James Chance and the Contortions
Encyclopedia
James Chance
James Chance, also known as James White , is an American saxophonist, songwriter and singer....
, were one of the original punk jazz
Punk jazz
Punk jazz describes the amalgamation of elements of the jazz tradition with the instrumentation or conceptual heritage of punk rock...
groups of the New York No Wave
No Wave
No Wave was a short-lived but influential underground music, film, performance art, video, and contemporary art scene that had its beginnings during the mid-1970s in New York City. The term No Wave is in part satirical word play rejecting the commercial elements of the then-popular New Wave genre...
music scene. Their first recording, credited solely as Contortions, was on the 1978 compilation, No New York
No New York
No New York is a compilation album released in 1978 by Antilles Records under the curation of producer Brian Eno. Although it only contained songs by four different artists, it is considered by many to be the definitive single album documenting New York City's late-1970s No Wave...
, produced by Brain Eno. The following year, two albums were issued almost simultaneously on ZE Records
ZE Records
ZE Records was originally a New York-based record label, started in 1978 by Michael Zilkha and Michel Esteban. It has been re-established by Esteban since 2003.-History:Michael Zilkha ZE Records (always written with two capital letters) was originally a New York-based record label, started in...
; Buy and Off White under the moniker James White and the Blacks. The same musicians recorded both records, though none are credited on the album cover.
Original Contortions guitarist Pat Place went on to found Bush Tetras
Bush Tetras
Bush Tetras are an American post-punk band from New York City, popular in the Manhattan club scene in the early 1980s but never achieving much mainstream success. Their music combined funk rhythms and dissonant guitar riffs.-History:...
. Georges Scott played with Lydia Lunch
Lydia Lunch
Lydia Lunch is an American singer, poet, writer, and actress whose career was spawned by the New York No Wave scene...
and Michael Paumgarten in 8-Eyed Spy
8-Eyed Spy
8-Eyed Spy was a late 1970s No Wave/Post-punk band featuring Lydia Lunch, Jim Sclavunos, Pat Irwin, Michael Paumgardhen and George Scott III. They covered the Swamp rock classic "Run Through the Jungle" by Creedence Clearwater Revival and Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit"...
. Shortly thereafter, guitarist Jody Harris
Jody Harris
Jody Harris is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer who was born in Kansas and became a central figure in the seminal No Wave scene in New York City in the 1970s.-Career history:...
formed Raybeats
Raybeats
The Raybeats were an instrumental neo-surf rock combo from New York City that arose from the No Wave musical scene. The original line-up consisted of Don Christensen , Jody Harris , Pat Irwin , and George Scott III .- History :The Raybeats formed in 1979, brought together by George Scott...
with Don Christensen, George Scott III and Pat Irwin
Pat Irwin
Pat Irwin is an American composer and musician, who was a founding member of a number of groups that grew out of New York City's No Wave scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including 8-Eyed Spy and Raybeats. He has composed the scores for numerous films and cartoons...
. Keyboardist Adele Bertei formed the Bloods, after which she released a solo record, Little Lives, in 1988. In 1979 George Scott toured with John Cale, as documented on the album Sabotage Live. Some of the members of "James White and the Blacks," notably Joseph Bowie
Joseph Bowie
Joseph Bowie is an American bandleader, trombonist, and founder of the seminal jazz fusion band, Defunkt. The group has been blending jazz with funk and punk music for more than three consecutive decades....
, later separated from Chance and formed the band Defunkt
Defunkt
Defunkt is a musical group founded by trombonist/singer Joseph Bowie 1978 in New York, United States, and still active. Their music touches on elements of punk rock, funk and jazz....
.
On November 30, 2010 James Chance, Pat Place, Don Christensen, Jody Harris, Adele Bertei, and Robert Aaron reunited at Le Poisson Rouge for a single performance. Robert Aaron wasn't an original member, but frequently collaborated with Chance.
Discography
- No New YorkNo New YorkNo New York is a compilation album released in 1978 by Antilles Records under the curation of producer Brian Eno. Although it only contained songs by four different artists, it is considered by many to be the definitive single album documenting New York City's late-1970s No Wave...
(1978) - BuyBuy (album)Buy is a 1979 album by James Chance and the Contortions released under the name Contortions. Buy was Contortions' debut album, originally released by the indie label ZE, while at the same time the album Off White under the alias of James White, was also released.-Track listing:All tracks by James...
(1979) - Paris 1980 Live Aux Bains Douches (1980)
- Live in New York (1981)
- Soul Exorcism (1991)
- Lost Chance (1995)
- White Cannibal (2000)