Archie Shepp facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Archie Shepp
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Archie Shepp in Warsaw, 2008
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Archie Shepp |
| Born | May 24, 1937 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States |
| Genres | Jazz, free jazz, avant-garde jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, educator |
| Instruments | Tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, piano, vocals |
| Years active | 1960–present |
| Labels | Impulse!, SteepleChase, Denon, BYG Actuel, Marge |
| Associated acts | Cecil Taylor, John Coltrane, Horace Parlan |
Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz musician. He plays the saxophone, writes music, and teaches. Since the 1960s, he has been very important in developing a style of jazz called avant-garde jazz, which is a new and experimental kind of jazz music.
Contents
Biography
Early Life and Music
Archie Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He started playing the banjo with his dad. Later, he learned to play the piano and saxophone in high school. From 1955 to 1959, he studied drama at Goddard College.
He played in a Latin jazz band for a short time. Then, he joined the band of a famous experimental jazz pianist named Cecil Taylor. Archie Shepp made his first recording as a leader in 1962. It was called Archie Shepp - Bill Dixon Quartet. He also played with a group called the New York Contemporary Five.
A very famous jazz musician, John Coltrane, admired Archie Shepp's music. This led to Shepp recording for a record label called Impulse! Records. His first album with them was Four for Trane in 1964.
Working with John Coltrane
Archie Shepp played on some recording sessions for John Coltrane's famous album A Love Supreme in 1964. Later, in 1965, Shepp recorded another important album with Coltrane called Ascension.
Archie Shepp and John Coltrane even shared a record together. It was called New Thing at Newport and came out in 1965. One side of the record featured Coltrane's music, and the other side featured Shepp's. This showed how important Archie Shepp was in the new, experimental jazz scene.
In 1965, Shepp released an album called Fire Music. This album showed his growing interest in social issues and African culture. The title came from an African music tradition. The album also included a poem for Malcolm X, a civil rights leader.
His 1967 album, The Magic of Ju-Ju, also got its name from African music. The music on this album was strongly inspired by African sounds. Many African-American jazz musicians at this time were looking to African traditions for inspiration. Archie Shepp was a leader in this movement. The Magic of Ju-Ju helped define his sound for several years. It combined experimental saxophone playing with African rhythms and ideas.
Later Music and Teaching
In 1969, Archie Shepp was invited to perform in Algiers, Africa. He played at a big cultural festival. After this, his group recorded several albums in Paris, France.
Shepp kept trying new things with his music. He sometimes included harmonica players and poets in his bands. With albums like Attica Blues (1972) and The Cry of My People, he used his music to speak out for civil rights. Attica Blues was a response to the Attica Prison riots, which were protests by prisoners. Shepp also wrote plays for the theater.
In the late 1960s, Shepp started teaching. He became a professor of African-American Studies at SUNY in Buffalo, New York. In 1971, he became a professor of music at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He taught there for 30 years. His first two classes were about "Revolutionary Concepts in African-American Music" and "Black Musician in the Theater."
From the late 1970s onwards, Shepp continued to explore different types of music. He kept playing African-inspired music. He also recorded blues, ballads, and spiritual songs. For example, he made the 1977 album Goin' Home with Horace Parlan. He also paid tribute to older jazz legends like Charlie Parker and Sidney Bechet. Sometimes, he even played R&B music. He also recorded with many European artists.
Recent Work
Archie Shepp is featured in a 1981 documentary film called Imagine the Sound. In the film, he talks about his music and poetry, and he performs. He also appears in Mystery, Mr. Ra, a French documentary from 1984 about another famous jazz musician, Sun Ra.
Since the early 1990s, he has often played with French trumpeter Eric Le Lann. In 1993, he helped create the music for the film Just Friends.
In 2002, Shepp was part of a special album called Red Hot and Riot. This album honored the musician Fela Kuti. Archie Shepp appeared on a song called "No Agreement." In 2004, Archie Shepp started his own record label called Archieball. It is in Paris, France, and features music by many artists he works with.
Discography
See also
In Spanish: Archie Shepp para niños
