Sonny Sharrock
Warren Harding "Sonny" Sharrock (* 27. August 1940 in Ossining , New York ; † 25. May 1994 ) was an American jazz - guitarist .
Live and act
Sharrock began his musical career in 1953 as a singer in a Doo Wop group before switching to guitar in 1960. In 1965 he went to New York, where he initially worked with Byard Lancaster and Babatunde Olatunji . In 1966 he worked on the recording of the album Tauhid by Pharoah Sanders , with which he stayed until 1968. He then performed with Don Cherry and his Eternal Rhythm at the Berlin Jazz Festival and became a member of Herbie Mann's group, with whom he was involved in his hit album Memphis Underground and toured internationally several times. In 1969 his first album was released as a band leader. Miles Davis involved him in the recording of A Tribute to Jack Johnson . After leaving H. Mann's group in 1972 and touring (through the USA and Europe) with his then wife Linda, Sharrock was initially hardly active in the scene. During this time he worked as a taxi driver and carer for mentally handicapped children.
In 1986 he became a member of the jazz noise group Last Exit , initiated by Bill Laswell , with whom he went on a world tour and recorded several albums. In 1991, his perhaps most important album, Ask the Ages , appeared, on which he can be heard with Pharoah Sanders and Elvin Jones . The soundtrack to the cartoon talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast , which he completed shortly before his sudden death in 1994, also became famous.
Sharrock is one of the first guitarists who implemented free jazz on their instrument. Unlike Attila Zoller , he also played non-tonally and consistently used feedback and distortion. It was only towards the end of his life that he received the recognition he deserved from critics and audiences. His debut album Black Woman was included in The Wire's 1998 wirelist "100 Records That Set the World on Fire (While No One Was Listening)" .
Discography (selection)
- Black Woman with Linda Sharrock , Dave Burrell , Norris Jones , Milford Graves , Ted Daniel , Richard Pierce , Gary Sharrock , Vortex , 1969
- The Green Line with Steve Marcus , Miroslav Vitouš , Daniel Humair , 1970
- Monkey-Pockie-Boo with Linda Sharrock , Beb Guérin , Jacques Thollot ( BYG Actuel , 1970)
- The Junk Sessions 1974
- Paradise with Linda Sharrock, Dave Artis, Kenny Armstrong, Buddy Williams, Sonny Bonillia, 1975
- Improvised Music New York with Derek Bailey , Fred Frith , John Zorn , Bill Laswell , Charles K. Noyes , 1981
- Guitar , solo album 1986
- Last Exit with Bill Laswell, Ronald Shannon Jackson , Peter Brötzmann , 1986
- Cologne with Bill Laswell, Ronald Shannon Jackson, Peter Brötzmann, 1986
- The Noise of Trouble with Laswell, Shannon Jackson, Brötzmann, Herbie Hancock , Akira Sakata , 1986
- From the Boards with Laswell, Shannon Jackson, Brötzmann, 1987 (as cassette, CD 1995)
- Seize the Rainbow with Melvin Gibbs , Pheeroan akLaff , Abe Speller , Bill Laswell, 1987
- Dance with Me, Montana with Ken Buchanan , Lavander Cope , 1987
- Iron Path with Laswell, Shannon Jackson, Brötzmann, 1988
- No material with Brötzmann, Ginger Baker , Nicky Skopelitis , Jan Kazda , 1988
- Live in New York with Melvin Gibbs , Pheeroan akLaff, Abe Speller, Dave Snyder , Ron Cartel , 1989
- Head First into the Flames with Laswell, Shannon Jackson, Brötzmann, 1989
- Highlife with Charles Baldwin , Abe Speller, Lance Carter , Dave Snyder, 1990
- Faith Moves with Nicky Skopelitis, 1991
- Ask the Ages with Pharoah Sanders, Elvin Jones, Charnett Moffett , 1991
- Into Another Light , compiled by Nicky Skopelitis and Anton Fier
Web links
- Discography and appreciation
- Forgotten Heroes: Sonny Sharrock's Footprints on the Moon
- Memory page Sonny Sharrock (Engl.)
- Interview (English).
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Sharrock, Sonny |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Sharrock, Warren Harding |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz guitarist |
DATE OF BIRTH | August 27, 1940 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Ossining , New York, USA |
DATE OF DEATH | May 25, 1994 |
Place of death | Ossining , New York, USA |