Joe Beck
Encyclopedia
Joe Beck was an American
guitar
ist who had been notable in jazz
for more than 30 years.
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, Beck also briefly flirted with rock music in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Beck played in a variety of jazz media, including jazz fusion
, post bop, mainstream jazz
and soul jazz
.
Beck began as a member of the Gil Evans
orchestra.
In 1970 he released Rock Encounter on Polydor Records
. In 1975 he released an eponymous album for Kudu Records. With Esther Phillips
, he released an album, What a Diff'rence a Day Makes in 1975 on Kudu Records.
In the 1980s Beck recorded several CD's for the DMP Digital Music Products
label, including co-billed work with the noted flautist Ali Ryerson
.
In 2000, he released a collaboration with Jimmy Bruno
, Polarity.
He played and recorded with numerous artists, including: Miles Davis
, Herbie Hancock
, Gil Evans
, Duke Ellington
, Buddy Rich
, Paul Desmond
, Maynard Ferguson
, Woody Herman
, Stan Getz
, Kenny Rankin
, Ali Ryerson
, Larry Coryell
, Gene Ammons
, Sergio Mendez
, Antonio Carlos Jobim
, Dom Um Romão
, Sabicas
, Jimmy Bruno
, Laura Nyro
, Houston Person
, Roger Kellaway
, Richie Havens
, Paul Simon
, Joe Farrell
, James Brown
, David Sanborn
and Gato Barbieri
.
Beck died in Woodbury, Connecticut
of complications from lung cancer
.
...
With James Brown
With Miles Davis
With Duke Ellington
and Teresa Brewer
With Gil Evans
With Ronnie Foster
Wit Al Kooper
With Brother Jack McDuff
With Idris Muhammad
With Paul Simon
With Bobby Timmons
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
guitar
Guitar
The 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...
ist who had been notable in jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
for more than 30 years.
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, Beck also briefly flirted with rock music in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Beck played in a variety of jazz media, including jazz fusion
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,...
, post bop, mainstream jazz
Mainstream jazz
Mainstream jazz is a genre of jazz music that was first used in reference to the playing styles around the 1950s of musicians like Buck Clayton among others; performers who once heralded from the era of big band swing music who did not abandon swing for bebop, instead performing the music in...
and soul jazz
Soul jazz
Soul jazz is a development of jazz incorporating strong influences from blues, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues in music for small groups, often an organ trio featuring a Hammond organ.- Overview :Soul jazz is often associated with hard bop. Mark C...
.
Beck began as a member of the Gil Evans
Gil Evans
Gil Evans was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader, active in the United States...
orchestra.
In 1970 he released Rock Encounter on Polydor Records
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
. In 1975 he released an eponymous album for Kudu Records. With Esther Phillips
Esther Phillips
Esther Phillips was an American singer. Phillips was known for her R&B vocals, but she was a versatile singer, also performing pop, country, jazz, blues and soul music.-Early life:...
, he released an album, What a Diff'rence a Day Makes in 1975 on Kudu Records.
In the 1980s Beck recorded several CD's for the DMP Digital Music Products
DMP Digital Music Products
DMP Digital Music Products was one of the first fully digital recording labels, generally specializing in jazz artists. Founded by engineer and digital recording pioneer Tom Jung after leaving Sound 80 recording studios in Minneapolis, its first releases in 1983 featured pianist Warren Bernhardt,...
label, including co-billed work with the noted flautist Ali Ryerson
Ali Ryerson
Ali Ryerson is a flautist with a background in both classical and jazz, as well as being an instructor. She has performed and toured worldwide with a wide range of artists including Billy Taylor, Kenny Barron, Stephane Grappelli, Frank Wess, Red Rodney, Laurindo Almeida, Art Farmer, Maxine...
.
In 2000, he released a collaboration with Jimmy Bruno
Jimmy Bruno
-Biography:Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Bruno started playing at the age of 7. He began his professional career at the age of 19, touring with Buddy Rich. Among his many credits, he is the only guitarist to have ever led Frank Sinatra's band...
, Polarity.
He played and recorded with numerous artists, including: Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
, Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
, Gil Evans
Gil Evans
Gil Evans was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader, active in the United States...
, Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Buddy Rich
Buddy Rich
Bernard "Buddy" Rich was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer" and was known for his virtuosic technique, power, groove, and speed.-Early life:...
, Paul Desmond
Paul Desmond
Paul Desmond , born Paul Emil Breitenfeld, was a jazz alto saxophonist and composer born in San Francisco, best known for the work he did in the Dave Brubeck Quartet and for penning that group's greatest hit, "Take Five"...
, Maynard Ferguson
Maynard Ferguson
Maynard Ferguson was a Canadian jazz musician and bandleader. He came to prominence playing in Stan Kenton's orchestra, before forming his own band in 1957...
, Woody Herman
Woody Herman
Woodrow Charles Herman , known as Woody Herman, was an American jazz clarinetist, alto and soprano saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading various groups called "The Herd," Herman was one of the most popular of the 1930s and '40s bandleaders...
, Stan Getz
Stan Getz
Stanley Getz was an American jazz saxophone player. Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of his idol, Lester Young. Coming to prominence in the late 1940s with Woody Herman's big band, Getz is described by critic Scott...
, Kenny Rankin
Kenny Rankin
Kenny Rankin was an American pop and jazz singer and songwriter, originally from the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City, New York.-Biography:...
, Ali Ryerson
Ali Ryerson
Ali Ryerson is a flautist with a background in both classical and jazz, as well as being an instructor. She has performed and toured worldwide with a wide range of artists including Billy Taylor, Kenny Barron, Stephane Grappelli, Frank Wess, Red Rodney, Laurindo Almeida, Art Farmer, Maxine...
, Larry Coryell
Larry Coryell
Larry Coryell is an American jazz fusion guitarist.-Biography:Coryell was born in Galveston, Texas. He graduated from Richland High School, in Richland, Washington, where he played in local bands The Jailers, The Rumblers, The Royals, and The Flames. He also played with The Checkers from nearby...
, Gene Ammons
Gene Ammons
Eugene "Jug" Ammons also known as "The Boss," was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, and the son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons.-Biography:...
, Sergio Mendez
Sergio Méndez
Sergio de Jesús Méndez Cortéz was a football player from El Salvador who represented his country at the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico.-Club career:Nicknamed el Tabudo, Méndez played for Atlético Marte and Águila....
, Antonio Carlos Jobim
Antônio Carlos Jobim
Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim , also known as Tom Jobim , was a Brazilian songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, and pianist/guitarist. He was a primary force behind the creation of the bossa nova style, and his songs have been performed by many singers and instrumentalists within...
, Dom Um Romão
Dom Um Romão
Dom Um Romão was a Brazilian jazz drummer and percussionist. Noted for his expressive stylings with the fusion band Weather Report, Romão recorded with varied artists such as Cannonball Adderley, Paul Simon, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 and Tony Bennett...
, Sabicas
Sabicas
Sabicas was a Flamenco guitarist, of Romani origin, who was born in 1912 in Pamplona, Spain and died in 14 April 1990 in New York....
, Jimmy Bruno
Jimmy Bruno
-Biography:Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Bruno started playing at the age of 7. He began his professional career at the age of 19, touring with Buddy Rich. Among his many credits, he is the only guitarist to have ever led Frank Sinatra's band...
, Laura Nyro
Laura Nyro
Laura Nyro was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved considerable critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums Eli and the Thirteenth Confession and New York Tendaberry, and had commercial success with artists such as Barbra Streisand and The 5th...
, Houston Person
Houston Person
Houston Person is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and record producer. Although he has performed in the hard bop and swing genres, he is most experienced in and best known for his work in soul jazz. Person is also known for his distinctive sassy sound and his expressive style of playing...
, Roger Kellaway
Roger Kellaway
Roger Kellaway is an American composer, arranger, and pianist.Born in Waban, Massachusetts, he is an alumnus of the New England Conservatory...
, Richie Havens
Richie Havens
Richard P. "Richie" Havens is an African American folk singer and guitarist. He is best known for his intense, rhythmic guitar style , soulful covers of pop and folk songs, and his opening performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival.-Career:Born in Brooklyn, Havens was the eldest of nine children...
, Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
, Joe Farrell
Joe Farrell
Joseph Carl Firrantello , known as Joe Farrell, was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. He is best known for a series of albums under his own name on the CTI record label and for playing in the initial incarnation of Chick Corea's Return to Forever.-Biography:Farrell was born in Chicago...
, James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
, David Sanborn
David Sanborn
David Sanborn is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album Taking Off in 1975, but has been playing the saxophone since before he was in high school...
and Gato Barbieri
Gato Barbieri
Leandro Barbieri , better known as Gato Barbieri , is an Argentinean jazz tenor saxophonist and composer who rose to fame during the free jazz movement in the 1960s and from his latin jazz recordings in the 1970s.-Biography:Born to a family of musicians, Barbieri began playing music...
.
Beck died in Woodbury, Connecticut
Woodbury, Connecticut
Woodbury is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 9,198 at the 2000 census. The town center is also designated by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place . Woodbury was founded in 1672....
of complications from lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
.
As Sideman
With John BerberianJohn Berberian
John Berberian is an American musician known for his virtuosity on the oud, the Middle Eastern stringed instrument.Berberian was born in New York City; his parents were Armenian immigrants...
...
- Middle Eastern Rock (Verve Forecast, 1969)
With James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
- Reality (Polydor, 1975)
With Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
- Circle in the RoundCircle in the RoundCircle in the Round is an album by jazz musician Miles Davis. It collects outtakes from a variety of sessions.Despite its lack of unity, Circle in the Round was an essential release in that, apart from 1950s recordings with Davis's quintet and sextet, it documented key moments in his career, until...
(Columbia, 1970)
With Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
and Teresa Brewer
Teresa Brewer
Teresa Brewer was an American pop singer whose style incorporated elements of country, jazz, R&B, musicals and novelty songs. She was one of the most prolific and popular female singers of the 1950s, recording nearly 600 songs. Born Theresa Breuer in Toledo, Ohio, Brewer died of a neuromuscular...
- It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That SwingIt Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing (Duke Ellington & Teresa Brewer album)It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing is a studio album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington and singer Teresa Brewer originally released on Bob Thiele's Flying Dutchman label in 1973...
(Flying Dutchman, 1973)
With Gil Evans
Gil Evans
Gil Evans was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader, active in the United States...
- Where Flamingos FlyWhere Flamingos FlyWhere Flamingos Fly is an album by jazz composer, arranger, conductor and pianist Gil Evans, recorded in 1971, but not released until 1981, and performed by Evans with a orchestra featuring Billy Harper, Howard Johnson, Johnny Coles, and Don Preston....
(Artists House, 1973)
With Ronnie Foster
Ronnie Foster
Ronnie Foster is an American funk and soul-jazz organist, and record producer. His albums recorded for Blue Note Records in the 1970s has obtained a cult following after the emergence of acid-jazz.-Biography:...
- Cheshire CatCheshire Cat (Ronnie Foster album)Cheshire Cat is the fourth studio album by American organist Ronnie Foster recorded in 1975 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:...
(Blue Note, 1975)
Wit Al Kooper
Al Kooper
Al Kooper is an American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears , providing studio support for Bob Dylan when he went electric in 1965, and also bringing together guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills to...
- East Does ItEasy Does It (Al Kooper album)Easy Does It was the third solo album by New York City-based singer-songwriter Al Kooper, recorded and released in 1970 for Columbia Records....
(Columbia, 1970)
With Brother Jack McDuff
Jack McDuff
"Brother" Jack McDuff was an American jazz organist and organ trio bandleader who was most prominent during the hard bop and soul jazz era of the 1960s, often performing with an organ trio.-Career:...
- Who Knows What Tomorrow's Gonna Bring?Who Knows What Tomorrow's Gonna Bring?Who Knows What Tomorrow's Gonna Bring? is an album by American organist Brother Jack McDuff recorded in 1970 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:...
(Blue Note, 1970)
With Idris Muhammad
Idris Muhammad
Idris Muhammad is a jazz drummer. He changed his name in the 1960s upon his conversion to Islam. He is known for his funky playing style. He has released a number of albums as leader, and has played with a number of jazz legends including Lou Donaldson, Johnny Griffin, Pharoah Sanders and Grover...
- Power Of Soul (Kudu, 1974)
- House of the Rising SunHouse of the Rising Sun (album)-Track listing:#"The House Of The Rising Sun"#"Baia "#"Hard To Face The Music"#"Theme For New York City"#"Sudan"#"Hey Pock A-Way"#"Pipe Stem" #"I Know You Don't Want Me No More"...
(Kudu, 1975)
With Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
- Still Crazy After All These YearsStill Crazy After All These YearsStill Crazy After All These Years is the fourth studio album by Paul Simon.Recorded in 1975, the album produced four US Top 40 hits, "Gone at Last" , "My Little Town" , "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" and the title track . It won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1976...
(Columbia, 1973) - One-Trick PonyOne-Trick Pony (album)One-Trick Pony is the fifth solo album released by Paul Simon, in 1980.Paul Simon's One-Trick Pony was released concurrently with the film of the same name, in which Simon also starred...
(Warner Bros., 1980)
With Bobby Timmons
Bobby Timmons
Robert Henry "Bobby" Timmons was an African American jazz pianist and composer.He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is best known for his role as sideman in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and the composition of "Moanin'", "Dat Dere", and "This Here", each of which are typical of his...
- Got to Get It!Got to Get It!Got to Get It! is an album by American jazz pianist Bobby Timmons recorded in 1967 and released on the Milestone label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Jason Ankeny awarded the album 3 stars stating "Purists may blanch, but Bobby Timmons' Milestone label debut Got to Get It! is an otherwise...
(Milestone, 1967) - Do You Know the Way?Do You Know the Way?Do You Know the Way? is the final album by American jazz pianist Bobby Timmons recorded in 1968 and released on the Milestone label.-Reception:The Allmusic review awarded the album 3 stars.-Track listing:# "The Spanish Count" - 5:52...
(Milestone, 1968)