King Crimson were an English progressive rock band from London. Formed in November 1968 (officially January 1969), the group originally included bassist and vocalist Greg Lake, guitarist and later keyboardist Robert Fripp, keyboardist and woodwind musician Ian McDonald, lyricist Peter Sinfield, and drummer Michael Giles. After a number of personnel changes, the group disbanded in 1974 but have since reformed on a number of occasions. As of the latest lineup change in 2020, King Crimson consisted of Fripp (the sole constant member of the band), saxophonist and flautist Mel Collins (who first joined in 1970), bassist Tony Levin (who first joined in 1981), drummers Pat Mastelotto (who first joined in 1994) and Gavin Harrison (since 2007), guitarist and vocalist Jakko Jakszyk (since 2013), and drummer and keyboardist Jeremy Stacey (since 2016).
After some initial rehearsals starting in late November 1968, King Crimson were officially formed on 13 January 1969 with a lineup of Greg Lake on bass and vocals, Robert Fripp on guitar, Ian McDonald on woodwind and keyboards, Peter Sinfield as a lyricist and occasional synthesizer player, and Michael Giles on drums. [1] After the recording of the band's debut album In the Court of the Crimson King , McDonald and Giles left King Crimson in January 1970 after playing their last show on 16 December 1969. [2] Fripp, Lake and Sinfield recorded the band's second album In the Wake of Poseidon with a temporary lineup featuring Giles, his brother Peter Giles and Mel Collins. Lake then departed to form Emerson, Lake & Palmer, [3] while Fripp and Sinfield rebuilt the group after the album's release, finalising the new lineup by August with Collins, Gordon Haskell and Andy McCulloch in place of McDonald, Lake and Giles, respectively. [1] After recording Lizard , both Haskell and McCulloch departed. [4]
Ian Wallace replaced McCulloch in December 1970, [1] and Raymond "Boz" Burrell took over from Haskell the following February. The group released Islands and returned to regular touring over the next year, Burrell, Collins and Wallace all left to join Alexis Korner's new group Snape in April 1972. [5] Sinfield had left the group in January 1972. After the release of the live album Earthbound , Fripp rebuilt King Crimson again in July 1972 with the additions of former Family bassist and vocalist John Wetton, violinist and keyboardist David Cross, former Yes drummer Bill Bruford, and percussionist Jamie Muir. [1] [6] After the first of two live shows scheduled upon completion of the group's new album Larks' Tongues in Aspic , Muir abruptly left King Crimson to pursue Buddhism. [7] The remaining four-piece issued Starless and Bible Black in March 1974. [8]
By the time the group began recording the follow-up Red in July 1974, King Crimson were a trio following Cross's departure at the end of the previous tour. [9] Later, on 25 September, Fripp announced that King Crimson had officially disbanded, [1] claiming that the group were "completely over for ever and ever". [10] After several years of side projects, Fripp formed a group called Discipline in April 1981 with former King Crimson drummer Bruford, as well as vocalist and guitarist Adrian Belew, and bassist and Chapman stick player Tony Levin. By the time the band's debut album Discipline was released in October, they had adopted the King Crimson name. [11] This lineup remained stable for three years, releasing follow-up albums Beat and Three of a Perfect Pair , before disbanding again upon the conclusion of a promotional touring cycle in July 1984. [12]
After a ten-year break, King Crimson reformed again in 1994, with Fripp, Belew, Levin and Bruford joined by second bassist/Chapman stick player Trey Gunn and second drummer Pat Mastelotto. [1] This lineup, dubbed the "Double Trio", began rehearsing in April 1994 and released its only studio effort THRAK the following year. [13] After touring extensively, the group returned to the studio in May 1997 for the recording of their twelfth studio album, but faced difficulties making progress with the sessions. [14] Instead of disbanding again, Fripp decided to initiate a process of "fraKctalisation", splitting the six band members into four "ProjeKcts" of various lineups. [15] Each ProjeKct performed several live shows and wrote together, serving as "research and development" units for the full King Crimson incarnation. [14]
The ProjeKcts spawned several studio and live recordings, which were issued in 1999 as part of The ProjeKcts box set. [16] By this time the lineup of King Crimson was a "Double Duo" consisting of Belew, Fripp, Gunn and Mastelotto, following the departures of Bruford and Levin. [1] The band released two new studio albums, The ConstruKction of Light and The Power to Believe , before Gunn announced in November 2003 that he was leaving to explore new musical opportunities. [17] Levin returned to take his place. [1] Rehearsals subsequently began for planned new material, with a string of rehearsal sessions taking place in September 2004, [18] before the group disbanded for a third time. [1]
In June 2007, Fripp announced that a new lineup of King Crimson had been finalised for the band's 40th anniversary tour the following year. [19] In addition to the members of the 2004 incarnation, Gavin Harrison of Porcupine Tree was added as a second drummer. [20] The tour took place in August 2008, [21] after which members returned to focus on other projects. [1] In September 2013, despite claiming the previous year that he was retiring, Fripp announced another reformation of King Crimson. [22] In addition to Levin, Mastoletto and Harrison, the eighth lineup was confirmed to include returning saxophonist and flautist Mel Collins, new guitarist and vocalist Jakko Jakszyk, and third drummer Bill Rieflin. [23] In March 2016, Jeremy Stacey replaced Rieflin for the year's touring, [24] becoming a full member during the winter leg of the tour. [25] Rieflin switched over to being the band's first full-time keyboardist upon his return in January 2017. [26]
Rieflin was temporarily replaced again for an autumn 2017 tour by Chris Gibson. [27] For the band's 50th anniversary tour in 2019, it was announced that Rieflin would once more be temporarily replaced, this time by Theo Travis. [28] However, after a day of rehearsal, the band opted instead to do the 2019 tour as a seven-piece. [29] Rieflin's parts were divided among other band members, with Jakszyk and Collins adding keyboards to their on-stage rigs, and Levin once again using the synthesizer he used during the 1980s tours. [30] Rieflin died of cancer on March 23, 2020, reducing the line-up to a septet. [31]
On December 8, 2021, the band played the last show of their "Music Is Our Friend" tour, after which Fripp tweeted out that the band had "Moved from sound to silence", [32] Levin published in his blog “Tonight is the final concert of the tour, and quite possibly the final King Crimson concert.". [32] No announcements have been heard from the band since December, though Harrison has said that he in unsure whether the band is over. [33] Though the 2013-2021 line ups are the longest running line-ups in the band's history, they never released any studio material, except "Fripp, Jakszyk & Collins' A Scarcity of Miracles" (featuring Fripp, Jakszyk, Collins, Levin and Harrison) and Jakko Jakszyk's "Secrets & Lies" (also featuring Fripp, Jakszyk, Collins, Levin and Harrison, and which most material was written during King Crimson writing sessions). The band was not musically active in 2022, with Fripp re-stating that the band is unlikely to tour again. [34]
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|
Robert Fripp |
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| all King Crimson releases | |
Mel Collins |
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|
| |
Tony Levin |
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|
| |
Pat Mastelotto |
|
| Vrooom (1994) Live in Japan (1996), Live in Mexico City (1999) Vrooom Vrooom (2001), all releases from Happy with What You Have to Be Happy With (2002) onwards | |
Gavin Harrison |
|
| all King Crimson releases from Live at the Orpheum (2015) onwards | |
Jakko Jakszyk | 2013–2021 |
| ||
Jeremy Stacey | 2016–2021 |
| all King Crimson releases from Heroes (2017) onwards |
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|
Peter Sinfield | 1968–1972 |
|
| |
Michael Giles | 1968–1970 |
|
| |
Greg Lake | 1968–1970 (died 2016) |
| ||
Ian McDonald | 1968–1970 (session contributor in 1974) (died 2022) |
|
| |
Peter Giles | 1970 |
| In the Wake of Poseidon (1970) | |
Gordon Haskell | 1970 (session contributor earlier in 1970) (died 2020) |
|
| |
Andy McCulloch | 1970 | drums |
| |
Ian Wallace | 1970–1972 (died 2007) |
|
| |
Raymond "Boz" Burrell | 1971–1972 (died 2006) |
| ||
Bill Bruford |
|
|
| |
John Wetton | 1972–1974 (died 2017) |
|
| |
David Cross | 1972–1974 |
| all King Crimson releases from Larks' Tongues in Aspic (1973) to USA (1975) | |
Jamie Muir | 1972–1973 |
| Larks' Tongues in Aspic (1973) | |
Adrian Belew |
|
| Discipline (1981) Beat (1982) Three of a Perfect Pair: Live in Japan (1984),Vrooom (1994) Live in Japan (1996), all King Crimson releases from Absent Lovers: Live in Montreal (1998) to Vrooom Vrooom (2001), Happy with What You Have to Be Happy With (2002) Eyes Wide Open (2003) | |
Trey Gunn | 1994–2003 |
| Vrooom (1994) Live in Japan (1996), Live in Mexico City (1999) Vrooom Vrooom (2001), Happy with What You Have to Be Happy With (2002) Eyes Wide Open (2003) | |
Bill Rieflin |
|
|
|
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
Chris Gibson | 2017 |
| Gibson temporarily replaced Bill Rieflin during an autumn 2017 concert tour. [27] He appears on the second half of the 2017 disc of Audio Diary 2014-2018. |
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|
Keith Tippett |
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|
| |
Robin Miller |
|
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Mark Charig |
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Nick Evans | 1970 |
| Lizard (1970) | |
Jon Anderson |
| |||
Paulina Lucas | 1971 | Islands (1971) | ||
Wilf Gibson | 1971 (died 2014) |
| ||
Harry Miller | 1971 (died 1983) |
| ||
Richard Palmer-James | 1973–1974 |
|
| |
Eddie Jobson | 1975 |
| USA (1975) (studio overdubs only) |
Period | Members | Releases |
---|---|---|
November 1968 – January 1970 |
|
|
January–April 1970 |
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August – November 1970 |
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February – December 1971 |
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December 1971 – April 1972 |
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July 1972 – February 1973 |
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February 1973 – July 1974 |
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July – September 1974 |
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Band inactive September 1974 – April 1981 | ||
April 1981 – July 1984 |
|
|
Band inactive July 1984 – April 1994 | ||
April 1994 – December 1999 (The Double Trio) |
|
|
December 1999 – December 2003 (The Double Duo) |
|
|
December 2003 – June 2007 |
| none |
June 2007 – August 2008 |
| |
Band inactive August 2008 – September 2013 | ||
September 2013 – March 2016 |
|
|
March 2016 – January 2017 |
|
|
January 2017 – April 2019 |
|
|
April 2019 – December 2021 |
|
Period | Members | Releases |
---|---|---|
ProjeKct One (December 1997) |
|
|
ProjeKct Two (November 1997 – July 1998) |
|
|
ProjeKct Three (March 1999 and March 2003) |
|
|
ProjeKct Four (October – November 1998) |
|
|
ProjeKct X (December 1999 – May 2000) |
|
|
21st Century Schizoid Band (2002–2004) |
|
|
ProjeKct Six (October 2006) |
| none – Collector's Club releases only |
Jakszyk, Fripp and Collins: A King Crimson ProjeKct (2010–2011) |
|
|
The Crimson ProjeKct (2011–2014) |
|
|
Beat (September - November 2024) |
|
|
King Crimson were an English progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London. The band drew inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, blues, industrial, electronic, experimental music and new wave. They exerted a strong influence on the early 1970s progressive rock movement, including on contemporaries such as Yes and Genesis, and continue to inspire subsequent generations of artists across multiple genres. The band earned a large cult following.
Robert Fripp is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session musician and collaborator, notably with David Bowie, Blondie, Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel, Daryl Hall, The Roches, Talking Heads, and David Sylvian. He also composed the startup sound of Windows Vista operating system, in collaboration with Tucker Martine and Steve Ball. His discography includes contributions to more than 700 official releases.
Lee Patrick Mastelotto is an American rock drummer and record producer. He has been a member of King Crimson, Stick Men, Mr. Mister and O.R.k., as well as working as a session drummer with XTC, The Pointer Sisters and The Rembrandts, among others. In addition, he has led or co-led other projects including Mastica, Tuner, TU and The Mastelottos.
Anthony Frederick Levin is an American musician and composer specializing in electric bass guitars, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (1981–2021) and Peter Gabriel. He is also a member of Liquid Tension Experiment, Bruford Levin Upper Extremities (1998–2000) and HoBoLeMa (2008–2010). He has led his own band, Stick Men, since 2010.
The Construkction of Light is the twelfth studio album by English band King Crimson, released in May 2000 by record label Virgin. It is the first of two studio albums to feature the "double duo" line-up of Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Trey Gunn and Pat Mastelotto. It is the only King Crimson studio album not to chart in the US.
Jazz Café Suite is a live album by ProjeKct One, one of the four sub-groups known as ProjeKcts into which the band King Crimson 'fraKctalised' from 1997 to 1999. The album was released by Discipline Global Mobile records in 2003.
Trey Gunn is an American musician, known for being in the progressive rock band King Crimson from 1994 to 2003. He plays Warr Guitar and Chapman Stick instruments.
King Crimson Live at Summit Studios is a live album of radio session recordings by the band King Crimson, released by the Discipline Global Mobile label through the King Crimson Collectors' Club in February 2000. The album was recorded at Summit Studios in Denver, Colorado on 12 March 1972 during one of the band's American tours. The performance was notable for the absence of the band's trademark Mellotron, resulting in an unusual setlist and the inclusion of two lengthy collective improvisations.
A Beginners' Guide to the King Crimson Collectors' Club is a 2000 album by the band King Crimson, compiled from King Crimson Collectors' Club albums - limited release live recordings of concert performances, studio sessions and radio sessions.
Discipline Global Mobile is an independent record label founded in 1992 by Robert Fripp and producer/online content developer David Singleton. DGM has released solo music by Fripp as well as work by various affiliated musicians and bands including King Crimson, The Vicar, the California Guitar Trio and others. The label has offices in Salisbury, England, and Los Angeles, California.
Michael "Jakko" Jakszyk is an English musician, record producer, and actor. He has released several solo albums as a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as lead singer and second guitarist of King Crimson from 2013 to present succeeding Adrian Belew in the role. His work has been variously credited to "Jakko", "Jakko Jakszyk", and "Jakko M. Jakszyk".
The ProjeKcts are a succession of spin-off projects associated with the band King Crimson.
A Scarcity of Miracles is the lone album by Jakszyk, Fripp and Collins, released in 2011. It united singer and guitarist Jakko Jakszyk with three musicians best known from King Crimson, guitarist Robert Fripp, saxophonist Mel Collins and bassist/Chapman Stick player Tony Levin. Porcupine Tree member Gavin Harrison was featured on drums. Jakszyk and Harrison would go on to participate together in the next incarnation of King Crimson.
"Islands" is the title and closing track of the album of the same name by the progressive rock band, King Crimson, released in 1971. The song's pastoral, mellow, and quiet feeling distinguish it from the album's first four tracks. The song was played live only a few times in 1971, with Collins using a regular concert flute, and Fripp playing guitar in place of Marc Charig's cornet.
Live at the Orpheum is a live album by the band King Crimson, released by Discipline Global Mobile records in 2015. The album was recorded on 30 September and 1 October at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, California on the band's The Elements of King Crimson US tour of 2014.
David Singleton is an English record producer, audio engineer, record label director, musician, songwriter, author and Internet entrepreneur. He is best known as the production and business partner of Robert Fripp of King Crimson.
Live in Toronto is a live album by the band King Crimson, released by Discipline Global Mobile records in 2016. The album was recorded on 20 November at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto, Canada during the band's The Elements of King Crimson tour of 2015. It is the second full-length release by the current seven-piece incarnation of the band and featured new compositions never before released by the band on record.
Live in Chicago, or Official Bootleg: Live in Chicago, June 28, 2017, is a live album by the English progressive rock band King Crimson, released through Discipline Global Mobile records on 14 October 2017. The album was recorded on 28 June at the Chicago Theatre in Chicago, Illinois during the band's 2017 United States tour. It is the first full-length release by the eight-piece incarnation of the band and features new songs and rearrangements of compositions mostly from the early 1970s.
Live in Vienna, or Live in Vienna, December 1, 2016, is a triple-disc live album by the English progressive rock band King Crimson, originally released in a limited capacity in Japan as Live in Vienna 2016 + Live in Tokyo 2015 on 27 September 2017. The expanded album, just titled Live in Vienna, was released through Discipline Global Mobile on 6 April 2018.
Meltdown: Live in Mexico City is a Blu-ray and triple-disc CD live album by the English progressive rock band King Crimson. Recorded over five nights in July 2017, Meltdown was released on 20 October 2018 and was produced by the band's keyboardist Bill Rieflin from Multitrack recordings. The release was announced in August 2018 and was preceded by streaming of the track "Indiscipline" on 4 October.