Arcana (jazz)
Encyclopedia
Arcana was an American jazz fusion
band that formed in 1995 and originally comprised 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.
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
band that formed in 1995 and originally comprised guitarist Derek Bailey, bassist Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell is an American bassist, producer and record label owner....
and drummer Tony Williams. The original lineup released one album, The Last Wave
The Last Wave (album)
-Personnel:*Derek Bailey – guitar*Bill Laswell – bass, production*Tony Williams – drums*John Zorn – assistant production*Kazunori Sugiyama – assistant production*Robert Musso – engineering...
, in July 1996, before Bailey left the band. Guitar duties for the second album were recorded by guest musicians Nicky Skopelitis
Nicky Skopelitis
Nicky Skopelitis is an American guitarist and composer from Greek heritage. He is best known as a guitarist, but also performs on banjo, oud, lute, keyboards and other instruments....
and Buckethead
Buckethead
Brian Carroll , better known by his stage name Buckethead, is a guitarist and multi instrumentalist who has worked within several genres of music. He has released 34 studio albums, four special releases and one EP. He has performed on over 50 more albums by other artists...
, and Arc of the Testimony
Arc of the Testimony
-Personnel:*Nicky Skopelitis – guitar*Bill Laswell – bass, synthesizer, production*Tony Williams – drums, production*Pharoah Sanders – tenor saxophone...
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.
Band members
- Bill LaswellBill LaswellBill Laswell is an American bassist, producer and record label owner....
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, six-string bass, eight-string bass, fretless bassFretless guitarA fretless guitar is a guitar without frets. It operates in the same manner as most other stringed instruments and traditional guitars, but does not have any frets to act as the lower end point of the vibrating string...
, synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, sound effectSound effectFor the album by The Jam, see Sound Affects.Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media...
s - Tony Williams – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Derek Bailey – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
(The Last Wave)
Guest musicians
The following musicians contributed to Arcana's second album, Arc of the Testimony:- Nicky SkopelitisNicky SkopelitisNicky Skopelitis is an American guitarist and composer from Greek heritage. He is best known as a guitarist, but also performs on banjo, oud, lute, keyboards and other instruments....
– guitar, twelve-string guitar - BucketheadBucketheadBrian Carroll , better known by his stage name Buckethead, is a guitarist and multi instrumentalist who has worked within several genres of music. He has released 34 studio albums, four special releases and one EP. He has performed on over 50 more albums by other artists...
– guitar - Pharoah SandersPharoah SandersPharoah Sanders is a Grammy Award–winning American jazz saxophonist.Saxophonist Ornette Coleman once described him as "probably the best tenor player in the world." Emerging from John Coltrane's groups of the mid-60s Sanders is known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on...
– tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble... - Byard LancasterByard LancasterByard Lancaster is a jazz multi-instrumentalist whose primary instrument is the alto saxophone. He attended two colleges, one of them for music, before eventually deciding to pursue an education at the Berklee College of Music, then moving to New York...
– alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
, bass clarinetBass clarinetThe bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet... - Graham HaynesGraham HaynesGraham Haynes is an American cornetist, trumpeter and composer, the son of jazz drummer Roy Haynes....
– cornetCornetThe cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was...
Discography
- The Last WaveThe Last Wave (album)-Personnel:*Derek Bailey – guitar*Bill Laswell – bass, production*Tony Williams – drums*John Zorn – assistant production*Kazunori Sugiyama – assistant production*Robert Musso – engineering...
(1996) - Arc of the TestimonyArc of the Testimony-Personnel:*Nicky Skopelitis – guitar*Bill Laswell – bass, synthesizer, production*Tony Williams – drums, production*Pharoah Sanders – tenor saxophone...
(1997)