Melvin Gibbs
Encyclopedia
Melvin Gibbs is an American bass guitar
ist, composer, and producer who has appeared on close to 200 albums in diverse genres of music. Gibbs has been called "the best bassist in the world" by Time Out New York magazine.
A native of Brooklyn, New York, Gibbs attended Medgar Evers College and Brooklyn Conservatory of Music
. He 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 alongside guitarist Vernon Reid
, as well as playing with guitarist Sonny Sharrock
and saxophonist John Zorn
. He was a member of the group Power Tools along with guitarist Bill Frisell
and drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson. He co-led the band Eye and I and he is an original member of the Black Rock Coalition
.
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 was nominated for a Grammy in 1995. Gibbs has also recorded with hip-hop artists dead prez
, Brazilian artists Caetano Veloso
and Marisa Monte
, Latin jazz artist Eddie Palmieri
, Nigerian artist Femi Kuti
, and guitarist Marc Ribot
. He has also produced albums by guitarist/singer Arto Lindsay
and turntablist DJ Logic
.
He formed the Punk-Funk All-Stars with guitarist/singer James Blood Ulmer, Defunkt leader Joseph Bowie
, Vernon Reid and Ronald Shannon Jackson. He co-leads the band Harriet Tubman
with guitarist Brandon Ross and drummer JT Lewis. His other current projects include Melvin Runs the Hoodoo Down with guitarist Pete Cosey
and keyboard player John Medeski
, the JFM Trio featuring guitarist Jeff Parker
and percussionist Francisco Mora, and the Geechee Seminoles, a duo featuring Melvin and drummer/hand-body percussionist/dancer David Pleasant.
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", which features Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
inductee keyboard player Bernie Worrell
and long time Parliament-Funkadelic
guitarist and musical director DeWayne "Blackbyrd" McKnight as well as J.T. Lewis on drums. The group's album, For You/For Us/For All was released by Livewired Music in December 2009.
As co-leader:
With Rollins Band
As producer:
As remixer:
As band member:
As sideman:
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
ist, composer, and producer who has appeared on close to 200 albums in diverse genres of music. Gibbs has been called "the best bassist in the world" by Time Out New York magazine.
A native of Brooklyn, New York, Gibbs attended Medgar Evers College and Brooklyn Conservatory of Music
Brooklyn Conservatory of Music
The Brooklyn-Queens Conservatory of Music, locally known as the Brooklyn Conservatory, is a music conservatory located in Brooklyn, New York City. It offers a broad range of instruction in areas of American Song, jazz and gospel singing, Latin jazz, and African drumming...
. He first came to public notice as a member of the group 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....
which was a mainstay of the early 1980s downtown New York scene. Throughout most of the 1980s, he played in drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson
Ronald Shannon Jackson
Ronald Shannon Jackson is an American jazz drummer. He was born in Fort Worth, Texas.Jackson is notable for his unusual approach to his instrument, which draws as much inspiration from military and parade bands as from traditional jazz drumming.He is the only person to have recorded and performed...
's Decoding Society alongside guitarist Vernon Reid
Vernon Reid
Vernon Reid is an English-born American guitarist, songwriter, composer, and bandleader. Best known as the founder and primary songwriter of the heavy metal band Living Colour, Reid was named #66 on Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.Critic Steve Huey writes, "[Reid's]...
, as well as playing with guitarist Sonny Sharrock
Sonny Sharrock
Warren Harding "Sonny" Sharrock was an American jazz guitarist. He was once married to singer Linda Sharrock, with whom he sometimes recorded and performed....
and saxophonist John Zorn
John Zorn
John Zorn is an American avant-garde composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. Zorn is a prolific artist: he has hundreds of album credits as performer, composer, or producer...
. He was a member of the group Power Tools along with guitarist Bill Frisell
Bill Frisell
William Richard "Bill" Frisell is an American guitarist and composer.One of the leading guitarists in jazz since the late 1980s, Frisell's eclectic music touches on progressive folk, classical music, country music, noise and more...
and drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson. He co-led the band Eye and I and he is an original member of the Black Rock Coalition
Black Rock Coalition
The Black Rock Coalition is a New York-based artists' collective and non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the creative freedom and works of black musicians....
.
He was a member of the avant-metal Rollins Band
Rollins Band
Rollins Band was an American rock band led by singer and songwriter Henry Rollins.They are best known for the songs "Low Self Opinion" and "Liar", which both earned heavy airplay on MTV in the early 1990s...
from 1993 to about 1998, and again in 2006 when the group briefly reformed. As a member of the Rollins Band he was nominated for a Grammy in 1995. Gibbs has also recorded with hip-hop artists dead prez
Dead Prez
Dead Prez stylized as dead prez is a hip hop duo from the United States, composed of stic.man and M-1, formed in 1996 in New York City, New York. They are known for their confrontational style, combined with socialist lyrics focused on both militant social justice and Pan-Africanism...
, Brazilian artists Caetano Veloso
Caetano Veloso
Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso , better known as Caetano Veloso, is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo which encompassed theatre, poetry and music in the 1960s,...
and Marisa Monte
Marisa Monte
Marisa de Azevedo Monte is a Brazilian popular singer. As of 2011, she has sold 10 million albums worldwide.- Biography :...
, Latin jazz artist Eddie Palmieri
Eddie Palmieri
Eddie Palmieri , is a Grammy Award winning Puerto Rican pianist, bandleader and musician, best known for combining jazz piano and instrumental solos with Latin rhythms.-Early years:...
, Nigerian artist Femi Kuti
Femi Kuti
Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti popularly known as Femi Kuti, is a Nigerian musician and the eldest son of afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti....
, and guitarist Marc Ribot
Marc Ribot
Marc Ribot born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer.His own work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notably Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, and composer John Zorn.-Biography:Ribot was...
. He has also produced albums by guitarist/singer Arto Lindsay
Arto Lindsay
Arthur Morgan Lindsay is an American guitarist, singer, record producer and experimental composer. He is a 1974 graduate of Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida....
and turntablist DJ Logic
DJ Logic
DJ Logic is an American turntablist active primarily in jazz and with jam bands.Kibler was born and raised in The Bronx. An early interest in hip hop led to his using the turntables, practicing often. Kibler was also interested in funk and jazz music, and began collaborating with various musicians...
.
He formed the Punk-Funk All-Stars with guitarist/singer James Blood Ulmer, Defunkt leader 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....
, Vernon Reid and Ronald Shannon Jackson. He co-leads the band Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Harriet Ross; (1820 – 1913) was an African-American abolitionist, humanitarian, and Union spy during the American Civil War. After escaping from slavery, into which she was born, she made thirteen missions to rescue more than 70 slaves...
with guitarist Brandon Ross and drummer JT Lewis. His other current projects include Melvin Runs the Hoodoo Down with guitarist Pete Cosey
Pete Cosey
Pete Cosey is an African-American guitarist most famous for playing with Miles Davis' band between 1973 and 1975. His fiercely flanged and distorted guitar bore comparisons to Jimi Hendrix...
and keyboard player John Medeski
John Medeski
Anthony John Medeski is an American jazz keyboards player and composer. Medeski is a veteran of New York's 1990s avant-garde jazz scene and is known popularly as a member of Medeski Martin & Wood...
, the JFM Trio featuring guitarist Jeff Parker
Jeff Parker (musician)
Jeff Parker is an American jazz and rock guitarist based in Chicago. Parker is best known as an experimental musician, working with avant-garde electronic, rock, and improvisational groups....
and percussionist Francisco Mora, and the Geechee Seminoles, a duo featuring Melvin and drummer/hand-body percussionist/dancer David Pleasant.
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", which features Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
inductee keyboard player Bernie Worrell
Bernie Worrell
George Bernard "Bernie" Worrell, Jr. is an American keyboardist and composer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic...
and long time Parliament-Funkadelic
Parliament-Funkadelic
Parliament-Funkadelic is a funk, soul and rock music collective headed by George Clinton. Their style has been dubbed P-Funk. Collectively the group has existed under various names since the 1960s and has been known for top-notch musicianship, politically charged lyrics, outlandish concept albums...
guitarist and musical director DeWayne "Blackbyrd" McKnight as well as J.T. Lewis on drums. The group's album, For You/For Us/For All was released by Livewired Music in December 2009.
Selected discography
As leader:- 2009: Ancients Speak (with Melvin Gibbs' Elevated Entity)
As co-leader:
- 2011 Ascension (with Harriet Tubman)
- 2000: Prototype (with Harriet Tubman)
- 1998: I Am A Man (with Harriet Tubman)
- 1991: Eye and I (with Eye and I)
- 1988: Power Tools ( with Bill FrisellBill FrisellWilliam Richard "Bill" Frisell is an American guitarist and composer.One of the leading guitarists in jazz since the late 1980s, Frisell's eclectic music touches on progressive folk, classical music, country music, noise and more...
and Ronald Shannon JacksonRonald Shannon JacksonRonald Shannon Jackson is an American jazz drummer. He was born in Fort Worth, Texas.Jackson is notable for his unusual approach to his instrument, which draws as much inspiration from military and parade bands as from traditional jazz drumming.He is the only person to have recorded and performed...
)
With Rollins Band
Rollins Band
Rollins Band was an American rock band led by singer and songwriter Henry Rollins.They are best known for the songs "Low Self Opinion" and "Liar", which both earned heavy airplay on MTV in the early 1990s...
- 1996: Come In And Burn
- 1994: Weight
As producer:
- 2004: Salt (Arto LindsayArto LindsayArthur Morgan Lindsay is an American guitarist, singer, record producer and experimental composer. He is a 1974 graduate of Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida....
) - 2002: Invoke (Arto Lindsay)
- 2001: The Anomaly (DJ LogicDJ LogicDJ Logic is an American turntablist active primarily in jazz and with jam bands.Kibler was born and raised in The Bronx. An early interest in hip hop led to his using the turntables, practicing often. Kibler was also interested in funk and jazz music, and began collaborating with various musicians...
) - 1999: Prize (Arto Lindsay)
- 1999: Project Logic (DJ Logic)
As remixer:
- 2004: Electric Gypsyland (Taraf de Haidouks with Arto Lindsay)
As band member:
- 2010: For You/For Us/For All ( SociaLybrium )
- 1999: Live in Montreux ( with Ronald Shannon Jackson and the Decoding Society )
- 1981: Mandance ( with Ronald Shannon Jackson and the Decoding Society )
- 1980: Defunkt ( with DefunktDefunktDefunkt 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....
)
As sideman:
- 2002: Red, Hot and Riot ( with Femi KutiFemi KutiOlufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti popularly known as Femi Kuti, is a Nigerian musician and the eldest son of afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti....
) - 2000: Let's Get Free ( with dead prezDead PrezDead Prez stylized as dead prez is a hip hop duo from the United States, composed of stic.man and M-1, formed in 1996 in New York City, New York. They are known for their confrontational style, combined with socialist lyrics focused on both militant social justice and Pan-Africanism...
) - 2000: Memórias, Crônicas, e Declaracões de Amor ( with Marisa MonteMarisa MonteMarisa de Azevedo Monte is a Brazilian popular singer. As of 2011, she has sold 10 million albums worldwide.- Biography :...
) - 1999: Vitamin C ( with Vitamin CVitamin CVitamin C or L-ascorbic acid or L-ascorbate is an essential nutrient for humans and certain other animal species. In living organisms ascorbate acts as an antioxidant by protecting the body against oxidative stress...
) - 1992: Very Neon Pet(with Peter Scherer )
- 1991: Circulado ( with Caetano VelosoCaetano VelosoCaetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso , better known as Caetano Veloso, is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo which encompassed theatre, poetry and music in the 1960s,...
) - 1989: Mais ( with Marisa MonteMarisa MonteMarisa de Azevedo Monte is a Brazilian popular singer. As of 2011, she has sold 10 million albums worldwide.- Biography :...
) - 1987: Seize The Rainbow ( with Sonny SharrockSonny SharrockWarren Harding "Sonny" Sharrock was an American jazz guitarist. He was once married to singer Linda Sharrock, with whom he sometimes recorded and performed....
) - 1986: The Big Gundown ( with John ZornJohn ZornJohn Zorn is an American avant-garde composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. Zorn is a prolific artist: he has hundreds of album credits as performer, composer, or producer...
)
External links
- Melvin Gibbs website
- Melvin Gibbs' Tumbleblog
- Melvin Gibbs on Twitter
- Melvin Gibbs' Elevated Entity on Facebook
- Melvin Gibbs on Youtube
- Harriet Tubman: the band on ReverbNation
- [ Biography from Allmusic.com]
- [ Discography from Allmusic.com]
- Melvin Gibbs interview at allaboutjazz.com