Mark Helias
Mark Helias (born October 1, 1950 in New Brunswick , New Jersey ) is an American creative jazz double bass player .
Live and act
Helias initially played drums, guitar and bass in rock bands ; he only learned the double bass at the age of 20 . He studied music at Yale University and was soon playing in New Haven with Wadada Leo Smith , Anthony Davis and Gerry Hemingway . With his full tone and exact timing, Helias soon established himself as an important bass player. He played in the Barry Altschul trio with Ray Anderson and since 1977 with Anderson and Gerry Hemingway in the group BassDrumBone . In 1981 he was (as a bass guitarist and vocalist) with Anderson, Steve Elson , Allan Jaffe and Jim Payne the founder of the collaborative funk band Slickaphonics , with whom he recorded five albums and toured several times in the USA and Europe.
Helias also worked in groups led by Ed Blackwell , Anthony Braxton or Muhal Richard Abrams ; later he worked in Tim Berne's groups and in Don Cherry's NU ; At times he also belonged to the group of Cecil Taylor . Since the mid-1980s he has also recorded albums as a leader. He also worked with musicians such as Chet Baker , Herb Robertson , Jane Ira Bloom , Simon Nabatov ( Sneak Preview ), Mike Nock , Wynton Marsalis , Julius Hemphill , Bennie Wallace , Terrence McManus and Christy Doran .
Discography
- Split Image (Enja, 1984)
- The Current Set (Enja, 1987)
- Desert Blue (Enja, 1989)
- Attack The Future (Enja, 1992)
- Loopin 'The Cool (Enja, 1995)
- Fictionary ( GM Recordings , 1998)
- Come Ahead Back (Koch Jazz, 1998)
- New School ( Enja , 2002)
- Verbs of Will (Radio Legs, 2004)
- Atomic Clock (Radio Legs, 2006)
- Gordon Grdina , Matthew Shipp , Mark Helias: Skin and Bones ( NotTwo Records , 2019)
- Roof Rights (2020)
Lexigraphic entries
- Ian Carr , Digby Fairweather , Brian Priestley : Rough Guide Jazz. The ultimate guide to jazz music. 1700 artists and bands from the beginning until today. Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 1999, ISBN 3-476-01584-X .
- Leonard Feather , Ira Gitler : The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford University Press, New York 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 .
Web links
Mark Helias at Discogs (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Helias, Mark |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American creative jazz double bass player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 1, 1950 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New Brunswick , New Jersey |