Esmond Edwards
Esmond Edwards (born October 29, 1927 in Kingston , Jamaica , † January 20, 2007 in Santa Barbara , California ) was an American photographer and record producer . He was the last Impulse producer from 1975 to 1977 ! Records .
Life
Edward's parents, Lucille and Moses Edwards are from Kingston, Jamaica, where Edmond Edwards was born. As a child he grew up in New York City , then his family returned to Kingston. The family later resided in Harlem, New York, and Washington Heights . After finishing school in New York City, he attended the City College of New York . He then studied radiography at the Jersey City Medical Center , but then switched his interests to photography and jazz. Edwards' photographic work was later exhibited in New York's Lincoln Center Jazz Archives and appeared in The New York Times Magazine and Photography .
Esmond Edwards worked at the beginning of his career for the jazz label Prestige Records , whose founder Bob Weinstock had initially hired him as a photographer. In 1957 he became the producer of record sessions for well-known jazz greats such as John Coltrane and (later) Eric Dolphy . Edwards was one of the earliest African-American producers in the American music business. Edwards worked after his time at Prestige in 1967 as a record producer for the major label Verve Records , when this was part of the MGM group.
In 1970 he became Vice President ( A&R ) at Chess Records . He later worked at MGM, Columbia , Polydor and finally the last producer at Impulse! Records from 1975 to the end of the label in 1977. In addition to productions with Keith Jarrett , Sam Rivers , Marion Brown and Dewey Redman , he tried to realign the avant-garde jazz label with artists such as Gloria Lynne , Betty Carter , Bobby Bland and BB King as well as Les McCann . In addition to his work as a producer, he was also active as a composer and arranger.
For his work, Edwards has received numerous gold and platinum records for productions by Miles Davis, George Benson , John Coltrane, Chuck Berry , Etta James , Ramsey Lewis , BB King, Keith Jarrett and others. He photographed many of these artists for the covers of numerous exposures. Edwards received a Grammy nomination for the Broadway musical album Your Arms Too Short to Box with God .
Web links
literature
- Joe Goldberg : Red Garland Trio at the Prelude [Liner Notes]. Prestige Records. 2PRCD 24295-2
- Ashley Kahn : Impulses! The label that Coltrane created . Rogner & Bernhard at two thousand and one , 2007. ISBN 978-3-8077-1026-6
Individual evidence
- ↑ What Impulse had previously published, such as recordings by Albert Ayler or Archie Shepp , was limited to hard-core fans, said Edwards in an interview with Ashley Kahn in 2005. In order to make Impulse more successful again, he moved towards groove jazz of Gene Ammons and the soul jazz of the Hammond organ groups, such as Shirley Scott . Cf. Kahn, p. 266. In the final phase of Impulse, albums by Sonny Criss , Lucky Thompson and Grady Tate were released .
- ↑ His album Change, Change, Change - Live at the Roxy was the label's last album in 1977. See Kahn, p. 294.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Edwards, Esmond |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American record producer and photographer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 29, 1927 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kingston, Jamaica |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 20, 2007 |
| Place of death | Santa Barbara , California |