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Bobby Few | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Robert Lee Few |
Born | Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | October 21, 1935
Died | January 6, 2021 85) Levallois-Perret, France [1] | (aged
Genres | Jazz |
Instrument(s) | Piano, vocals |
Formerly of | Albert Ayler, Steve Lacy, Frank Wright |
Website | www |
Bobby Few (October 21, 1935 – January 6, 2021) was an American jazz pianist and vocalist.
Born Robert Lee Few Junior on October 21, 1935, in Cleveland, Ohio, "he was the son of Robert Senior, a maître d'hôtel at a white country club, and Winifred, an amateur violinist", [1] and grew up in the Fairfax neighborhood of the city's East Side. On his mother's encouragement, Few studied classical piano, but later discovered jazz while listening to his father's Jazz at the Philharmonic records. His father became his first booking agent, and soon Few was doing gigs around the greater Cleveland area with other local musicians including Bill Hardman, Bob Cunningham, Cevera Jefferies and Frank Wright. He was exposed to Tadd Dameron and Benny Bailey during his youth, and knew Albert Ayler, with whom he played in high school. As a young man, Few also gigged with local tenor legend Tony "Big T" Lovano – Joe Lovano's father.
In the late 1950s, Few relocated to New York, where he led a trio from 1958 to 1964; there, he met and began working with many world-class musicians, including singer Brook Benton, and saxophonists Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Jackie McLean, Joe Henderson and Ayler. [2] Few played on several of Ayler's albums and also recorded with Alan Silva, Noah Howard, Muhammad Ali, Booker Ervin, and Kali Fasteau . In 1969, he moved to France and rapidly integrated the expatriate jazz community, working frequently with Archie Shepp, Sunny Murray, Steve Lacy and Rasul Siddik. From 2001, he toured internationally with American saxophonist Avram Fefer, with whom he recorded four critically acclaimed CDs.
Few played extensively around Europe and made [3] regular trips back to the United States. [4] Recently, he played with saxophonist Charles Gayle and led his own trio in Paris, France. He was working on a Booker Ervin tribute project called Few's Blues that featured tenor player Tony Lakatos, bassist Reggie Johnson and drummer Doug Sides. Few was interviewed in a 2008 documentary, later released on DVD, on drummer Sunny Murray – "Sunny's Time Now".
Bobby Few died on January 6, 2021, at the age of 85. [5]
Some of Few's various playing styles were described by Kevin Whitehead: "He can play delicate single-note melodies, roll out lush romantic chords, rap out explicitly Monkish close-interval clanks – though he's a busier pianist than Monk – or roil around in classic free style, using a sustain pedal to shape the density of his sound". [3]
Year recorded | Title | Label | Personnel/Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1973 | More or Less Few | Center of the World | Trio, with Alan Silva (bass), Muhammad Ali (drums) |
1975 | Solos and Duets | Sun | Solo piano; most tracks are by Alan Silva and Frank Wright, without Few |
1975 | Solos and Duets Vol 2 | Sun | Duo, with Alan Silva; other tracks are by Silva and Frank Wright, without Few |
1977 | Few Coming Thru | Sun | Solo piano |
1979 | Continental Jazz Express | Vogue | Solo piano |
1979 | Diom Futa | Free Lance | Trio, with Jo Maka (soprano sax), Cheikh Tidiane Fall (percussion) |
1983 | Rhapsody in Few | Black Lion | Trio, with Alan Silva (bass), Muhammad Ali (drums) |
1992 | Mysteries | Miss You Jazz | |
1997 | Expatriate Kin | CIMP | Trio, with Zusaan Kali Fasteau (cello, soprano sax), Noah Howard (alto sax) |
2000 | Continental Jazz Express | Boxholder | Solo piano; in concert |
2000 | Few and Far Between | Boxholder | Trio, with Avram Fefer (tenor sax), Wilber Morris (bass); in concert |
2002 | Let It Rain | ||
2002 | Live in New York | Boxholder | |
2004 | Kindred Spirits | Boxholder | Duo, with Avram Fefer (tenor sax, clarinet) |
2004 | Heavenly Places | Boxholder | Duo, with Avram Fefer (tenor sax, clarinet) |
2004 | Lights and Shadows | Boxholder | Solo piano |
2005 | Sanctuary | CIMP | with Avram Fefer |
2007 | True Wind | Hello World! | with Sonny Simmons |
Years in brackets refer to dates of recording.
With Albert Ayler
With Jacques Coursil
With Hans Dulfer
With Mike Ellis
With Booker Ervin
With Zusaan Kali Fasteau
With Avram Fefer
With Ricky Ford
With Noah Howard
With Talib Kibwe
With Steve Lacy
With David Murray
With Sunny Murray
With Archie Shepp
With Alan Silva
With Marzette Watts
With Joe Lee Wilson
With Frank Wright
Archie Shepp is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz.
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Homage to Africa is an album by American free jazz drummer Sunny Murray. It was recorded in Paris in August 1969, and released on the BYG Actuel label in 1970. On the album, Murray is joined by saxophonists Roscoe Mitchell, Archie Shepp and Kenneth Terroade, trumpeter Lester Bowie, cornetist Clifford Thornton, trombonist Grachan Moncur III, vocalist Jeanne Lee, pianist Dave Burrell, bassist Alan Silva, and percussionists Malachi Favors, Earl Freeman, and Arthur Jones.
Ketchaoua is an album by multi-instrumentalist and composer Clifford Thornton. It was recorded in August 1969 at Studio Saravah in Paris, and was released by the Actuel label later that year. On the album, Thornton is heard on cornet, and is joined by saxophonists Arthur Jones and Archie Shepp, trombonist Grachan Moncur III, pianist Dave Burrell, bassists Beb Guérin and Earl Freeman, and drummers Sunny Murray and Claude Delcloo.
One for John is an album by saxophonist Frank Wright. Dedicated to Wright's mentor, John Coltrane, it was recorded at Studio Saravah in Paris on December 5, 1969, and was released in 1970 by BYG Records as part of their Actuel series. On the album, Wright is joined by saxophonist Noah Howard, pianist Bobby Few, and drummer Muhammad Ali.
Space Dimension is an album by alto saxophonist Noah Howard. It was recorded during 1970 in Paris, and was released on vinyl in 1971 by America Records. In 2019, it was reissued by Eating Standing, an Italian label. On the album, Howard is joined by tenor saxophonist Frank Wright, pianist Bobby Few, and drummer Art Taylor. Drummer Muhammad Ali also appears on one track. Space Dimension is one of four albums recorded in Paris by the group, the others, credited to Wright, being Uhuru na Umoja, One for John, and Church Number Nine.
Earl Freeman was an American free jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, poet, and artist best known for his work during the 1960s and 70s with Gong, Noah Howard, Sunny Murray, Archie Shepp, and Clifford Thornton.