Arcana (American band)

Last updated
Arcana
OriginUSA
Genres Avant-garde jazz, jazz fusion, free jazz
Years active19951997
LabelsDIW, Axiom/Island
Past members Bill Laswell
Tony Williams
Derek Bailey

Arcana was an American jazz fusion band that formed in 1995 and originally comprising guitarist Derek Bailey, bassist Bill Laswell and drummer Tony Williams. The original lineup released one album, The Last Wave , in July 1996, before Bailey left the band. Guitar duties for the second album were recorded by guest musicians Nicky Skopelitis and Buckethead, and Arc of the Testimony was released in October 1997. The band split up after the release of their second album due to the death of Williams in February 1997.

Contents

Band members

Guest musicians

The following musicians contributed to Arcana's second album, Arc of the Testimony:

Discography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derek Bailey (guitarist)</span> English avant-garde guitarist

Derek Bailey was an English avant-garde guitarist and an important figure in the free improvisation movement. Bailey abandoned conventional performance techniques found in jazz, exploring atonality, noise, and whatever unusual sounds he could produce with the guitar. Much of his work was released on his own label Incus Records. In addition to solo work, Bailey collaborated frequently with other musicians and recorded with collectives such as Spontaneous Music Ensemble and Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Laswell</span> American musician (born 1955)

William Otis Laswell is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, world music, jazz, dub, and ambient styles.

The Golden Palominos were an American musical group headed by drummer, producer, arranger and composer Anton Fier, first formed in 1981. Aside from Fier, the Palominos membership has been wildly elastic, with only bassist Bill Laswell and guitarist Nicky Skopelitis appearing on every album through 1996. Their final work, 2012's A Good Country Mile features vocalist Kevn Kinney. The band's early work developed out of the No Wave scene, but later branched out into alternative rock, country rock and electronic music.

Nicky Skopelitis is an American guitarist and composer of Greek descent. He also has performed on banjo, oud, lute, keyboards and other instruments. Although Skopelitis has recorded few albums as a bandleader, he has appeared on many more recordings, often collaborating with prolific bass guitarist and producer Bill Laswell.

<i>Perfect Machine</i> 1988 studio album by Herbie Hancock

Perfect Machine is the thirty-seventh album by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock. It was the third and final album in Hancock’s series co-produced by Bill Laswell. Guests include bassist Bootsy Collins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rise (Public Image Ltd song)</span> 1986 single by Public Image Ltd

"Rise" is a song by the English post-punk band Public Image Ltd, released as a single on 21 January 1986 by Virgin Records. It was the first single from Album, their fifth studio album.

Shin Terai is a Japanese musician and producer most known for his work with Bill Laswell and Buckethead. On his albums he combines ambient and electronic music with dub and avant-garde jazz.

<i>Arc of the Testimony</i> 1997 studio album by Arcana

Arc of the Testimony is the second and final album by the American jazz fusion band Arcana. It was released on bassist Bill Laswell's Axiom label on October 14, 1997. Unlike the trio configuration on the first album, this project features a spacier, slightly less abstract form of fusion music. Bill Laswell and drummer Tony Williams composed and developed the music, and co-produced the album together.

<i>Unison</i> (Shin Terai album) 1999 studio album by Shin Terai

Unison is the first album of Japanese composer Shin Terai, released in 1999. The album features contributions of bassist and producer Bill Laswell, avant-garde guitarists Buckethead and Nicky Skopelitis, and Parliament-Funkadelic keyboardist Bernie Worrell. The album met very good reviews from critics mainly because of the soft guitars and the funky bass.

<i>The Last Wave</i> (album) 1996 studio album by Arcana

The Last Wave is the debut album by American jazz fusion band Arcana, released on July 23, 1996. This first album is largely improvised, and features the trio of English free jazz guitarist Derek Bailey, bass guitarist Bill Laswell and legendary drummer Tony Williams.

<i>Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud</i> 1995 studio album by Julian Schnabel

Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud is an album by painter Julian Schnabel, recorded in 1993 and released in 1995 on Island Records. The majority of the album was written by Schnabel himself with most lyrics dealing with love.

<i>Live in Japan</i> (Material album) 1993 live album by Material

Live in Japan is a 1993 live album by the New York based No Wave music group Material.

<i>Seven Souls</i> (album) 1989 studio album by Material

Seven Souls is a 1989 album by the American music group Material. A collaboration with author William S. Burroughs, the album features his narration of passages from his novel The Western Lands (1987) set to musical accompaniment.

Axiom Collection series of albums are compilations from the Axiom record label released between 1991 and 1996.

<i>Hallucination Engine</i> Album by Material

Hallucination Engine is a 1994 album by the New York based music group Material. The album mixes jazz, dub, funk and Indian music.

<i>Ambient Dub Volume I</i> 1993 studio album by Divination

Ambient Dub Volume I is the first album by American composer Bill Laswell to be issued under the moniker Divination. It was released on October 8, 1993, by Subharmonic.

<i>Chapter Two</i> (Sacred System album) 1997 studio album by Sacred System

Chapter Two is the second album by American composer Bill Laswell issued under the moniker Sacred System. It was released on September 16, 1997, by ROIR.

<i>Nagual Site</i> 1998 studio album by Sacred System

Nagual Site is the third album by American composer Bill Laswell issued under the moniker Sacred System. It was released on August 25, 1998, by Wicklow.

<i>Filmtracks 2000</i> 2001 studio album by Bill Laswell

Filmtracks 2000 is the thirteenth album by American composer Bill Laswell, released on September 25, 2001 by Tzadik Records. Despite the title's suggestion, the album is not a collection of Laswell's film scores. Instead it is an assemblage of new compositions which contain the hallmarks of soundtrack music, drawing influences from the music of India, Asia and the Middle East.

<i>Rhythmagick</i> 1995 studio album by Aïyb Dieng

Rhythmagick is the debut solo album by percussionist Aïyb Dieng, it was released in 1995 by P-Vine Records.

References