William Hooker (musician)

William Hooker (born June 18, 1946 in New Britain (Connecticut) ) is an American drummer and composer of avant-garde and creative jazz .

William Hooker is a veteran of the New York jazz scene and, along with Sunny Murray , Andrew Cyrille Milford Graves and Rashied Ali, belonged to the generation of avant-garde jazz drummers who shaped drumming from the mid-1960s and 1970s.

At the beginning of his career he played a. a. with the Isley Brothers and Dionne Warwick . He went to New York City in the mid-1970s, where he played with leading free jazz musicians in the so-called "Loft scene" . Only a few recordings were made in the 1980s, including his poem Lifeline , a. a. with trombonist Masahiko Kono , saxophonist Claude Lawrence and bassist William Parker .

His music is a combination of noise rock and free improvisation. He has also worked with Billy Bang , Glenn Spearman , Christian Marclay , Tomaas Proitsis , DJ Olive , Glen Hall and Sonic Youth founders Thurston Moore (on the album Shamballa , 1993) and Lee Ranaldo (on Envisioning , 1994).

Discographic notes

• 1989 - The Firmament / Fury (Silkheart)
• 1992 - Crossing Points ( NoBusiness ) with Thomas Chapin
• 1993 - Shamballa ( Knitting Factory | Knitting Factory Works) with Elliott Sharp and Thurston Moore
• 1995 - Joy (Within!) (Silkheart, 1994-95) with Billy Bang
• 1995 - Armageddon (Homestead)
• 1996 - Great Sunset (Warm-A-Brisk)
• 2013 - Channels of Consciousness (NoBusiness), with Adam Lane , Dave Ross, Chris DiMeglio
• 2013 - Heart of the Sun , with Roy Campbell
• 2018 - William Hooker Trio with Ava Mendoza & Damon Smith : Remembering (Astral Spirits)
• 2019 - Earth's Orbit (NoBusiness), with Darius Jones, Adam Lane, Damon Smith , Aaron Bennett , Weasel Walter

literature

• Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD . 6th edition. Penguin, London 2002, ISBN 0-14-051521-6 .

Web links

• Homepage
• William Hooker at Allmusic (English)