Archie Shepp | Artist
Archie Shepp is an American jazz saxophonist born 1937 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He is known for his contributions to the avant-garde jazz movement, alongside other pioneers such as Ornette Colman, John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders. He developed a passion for music at a young age and quickly became proficient in playing the saxophone. In the late 1950s, he moved to Philadelphia to study music, where he immersed himself in the local jazz scene and honed his skills, drawing inspiration from the blues, gospel, and the avant-garde jazz movement that was gaining momentum in the 1960s. It was John Coltrane's admiration for Shepp which led to recordings for Impulse! Records, the first of which was Four For Trane (1964). Shepp then participated in the sessions for Coltrane's seminal A Love Supreme, in late 1964, but none of the takes he played on were included on the final LP release (they were made available for the first time on a 2002 reissue). However Shepp and others from the Four for Trane sessions, then recorded Ascention with Coltrane in 1965, and his place alongside Coltrane at the forefront of the avant-garde jazz scene was further solidified when the pair split an LP entitled New Thing at Newport released in late 1965. The same year Shepp released Fire Music, which showed the first signs of his developing political consciousness and his increasingly Afrocentric orientation. The album took its title from a ceremonial African music tradition and included a reading of an elegy for Malcolm X. Shepp's 1967 The Magic of Ju-Ju also took its name from African musical traditions, with a sound strongly rooted in African music featuring an African percussion ensemble. Shepp continued to experiment into the new decade, at various times including harmonica players and spoken word poets in his ensembles. His discography spans a remarkable range from experimental free jazz to soulful ballads, with over 80 studio and 45 live albums to his credit, including solo and collaborative works. Standout albums include Four For Trane (1964), Mama Too Tight (1967), The Magic of Ju-Ju (1968), The Way Ahead (1968), Blasé (1969), Yasmina a Black Woman (1969), Attica Blues (1972), Goin' Home (1977), Left Alone Revisited w/ Mal Waldron (2002). Also recommended are the live albums New Thing at Newport w/ John Coltrane (1968), and The Long March w/ Max Roach (1980). Beyond his musical prowess, Shepp's work has been deeply influenced by his unwavering commitment to civil rights and social activism. He used his platform as a musician to address issues of racial inequality and oppression, infusing his compositions with political commentary. In the late 1960s, Shepp began his teaching career as a professor of African-American Studies at SUNY Buffalo, New York. In 1971, Shepp was recruited to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, beginning a 30-year career as a professor of music. In 2020 Shepp recorded the album Ocean Bridges, together with his son aka Raw Poetic, and hip-hop artist Damu the Fudgemunk.
Artist Website: archieshepp.org
Featured Albums: Archie Shepp
Related Artists: John Coltrane, Don Cherry
