Melvin Gibbs | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
Genres | Jazz fusion, alternative metal, funk rock, ambient, hip hop |
Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, producer |
Instrument(s) | Bass guitar |
Years active | 1980–present |
Labels | Livewired Music, Rage |
Member of | Black Rock Coalition |
Formerly of | Rollins Band, Defunkt, Eye and I |
Website | music |
Melvin Gibbs is an American bass guitarist who has appeared on close to 200 albums in diverse genres of music. Among others, Gibbs is known for working in jazz with drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson and guitarist Sonny Sharrock, and in rock music with Rollins Band and Arto Lindsay.
A native of Brooklyn, New York, Gibbs attended Medgar Evers College and the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. After graduating from Berklee College of Music, [1] Gibbs first came to public notice as a member of the group Defunkt, which was a mainstay of the early 1980s downtown New York scene. Throughout most of the 1980s, he played in drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson's Decoding Society with guitarist Vernon Reid and with guitarist Sonny Sharrock and saxophonist John Zorn. With Jackson and guitarist Bill Frisell he was a member of the group Power Tools. Gibbs co-led the band Eye and I with D.K. Dyson who also co-founded the Black Rock Coalition of which he is an original member.
Gibbs took on the role of record producer while with the Rollins Band in the 1990s. He worked in that capacity, producing records for other artists on Rage Records. [1]
He was a member of the avant-metal Rollins Band from 1993 to about 1998 and again in 2006 when the group briefly reformed. As a member of the Rollins Band, he performed at Woodstock '94 in 1994 and was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1995. Gibbs has also recorded with hip-hop musician Dead Prez, Brazilian musicians Caetano Veloso and Marisa Monte, Latin jazz musician Eddie Palmieri, Nigerian musician Femi Kuti, and guitarist Marc Ribot. He has produced albums by guitarist Arto Lindsay and turntablist DJ Logic.
Gibbs formed the Punk-Funk All-Stars with James Blood Ulmer, Defunkt leader Joseph Bowie, Vernon Reid and Ronald Shannon Jackson. In 1998, Gibbs, guitarist Brandon Ross, and drummer J.T. Lewis formed the trio Harriet Tubman, which continues to perform concerts and record, as of 2023. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Ancients Speak, the first album by Melvin Gibbs' Elevated Entity, was released on March 17, 2009, by Livewired Music. In 2009, he joined the group SociaLybrium with Bernie Worrell of Parliament-Funkadelic, DeWayne "Blackbyrd" McKnight, and J.T. Lewis. The group's album, For You/For Us/For All was released by Livewired in December 2009.
Gibbs' other projects include Melvin Runs the Hoodoo Down with guitarist Pete Cosey and keyboard player John Medeski; the Geechee Seminoles with percussionist David Pleasant; [7] Zig Zag Power Trio with guitarist Vernon Reid and drummer Will Calhoun; God Particle with cosmologist/saxophonist Stephon Alexander, David Pleasant, and other musicians; [8] and Melvin Gibbs Magnum. [9]
With Defunkt
With Rollins Band
With Harriet Tubman
Other bands
With Jean-Paul Bourelly
With DJ Logic
With Arto Lindsay
With Marisa Monte
With Sonny Sharrock
With Moreno Veloso
With Vitamin C
With John Zorn
With others
Rollins Band was an American rock band formed in Van Nuys, California. The band was active from 1987 to 2006 and was led by former Black Flag vocalist Henry Rollins. They are best known for the songs "Low Self Opinion" and "Liar", which both earned heavy airplay on MTV in the early-mid 1990s.
Living Colour is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. The band currently consists of guitarist Vernon Reid, lead vocalist Corey Glover, drummer Will Calhoun and bassist Doug Wimbish. Stylistically, their music is a creative fusion influenced by heavy metal, funk, jazz, hip hop, punk, and alternative rock. The band's lyrics range from the personal to the political, including social commentary on racism in the United States.
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.
Ronald Shannon Jackson was an American jazz drummer from Fort Worth, Texas. A pioneer of avant-garde jazz, free funk, and jazz fusion, he appeared on over 50 albums as a bandleader, sideman, arranger, and producer. Jackson and bassist Sirone are the only musicians to have performed and recorded with the three prime shapers of free jazz: pianist Cecil Taylor, and saxophonists Ornette Coleman and Albert Ayler.
Elliott Sharp is an American contemporary classical composer, multi-instrumentalist, performer, author, and visual artist.
Lee Jason Kilber, known professionally as DJ Logic, is an American turntablist active primarily in nu-jazz/acid jazz and with jam bands.
Vernon Alphonsus Reid is an British-born American guitarist and songwriter best known as the founder of the rock band Living Colour. Reid was named No. 66 on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.
Peter Palus Cosey was an American guitarist who played with Miles Davis' band between 1973 and 1975. His fiercely flanged and distorted guitar invited comparisons to Jimi Hendrix. Cosey kept a low profile for much of his career and released no solo recorded works. He appeared on Davis's albums Get Up with It (1974), Agharta (1975), Pangaea (1976), Dark Magus (1977), and The Complete On the Corner Sessions (2007).
Defunkt is an American musical group founded by the trombonist and singer Joseph Bowie in 1978 in New York City. Their music touches on elements of punk rock, funk, and jazz.
Spillane is an album by American composer and saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist John Zorn, composed of three "file-card pieces", as well as a work for voice, string quartet and turntables.
Ambitious Lovers were a musical duo composed of guitarist/singer Arto Lindsay and keyboardist Peter Scherer, active from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. Their music incorporated elements from Brazilian music and funk. Despite strong reviews from critics for their three albums, Ambitious Lovers found little success with mainstream audiences.
Man Dance is an album by Ronald Shannon Jackson and The Decoding Society, recorded in 1982 for the Antilles label.
The Cooler, a music and performance space, opened on Wednesday, September 22, 1993 at 416 West 14th Street in the Meatpacking District in Manhattan. The club showcased a wide variety of experimental music, Americana music, roots music, and spoken-word performers. Performances at The Cooler also included dance, film and video arts, and club parties. The Cooler blended live music, DJs, turntablists, and electronic dance music (EDM).
Iron Path is the only studio album by the free jazz band Last Exit. It was released in 1988 on Venture and Virgin Records.
Lance Carter was an American jazz drummer and percussionist. A musician for more than 30 years, he is recognized for his work with Grammy Award-winning artist Cassandra Wilson and as a long-time collaborator of Sonny Sharrock, with whom he recorded the theme song to the Cartoon Network series Space Ghost Coast to Coast.
Brandon K. Ross is an American jazz guitarist. He was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Barbeque Dog is an album by Ronald Shannon Jackson and The Decoding Society, recorded in 1983 for the Antilles label. The album cover was designed by Eiko Ishioka.
Decode Yourself is an album by Ronald Shannon Jackson and The Decoding Society, recorded in 1985 for the Island label.
Red Warrior is an album by the American jazz drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson, released in 1990. It was rereleased by Mango Records the following year.
Grant Calvin Weston is a drummer best known for his association with Ornette Coleman's band Prime Time.