days. 1963 ( Emanem Records , 1975)
- Billy Bang: Rainbow Gladiator ( Soul Note , 1981)
- Steve Lacy: The Flame (Soul Note, 1982)
- Wilber Morris: Wilber Force ( DIW , 1983)
- William Parker: In Order To Survive ( Black Saint , 1993)
swell
- Leonard Feather , Ira Gitler : The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford University Press, Oxford et al. 1999, ISBN 0-19-532000-X .
- Martin Kunzler : Jazz Lexicon. Volume 1: A – L (= rororo-Sachbuch. Vol. 16512). 2nd Edition. Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 2004, ISBN 3-499-16512-0 .
- Todd S. Jenkins: Free Jazz and Free Improvisation: An Encyclopedia. Volume 1, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004, ISBN 0-313-29881-5 .
Web links
- Tribute page
- Denis Charles at Allmusic
- The Last Post: Denis Charles: Rhythm of the Islands by The Scotsman, 1998. Obituary at jazzhouse.org
Individual evidence
- ↑ Interview with the director N. Doumbe at ndolofilms.com, May 5, 2002. Accessed May 3, 2010.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Charles, Dennis |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Charles, Denis Alphonso |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz drummer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 4th December 1933 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Saint Croix |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 26, 1998 |
| Place of death | New York City |