.gif)
John Greaves (musician)
Encyclopedia
John Greaves is a British
bass guitarist and composer, best known as a member of Henry Cow
and his collaborative albums with Peter Blegvad
. He was also a member of National Health
and Soft Heap
, and has recorded several solo albums, including Accident (1982), Parrot Fashions (1984), The Caretaker (2001) and Greaves Verlaine (2008).
He obtained an English literature
degree at Cambridge University
in 1971.
, North Wales
, but grew up in Wrexham
in north-east Wales. At the age of 12, he was given a bass guitar by his father, a Welsh dancehall bandleader, and within six months, he was playing in his father's orchestra. He continued playing in the orchestra for four years, during which time its varied musical styles gave Greaves valuable musician and arranger skills. He was educated at Grove Park Grammar School in Wrexham from 1961 to 1968.
In 1968 Greaves entered Pembroke College, Cambridge
to study English, and at Cambridge he met members of the burgeoning English avant-rock group Henry Cow
in 1969. The band had been established the previous year by fellow Cambridge students Fred Frith
and Tim Hodgkinson
and had undergone numerous personnel changes up to that point. They were looking for a bassist and after several months of persuading, Greaves joined the band in October 1969. After juggling his time with the band and his studies, Greaves completed his Master of Arts degree in 1971. By the end of 1971, Henry Cow settled into a permanent core of Frith, Hodgkinson, Greaves and Chris Cutler
. Greaves remained with the band until March 1976, toured Europe extensively with them (with his wife Sarah doing the sound-mix at many of their concerts), and appeared on five of their albums (including two with Slapp Happy
). Greaves also contributed several compositions to the band's repertoire, including "Half Asleep; Half Awake", recorded on their second album, Unrest
(1974).
Greaves left Henry Cow to work on a project, Kew. Rhone.
with Slapp Happy's Peter Blegvad
in New York City
. Greaves had met and worked with Blegvad during the brief merger of Henry Cow and Slapp Happy between November 1974 and April 1975, their first collaboration, "Bad Alchemy", appearing on the two bands' joint album Desperate Straights. Kew. Rhone. was a song cycle
with all the music composed by Greaves and the lyrics written by Blegvad. In addition to bass guitar, Greaves also played keyboards and sang. The album was released in 1977 and credited to Greaves, Blegvad and Lisa Herman, the lead vocalist. It was well received by critics: Allmusic described it as "An unfortunately neglected masterpiece of '70s progressive rock ..."; and Robert Wyatt
reportedly liked it so much he bought two copies "just in case the first got worn out!"
After Kew. Rhone. Greaves returned to England to work in theatre as a composer, arranger and actor. In early 1978 he joined National Health
and remained with them until the band split up in 1980. He toured with the band, appearing on the album Of Queues and Cures
, for which he wrote the instrumental tour-de-force "Squarer for Maud", the later reunion effort DS Al Coda (1982) and the archive release Play Time. During this time (1979–88) he also performed with a free-improvising group, Soft Heap
with Elton Dean
from Soft Machine
, Pip Pyle
from National Health, and maverick guitarist Mark Hewins
.
In the early 1980s Greaves began a series of solo projects and collaborations. Having secured a deal with independent French-American label Europa Records, he recorded his first solo album, Accident in Paris
in 1981–82. He moved to France permanently in 1984, and formed a touring band with François Ovide
(guitar and trombone), Denis van Hecke from Aksak Maboul
(cello), Mireille Bauer
(formerly of Gong
) (stand-up drums and percussion) and Blegvad's brother, Kristoffer Blegvad (backing vocals). This line-up also featured on Greaves's second solo album, Parrot Fashions (1984). During this time he also recorded and/or toured with the Penguin Cafe Orchestra
and the Michael Nyman Band
. He reunited with Peter Blegvad again on The Lodge
project (alongside Kristoffer Blegvad, Jakko Jakszyk and Anton Fier) which produced an album, Smell of a Friend in 1987 (but only ever made a couple of attempts at performing live).
For his next album, 1991's La Petite Bouteille de Linge (Little Bottle of Laundry), Greaves retained the services of Ovide on guitar, adding his old mate Pip Pyle on drums and the latter's then-partner, Sophia Domancich on piano. Over the next few years his music took on a more acoustic flavour and Greaves eventually settled on a drum-less line-up comprising Domancich, Ovide (now on acoustic guitar exclusively) and double bass player Paul Rogers. This resulted in the 1995 album Songs, which consisted largely of acoustic arrangements of songs from his previous efforts, going back to Kew.Rhone. Greaves himself only handled lead vocals on one track, "The Green Fuse" (based on a Dylan Thomas
poem), leaving the spotlight to Robert Wyatt
, opera singer Susan Belling, Kristoffer Blegvad and French variety singer Caroline Loeb
.
During the 1990s, Greaves also embarked on one-off collaborations with David Cunningham from The Flying Lizards
, on 1991's greaves, cunningham album, and Peter Blegvad
on 1995's Unearthed.
Since the late 1990s, Greaves has divided his time between two contrasting bands, an electric trio named Roxongs – the original line-up, with François Ovide on guitar and Manu Denizet on drums, heard on 2001's The Caretaker, has since changed to Jef Morin on guitar and Matthieu Rabaté on drums – and an acoustic trio named Jazzsongs, with Sophia Domancich on piano and Vincent Courtois on cello, which recorded 2003's The Trouble With Happiness, once again a mixture of old and new songs, but this time with Greaves himself singing all the way through.
Originally intended as a follow-up of sorts to the acclaimed Songs, 2004's Chansons saw Greaves team up with lyricist Christophe Glockner and vocalist Elise Caron for a collection of all-new songs with predominantly acoustic instrumentation, including guest spots by Robert Wyatt
and Louis Sclavis
. His latest project Greaves Verlaine, released in February 2008, sees him set to music poems by Paul Verlaine
, albeit with a decidedly un-retro aesthetic conceived in cooperation with French multimedia collective Les Recycleurs de Bruits. In addition to his Roxongs bandmates the album features regular collaborators Jeanne Added (vocals) and Scott Taylor (accordion, trumpet), as well as appearances by Karen Mantler
and Dominique Pifarély
. Concerts promoting this release have seen Greaves accompanied by line-ups ranging from just Taylor on accordion to a full electric septet.
In June 2007, Greaves and Peter Blegvad
performed Kew.Rhone in a special concert for the Tritonales festival, an exceptional event which was repeated, this time with original vocalist Lisa Herman, in May 2008 in Bourgoin-Jallieu (near Lyon). Greaves was also involved in the Dedicated To You (later renamed Dondestan) Robert Wyatt tribute band (alongside Karen Mantler
, Dominique Pifarély
, Sylvain Kassap and others), and Alain Blésing's Songs From The Beginning project, revisiting 1970s progressive rock classics by King Crimson, Soft Machine, Henry Cow and Hatfield and the North among others.
With National Health
With The Lodge
With Dr. Huelsenbecks Mentale Heilmethod
With Pip Pyle
and Philippe Marcel Iung
With Marcel Kanche, Nicolas Pabiot & Akosh S.
With Maman
With David Thomas & The Pedestrians
With Peter Blegvad
With Michael Nyman Band
With Sophia Domancich
With Johan Asherton
With Michael Mantler
With Pip Pyle
With Julien Lourau
With Silvain Vanot
In November 1973, Greaves (and other members of Henry Cow) participated in a live-in-the-studio performance of Mike Oldfield
's Tubular Bells
for the BBC. It is available on Oldfield's Elements
DVD.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
bass guitarist and composer, best known as a member of Henry Cow
Henry Cow
Henry Cow were an English avant-rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members...
and his collaborative albums with Peter Blegvad
Peter Blegvad
Peter Blegvad is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and cartoonist. He was a founding member of the avant-pop band Slapp Happy, which later merged briefly with Henry Cow, and has released many solo and collaborative albums...
. He was also a member of National Health
National Health
National Health were a progressive rock band associated with the Canterbury scene. Founded in 1975, the band included members of keyboardist Dave Stewart's band Hatfield and the North and Alan Gowen's band Gilgamesh, the band also included guitarists Phil Miller and Phil Lee and bassist Mont...
and Soft Heap
Soft Heap (band)
Soft Heap was a Canterbury scene supergroup founded in January 1978. The name references Soft Machine while "Heap" comes from the first letters of the band's founders: Hugh Hopper , Elton Dean , Alan Gowen and Pip Pyle . Hopper and Dean had worked together in Soft Machine, while Gowen and Pyle had...
, and has recorded several solo albums, including Accident (1982), Parrot Fashions (1984), The Caretaker (2001) and Greaves Verlaine (2008).
He obtained an English literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
degree at Cambridge University
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
in 1971.
Biography
John Greaves was born in PrestatynPrestatyn
Prestatyn is a seaside resort, town and community in Denbighshire, North Wales. It is located on the Irish Sea coast, to the east of Rhyl. At the 2001 Census, Prestatyn had a population of 18,496.-Prehistory:...
, North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
, but grew up in Wrexham
Wrexham
Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...
in north-east Wales. At the age of 12, he was given a bass guitar by his father, a Welsh dancehall bandleader, and within six months, he was playing in his father's orchestra. He continued playing in the orchestra for four years, during which time its varied musical styles gave Greaves valuable musician and arranger skills. He was educated at Grove Park Grammar School in Wrexham from 1961 to 1968.
In 1968 Greaves entered Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college has over seven hundred students and fellows, and is the third oldest college of the university. Physically, it is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from almost every century since its...
to study English, and at Cambridge he met members of the burgeoning English avant-rock group Henry Cow
Henry Cow
Henry Cow were an English avant-rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members...
in 1969. The band had been established the previous year by fellow Cambridge students Fred Frith
Fred Frith
Fred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
and Tim Hodgkinson
Tim Hodgkinson
Tim Hodgkinson is an English experimental music composer and performer, principally on reeds and keyboards. He is best known as one of the core members of the British avant-rock group Henry Cow, which he formed with Fred Frith in 1968...
and had undergone numerous personnel changes up to that point. They were looking for a bassist and after several months of persuading, Greaves joined the band in October 1969. After juggling his time with the band and his studies, Greaves completed his Master of Arts degree in 1971. By the end of 1971, Henry Cow settled into a permanent core of Frith, Hodgkinson, Greaves and Chris Cutler
Chris Cutler
Chris Cutler is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English avant-rock group Henry Cow, Cutler was also a member and drummer of a number of other bands, including Art Bears, News from Babel, Pere Ubu and Gong/Mothergong...
. Greaves remained with the band until March 1976, toured Europe extensively with them (with his wife Sarah doing the sound-mix at many of their concerts), and appeared on five of their albums (including two with Slapp Happy
Slapp Happy
Slapp Happy was a German/English avant-pop group consisting of Anthony Moore , Peter Blegvad and Dagmar Krause . The band formed in Germany in 1972. The band members moved to England in 1974 where they merged with Henry Cow, but the merger ended soon afterwards and Slapp Happy split up. Slapp...
). Greaves also contributed several compositions to the band's repertoire, including "Half Asleep; Half Awake", recorded on their second album, Unrest
Unrest (Henry Cow album)
Unrest is an album by British avant-rock group Henry Cow, recorded at Virgin Records's Manor studios in February and March 1974. It was their second album and was released in May 1974.The album was dedicated to Robert Wyatt and Uli Trepte...
(1974).
Greaves left Henry Cow to work on a project, Kew. Rhone.
Kew. Rhone.
Kew. Rhone. is a concept album by British bass guitarist and composer John Greaves, and American singer-songwriter and guitarist Peter Blegvad. It is a song cycle composed by Greaves with lyrics by Blegvad, and was performed by Greaves and Blegvad with vocalist Lisa Herman and others...
with Slapp Happy's Peter Blegvad
Peter Blegvad
Peter Blegvad is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and cartoonist. He was a founding member of the avant-pop band Slapp Happy, which later merged briefly with Henry Cow, and has released many solo and collaborative albums...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Greaves had met and worked with Blegvad during the brief merger of Henry Cow and Slapp Happy between November 1974 and April 1975, their first collaboration, "Bad Alchemy", appearing on the two bands' joint album Desperate Straights. Kew. Rhone. was a song cycle
Song cycle
A song cycle is a group of songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a single entity. As a rule, all of the songs are by the same composer and often use words from the same poet or lyricist. Unification can be achieved by a narrative or a persona common to the songs, or even, as in Schumann's...
with all the music composed by Greaves and the lyrics written by Blegvad. In addition to bass guitar, Greaves also played keyboards and sang. The album was released in 1977 and credited to Greaves, Blegvad and Lisa Herman, the lead vocalist. It was well received by critics: Allmusic described it as "An unfortunately neglected masterpiece of '70s progressive rock ..."; and Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt is an English musician, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine, with a long and distinguished solo career...
reportedly liked it so much he bought two copies "just in case the first got worn out!"
After Kew. Rhone. Greaves returned to England to work in theatre as a composer, arranger and actor. In early 1978 he joined National Health
National Health
National Health were a progressive rock band associated with the Canterbury scene. Founded in 1975, the band included members of keyboardist Dave Stewart's band Hatfield and the North and Alan Gowen's band Gilgamesh, the band also included guitarists Phil Miller and Phil Lee and bassist Mont...
and remained with them until the band split up in 1980. He toured with the band, appearing on the album Of Queues and Cures
Of Queues and Cures
Of Queues and Cures is the second album recorded by the progressive rock and jazz fusion group National Health, one of the last representatives of the artistically prolific Canterbury scene.-Track listing:...
, for which he wrote the instrumental tour-de-force "Squarer for Maud", the later reunion effort DS Al Coda (1982) and the archive release Play Time. During this time (1979–88) he also performed with a free-improvising group, Soft Heap
Soft Heap (band)
Soft Heap was a Canterbury scene supergroup founded in January 1978. The name references Soft Machine while "Heap" comes from the first letters of the band's founders: Hugh Hopper , Elton Dean , Alan Gowen and Pip Pyle . Hopper and Dean had worked together in Soft Machine, while Gowen and Pyle had...
with Elton Dean
Elton Dean
Elton Dean was an English jazz musician who performed on alto saxophone, saxello and occasionally keyboard....
from Soft Machine
Soft Machine
Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
, Pip Pyle
Pip Pyle
Phillip "Pip" Pyle was an English-born drummer from Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, who later resided in France...
from National Health, and maverick guitarist Mark Hewins
Mark Hewins
Mark Hewins is a British jazz guitarist known particularly for his connections to the Canterbury scene.Hewins' professional career as a guitarist began in 1970 with the London band Mother Sun...
.
In the early 1980s Greaves began a series of solo projects and collaborations. Having secured a deal with independent French-American label Europa Records, he recorded his first solo album, Accident in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1981–82. He moved to France permanently in 1984, and formed a touring band with François Ovide
François Ovide
François Ovide was a French guitarist, best known for his longstanding collaborations with Albert Marcoeur and with John Greaves....
(guitar and trombone), Denis van Hecke from Aksak Maboul
Aksak Maboul
Aksak Maboul were a Belgian avant-rock band founded in 1977 by Marc Hollander and Vincent Kenis. They made two studio albums, Onze Danses Pour Combattre la Migraine and Un Peu de l'Âme des Bandits , the last one with ex-Henry Cow members Chris Cutler and Fred Frith...
(cello), Mireille Bauer
Mireille Bauer
Mireille Bauer is a French percussionist and former member of Gong.Through her then boyfriend Pierre Moerlen, she first worked with Gong in a session capacity on Angel's Egg and You before joining the band fully for albums including Expresso II...
(formerly of Gong
Gong (band)
Gong is a Franco-British progressive/psychedelic rock band formed by Australian musician Daevid Allen. Their music has also been described as space rock. Other notable band members include Allan Holdsworth, Tim Blake, Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, Gilli Smyth, Steve Hillage, Francis Moze, Mike Howlett...
) (stand-up drums and percussion) and Blegvad's brother, Kristoffer Blegvad (backing vocals). This line-up also featured on Greaves's second solo album, Parrot Fashions (1984). During this time he also recorded and/or toured with the Penguin Cafe Orchestra
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
The Penguin Cafe Orchestra was a collective of performing musicians created by classically trained British guitarist, composer and arranger Simon Jeffes...
and the Michael Nyman Band
Michael Nyman Band
The Michael Nyman Band, formerly known as the Campiello Band, is a group formed as a street band for a 1976 production of Carlo Goldoni's 1756 play, Il Campiello directed by Bill Bryden at the Old Vic...
. He reunited with Peter Blegvad again on The Lodge
The Lodge (band)
The Lodge were a 1980s British/Welsh/American art-rock band based in New York, but performing mainly in Europe, which briefly united members of Henry Cow, Slapp Happy, Art Bears and Golden Palominos . It was centred primarily around Peter Blegvad and John Greaves, and drew strongly on their...
project (alongside Kristoffer Blegvad, Jakko Jakszyk and Anton Fier) which produced an album, Smell of a Friend in 1987 (but only ever made a couple of attempts at performing live).
For his next album, 1991's La Petite Bouteille de Linge (Little Bottle of Laundry), Greaves retained the services of Ovide on guitar, adding his old mate Pip Pyle on drums and the latter's then-partner, Sophia Domancich on piano. Over the next few years his music took on a more acoustic flavour and Greaves eventually settled on a drum-less line-up comprising Domancich, Ovide (now on acoustic guitar exclusively) and double bass player Paul Rogers. This resulted in the 1995 album Songs, which consisted largely of acoustic arrangements of songs from his previous efforts, going back to Kew.Rhone. Greaves himself only handled lead vocals on one track, "The Green Fuse" (based on a Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
poem), leaving the spotlight to Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt is an English musician, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine, with a long and distinguished solo career...
, opera singer Susan Belling, Kristoffer Blegvad and French variety singer Caroline Loeb
Caroline Loeb
Caroline Loeb , is an actress, radio host, singer, director and French writer. She remains particularly known for her 1980s hit "C'est la ouate".-Filmography:...
.
During the 1990s, Greaves also embarked on one-off collaborations with David Cunningham from The Flying Lizards
The Flying Lizards
The Flying Lizards were an English experimental rock band, who were formed in 1976 in England. They are best remembered as New wave one-hit wonders, thanks to their deliberately eccentric cover of Barrett Strong's "Money", which became a UK and US chart success in 1979.-Career:Formed by and led by...
, on 1991's greaves, cunningham album, and Peter Blegvad
Peter Blegvad
Peter Blegvad is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and cartoonist. He was a founding member of the avant-pop band Slapp Happy, which later merged briefly with Henry Cow, and has released many solo and collaborative albums...
on 1995's Unearthed.
Since the late 1990s, Greaves has divided his time between two contrasting bands, an electric trio named Roxongs – the original line-up, with François Ovide on guitar and Manu Denizet on drums, heard on 2001's The Caretaker, has since changed to Jef Morin on guitar and Matthieu Rabaté on drums – and an acoustic trio named Jazzsongs, with Sophia Domancich on piano and Vincent Courtois on cello, which recorded 2003's The Trouble With Happiness, once again a mixture of old and new songs, but this time with Greaves himself singing all the way through.
Originally intended as a follow-up of sorts to the acclaimed Songs, 2004's Chansons saw Greaves team up with lyricist Christophe Glockner and vocalist Elise Caron for a collection of all-new songs with predominantly acoustic instrumentation, including guest spots by Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt is an English musician, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine, with a long and distinguished solo career...
and Louis Sclavis
Louis Sclavis
Louis Sclavis is a French jazz musician. He performs on clarinet, bass clarinet, and soprano saxophone in a variety of contexts, including jazz and free jazz...
. His latest project Greaves Verlaine, released in February 2008, sees him set to music poems by Paul Verlaine
Paul Verlaine
Paul-Marie Verlaine was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the fin de siècle in international and French poetry.-Early life:...
, albeit with a decidedly un-retro aesthetic conceived in cooperation with French multimedia collective Les Recycleurs de Bruits. In addition to his Roxongs bandmates the album features regular collaborators Jeanne Added (vocals) and Scott Taylor (accordion, trumpet), as well as appearances by Karen Mantler
Karen Mantler
Karen Mantler is an American jazz musician, harmonca player, singer and composer. She is the daughter of Carla Bley and Michael Mantler....
and Dominique Pifarély
Dominique Pifarély
Dominique Pifarély is a French jazz violinist. Born in Bègles, he is known as a modernizer who works in avant-garde jazz, but he has also worked in post-bop and other contexts....
. Concerts promoting this release have seen Greaves accompanied by line-ups ranging from just Taylor on accordion to a full electric septet.
In June 2007, Greaves and Peter Blegvad
Peter Blegvad
Peter Blegvad is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and cartoonist. He was a founding member of the avant-pop band Slapp Happy, which later merged briefly with Henry Cow, and has released many solo and collaborative albums...
performed Kew.Rhone in a special concert for the Tritonales festival, an exceptional event which was repeated, this time with original vocalist Lisa Herman, in May 2008 in Bourgoin-Jallieu (near Lyon). Greaves was also involved in the Dedicated To You (later renamed Dondestan) Robert Wyatt tribute band (alongside Karen Mantler
Karen Mantler
Karen Mantler is an American jazz musician, harmonca player, singer and composer. She is the daughter of Carla Bley and Michael Mantler....
, Dominique Pifarély
Dominique Pifarély
Dominique Pifarély is a French jazz violinist. Born in Bègles, he is known as a modernizer who works in avant-garde jazz, but he has also worked in post-bop and other contexts....
, Sylvain Kassap and others), and Alain Blésing's Songs From The Beginning project, revisiting 1970s progressive rock classics by King Crimson, Soft Machine, Henry Cow and Hatfield and the North among others.
Discography
This is a selection of albums John Greaves has performed on, showing the year they were first released.Solo / Major Contributer
- 1977 – Kew. Rhone.Kew. Rhone.Kew. Rhone. is a concept album by British bass guitarist and composer John Greaves, and American singer-songwriter and guitarist Peter Blegvad. It is a song cycle composed by Greaves with lyrics by Blegvad, and was performed by Greaves and Blegvad with vocalist Lisa Herman and others...
(VirginVirgin RecordsVirgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
) (With Peter BlegvadPeter BlegvadPeter Blegvad is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and cartoonist. He was a founding member of the avant-pop band Slapp Happy, which later merged briefly with Henry Cow, and has released many solo and collaborative albums...
and Lisa Herman) - 1982 – Accident (EuropaEuropa (record label)Europa is a German record label, originally owned by Miller International Records Company . It has since belonged to the Music Corporation of America and Bertelsmann Music Group, and is now owned by Sony Corporation of America. It was once well-known for its very successful radio plays for...
) - 1984 – Parrot Fashions (EuropaEuropa (record label)Europa is a German record label, originally owned by Miller International Records Company . It has since belonged to the Music Corporation of America and Bertelsmann Music Group, and is now owned by Sony Corporation of America. It was once well-known for its very successful radio plays for...
) - 1991 – La Petite Bouteille de Linge (La Lichère)
- 1991 – greaves, cunningham (Eva Records) (With David Cunningham)
- 1995 – Unearthed (Sub RosaSub Rosa (label)Sub Rosa is a record label based in Brussels. The label was established at the end of the ‘80s, and expanded its catalogue in the mid-‘90s through the release of electronic music. Directed by Guy Marc Hinant and Frédéric Walheer, the label has released over 250 titles...
) (With Peter BlegvadPeter BlegvadPeter Blegvad is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and cartoonist. He was a founding member of the avant-pop band Slapp Happy, which later merged briefly with Henry Cow, and has released many solo and collaborative albums...
) - 1995 – Songs (Resurgence)
- 2001 – The Caretaker (Blueprint)
- 2001 – On the Street Where You Live (Blueprint) (With Marcel Ballot and Patrice Meyer)
- 2003 – The Trouble With Happiness (Harmonia Mundi)
- 2004 – Chansons (Harmonia Mundi) (With Elise Caron)
- 2005 – Tambien 1–7 (Resurgence)
- 2008 – Greaves Verlaine (ZigZag Territoires/Harmonia Mundi)
Bands and projects
With Henry CowHenry Cow
Henry Cow were an English avant-rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members...
- 1973 – Legend (VirginVirgin RecordsVirgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
) - 1974 – UnrestUnrest (Henry Cow album)Unrest is an album by British avant-rock group Henry Cow, recorded at Virgin Records's Manor studios in February and March 1974. It was their second album and was released in May 1974.The album was dedicated to Robert Wyatt and Uli Trepte...
(VirginVirgin RecordsVirgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
) - 1975 – In Praise of LearningIn Praise of LearningIn Praise of Learning is an album by British avant-rock groups Henry Cow and Slapp Happy, recorded at Virgin Records' Manor studios in February and March 1975...
(VirginVirgin RecordsVirgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
) - 1975 – Desperate StraightsDesperate StraightsDesperate Straights is an album by British avant-rock groups Slapp Happy and Henry Cow, recorded at Virgin Records' Manor studios in November 1974...
(VirginVirgin RecordsVirgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
) (as Henry Cow/Slapp HappySlapp HappySlapp Happy was a German/English avant-pop group consisting of Anthony Moore , Peter Blegvad and Dagmar Krause . The band formed in Germany in 1972. The band members moved to England in 1974 where they merged with Henry Cow, but the merger ended soon afterwards and Slapp Happy split up. Slapp... - 1976 – Henry Cow ConcertsHenry Cow ConcertsHenry Cow Concerts is a live double album by English avant-rock group Henry Cow, recorded at concerts in London, Italy, the Netherlands and Norway between September 1974 and October 1975...
(Compendium/CarolineCaroline RecordsCaroline Records started out as a subsidiary of Richard Branson's Virgin Records label during the early to mid 1970s. The label originally specialized in putting out budget price LPs by mainly progressive rock and jazz artists generally not considered to have a great deal of 'mainstream' or...
) - 2009 – The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box SetThe 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box SetThe 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set is a nine-CD plus one-DVD limited edition box set by English avant-rock group Henry Cow, and was released by RēR Megacorp in January 2009. It consists of over 10 hours of previously unreleased recordings made between 1972 and 1978 from concerts, radio...
(Recommended RecordsRecommended RecordsRecommended Records is a British independent record label and distribution network founded by Chris Cutler in March 1978. RēR features largely "Rock in Opposition" and related music, but it also distributes selected music released on other independent labels.In 1982 Cutler established November...
, U.K.United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
)
With National Health
National Health
National Health were a progressive rock band associated with the Canterbury scene. Founded in 1975, the band included members of keyboardist Dave Stewart's band Hatfield and the North and Alan Gowen's band Gilgamesh, the band also included guitarists Phil Miller and Phil Lee and bassist Mont...
- 1979 – Of Queues and Cures (Charly)
- 1982 – D.S. Al Coda (EuropaEuropa (record label)Europa is a German record label, originally owned by Miller International Records Company . It has since belonged to the Music Corporation of America and Bertelsmann Music Group, and is now owned by Sony Corporation of America. It was once well-known for its very successful radio plays for...
) - 2001 – Play Time (live 1979) (CuneiformCuneiform RecordsCuneiform Records is an independent record label based in Silver Spring, Maryland.The label releases a mixture of musical styles, including progressive jazz, modern fusion music, progressive rock, the Canterbury Scene and electronic music...
)
With The Lodge
The Lodge (band)
The Lodge were a 1980s British/Welsh/American art-rock band based in New York, but performing mainly in Europe, which briefly united members of Henry Cow, Slapp Happy, Art Bears and Golden Palominos . It was centred primarily around Peter Blegvad and John Greaves, and drew strongly on their...
- 1987 – Smell of a Friend (Antilles)
With Dr. Huelsenbecks Mentale Heilmethod
- 1992 – Dada (Rough Trade RecordsRough Trade RecordsRough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
)
With Pip Pyle
Pip Pyle
Phillip "Pip" Pyle was an English-born drummer from Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, who later resided in France...
and Philippe Marcel Iung
- 2001 – The Pig Part (Blueprint)
With Marcel Kanche, Nicolas Pabiot & Akosh S.
- 2004 – Le Dogme Des VI Jours (No Format!No Format!No Format! is an independent record label based in Paris and created in 2004.The label seeks to invest in original musical projects, be them instrumental or vocal, and has built up a catalogue of 18 works since its inception...
/Universal JazzUniversal Music GroupUniversal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
)
With Maman
- 2005 – In And Out Of Life (Resurgence)
As guest instrumentalist
With Robert WyattRobert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt is an English musician, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine, with a long and distinguished solo career...
- 1975 – Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard (VirginVirgin RecordsVirgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
)
With David Thomas & The Pedestrians
- 1981 – Sound of the Sand (Rough TradeRough Trade RecordsRough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
)
With Peter Blegvad
Peter Blegvad
Peter Blegvad is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and cartoonist. He was a founding member of the avant-pop band Slapp Happy, which later merged briefly with Henry Cow, and has released many solo and collaborative albums...
- 1983 – The Naked Shakespeare (VirginVirgin RecordsVirgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
) - 1985 – Knights Like This (VirginVirgin RecordsVirgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
) - 1988 – Downtime (RecommendedRecommended RecordsRecommended Records is a British independent record label and distribution network founded by Chris Cutler in March 1978. RēR features largely "Rock in Opposition" and related music, but it also distributes selected music released on other independent labels.In 1982 Cutler established November...
) - 1995 – Just Woke Up (RecommendedRecommended RecordsRecommended Records is a British independent record label and distribution network founded by Chris Cutler in March 1978. RēR features largely "Rock in Opposition" and related music, but it also distributes selected music released on other independent labels.In 1982 Cutler established November...
) - 1998 – Hangman's Hill (RecommendedRecommended RecordsRecommended Records is a British independent record label and distribution network founded by Chris Cutler in March 1978. RēR features largely "Rock in Opposition" and related music, but it also distributes selected music released on other independent labels.In 1982 Cutler established November...
)
With Michael Nyman Band
Michael Nyman Band
The Michael Nyman Band, formerly known as the Campiello Band, is a group formed as a street band for a 1976 production of Carlo Goldoni's 1756 play, Il Campiello directed by Bill Bryden at the Old Vic...
- 1985 – The Kiss and Other MovementsThe Kiss and Other MovementsThe Kiss and Other Movements is the sixth album release by Michael Nyman, and the fifth recording with the Michael Nyman Band. The title track is an "operatic duet" between Dagmar Krause and Omar Ebrahim, based on a painting of the same title by Paul Richards, which is depicted on the cover, and...
(EGE.G. RecordsE.G. Records was a UK-based artist management company and independent record label, mostly active during the 1970s and 1980s. The initials stand for its founders, David Enthoven and John Gaydon. The pair signed on as managers of King Crimson in early 1969, during the formative stage of the band and...
)
With Sophia Domancich
- 1991 – Funerals (Gimini Music)
With Johan Asherton
- 1992 – The Night Forlorn (Fnac/AureaMusic)
With Michael Mantler
Michael Mantler
Michael Mantler is a composer and trumpeter in new jazz and contemporary music.-Career: United States:Mantler was born in Vienna, Austria...
- 1987 – Live (Watt/ECM)
- 1997 – The School of Understanding (Watt/ECM)
With Pip Pyle
Pip Pyle
Phillip "Pip" Pyle was an English-born drummer from Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, who later resided in France...
- 1998 – Seven Year Itch (VoiceprintVoiceprintVoiceprint can refer to the spectrogram of a voice. More specific uses include:* VoicePrint, Canada's broadcast reading service* Voiceprint Records, an English record label* The stored template used to identify a person via their voice in Speaker recognition...
)
With Julien Lourau
Julien Lourau
Julien Lourau is a French jazz saxophonist. He is the son of sociologist René Lourau.Julien Lourau made his début in the group Trash Corporation with guitarist Noël Akchoté and pianist Bojan Zulfikarpasic...
- 2005 – Fire And Forget (Label Bleu)
With Silvain Vanot
- 2009 – Bethesda (Coopérative Music / PiasPIAS Recordings[PIAS] Recordings is the recorded music division of the [PIAS] Entertainment Group, a European independent artist and label services company.The record labels that operate under the [PIAS] Recordings umbrella are: Play It Again Sam, Wall of Sound and Different Recordings.Aside from the three London...
)
In November 1973, Greaves (and other members of Henry Cow) participated in a live-in-the-studio performance of Mike Oldfield
Mike Oldfield
Michael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...
's Tubular Bells
Tubular Bells
Tubular Bells is the debut record album of English musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1973. It was the first album released by Virgin Records and an early cornerstone of the company's success...
for the BBC. It is available on Oldfield's Elements
Elements - The Best of Mike Oldfield (video)
Elements - The Best of Mike Oldfield is a video collection by Mike Oldfield released in October 1993. It was released by Virgin Records on VHS and Laser disc...
DVD.
External links
- John Greaves MySpace page.
- John Greaves biography. The Canterbury Website.
- John Greaves biography. Piano Label..