Joe Bonner
Joseph "Joe" Bonner (born April 20, 1948 in Rocky Mount , North Carolina , † November 20, 2014 in Denver , Colorado ) was an American jazz pianist .
Live and act
Joe Bonner comes from the hometown of the pianist Thelonious Monk , who became one of his musical role models. His other influences include McCoy Tyner and Art Tatum . He grew up in Harlem and then studied tuba for four years, then piano at Virginia State College in Petersburg. At the age of 22, Bonner moved to New York with Harold Vick and began his career as a professional musician. There he met Max Roach , who is also from North Carolina, and made his first appearance in Roach's band at Crawford's Grill in Pittsburgh. Bonner stayed with Roach for half a year and then switched to Roy Haynes' band in 1961 as the successor to Chick Corea . He also worked with Freddie Hubbard and James Spaulding . When Kenny Barron left Hubbard's band in the late 1960s, Bonner took over his place and played in this formation for two and a half years. Around 1970 he played in the band of Pharoah Sanders and worked on albums such as Black Unity and Rejoice for the Impulse label ! Records and Evidence with. In 1972 he worked with bassist Richard Davis . He then became a member of the Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Big Band in Bonn , where he replaced Roland Hanna . Billy Harper also played in the band , on whose album Black Saint worked for the jazz label Bonner in 1975.
With Harper he went on a European tour; this led to a collaboration with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen in Copenhagen . Bonner then stayed in Copenhagen for several years and produced a number of albums for SteepleChase Records from 1979 on. a. the vibraphonist Khan Jamal , the bassist Johnny Dyani and the drummer Billy Higgins participated. After his return to the United States, he settled in Denver , founded the quartet The Bonner Party and performed in clubs in the region. He later returned to Copenhagen and worked there a. a. as a big band arranger.
Discographic notes
- Angel Eyes (Muse Records 1975, with Billy Harper, Linda Sharrock , Leroy Jenkins , Juni Booth , Jimmy Hopps )
- Parade (SteepleChase, 1979)
- Devotion (SteepleChase, 1983)
- Suburban Fantasies (SteepleChase, 1983)
- Suite for Chocolate (SteepleChase, 1985) with Jesper Lundgaard
- New Life (SteepleChase, 1986)
- Impressions of Copenhagen (Evidence, 1988)
- Monkisms (Capri, 2000)
Lexical entries
- Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. 6th edition. Penguin, London 2002, ISBN 0-14-051521-6 .
Web links
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bonner, Joe |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Bonner, Joseph Lincoln (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz pianist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 20, 1948 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Rocky Mount, North Carolina |
| DATE OF DEATH | 20th November 2014 |
| Place of death | Denver |