Steve Reid
Encyclopedia
Steve Reid was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
mer who played with a wide range of 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,...
, Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
, 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...
, Fela Kuti
Fela Kuti
Fela Anikulapo Kuti , or simply Fela , was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afrobeat music, human rights activist, and political maverick.-Biography:...
and Sun Ra
Sun Ra
Sun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...
, and as a session drummer for Motown.
Biography
Reid picked up drumming at 16 and in the same period his family moved to Queens, New York, three blocks away from John ColtraneJohn Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
. Before attending Adelphi University
Adelphi University
Adelphi University is a private, nonsectarian university located in Garden City, in Nassau County, New York, United States. It is the oldest institution of higher education on Long Island. For the sixth year, Adelphi University has been named a “Best Buy” in higher education by the Fiske Guide to...
in Garden City, New York
Garden City, New York
Garden City is a village in the town of Hempstead in central Nassau County, New York, in the United States. It was founded by multi-millionaire Alexander Turney Stewart in 1869, and is located on Long Island, to the east of New York City, from mid-town Manhattan, and just south of the town of...
, he worked as part of the Apollo Theatre House Band, where his first recorded work (aged 16) was with Martha and the Vandellas
Martha and the Vandellas
Martha and the Vandellas were among the most successful groups of the Motown roster during the period 1963–1967...
, under the direction of Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
.
Reid played with some of the biggest names in jazz and black music, including 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...
, Sun Ra
Sun Ra
Sun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...
, Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
, and 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,...
(on the album Tutu).
In 1969, Reid refused to register for the draft of troops for the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. His decision resulted in his arrest as a conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
, and he was sentenced to a four-year prison sentence at Pennsylvania’s Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary
Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary
The United States Penitentiary in Lewisburg is a male inmate high security federal penitentiary and satellite minimum security prison camp housing some 1,000 and 500 respectively, just outside Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. The Lewisburg Penitentiary was opened in 1932...
, where he served alongside Jimmy Hoffa
Jimmy Hoffa
James Riddle "Jimmy" Hoffa was an American labor union leader....
. Upon his release on parole in 1971, Reid found work as a session player with the likes of Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
, Horace Silver
Horace Silver
Horace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer....
, Charles Tyler
Charles Tyler (musician)
Charles Lacy Tyler was an American jazz baritone saxophonist.Tyler was born in Cadiz, Kentucky and spent his childhood years in Indiana, New York City and Cleveland, Ohio...
, Sun Ra
Sun Ra
Sun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...
and Freddie Hubbard
Freddie Hubbard
Frederick Dewayne "Freddie" Hubbard was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 1960s and on...
, alongside some Broadway stage production work.
In 1974, Reid formed the Legendary Master Brotherhood and his own Mustevic Sound Inc label.
He lived in Europe for several years (Lugano
Lugano
Lugano is a city of inhabitants in the city proper and a total of over 145,000 people in the agglomeration/city region, in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
) in later life and released several recordings for labels such as Soul Jazz
Soul Jazz Records
Soul Jazz Records is a British-based record label. The label started in the 1990s, releasing compilation albums of predominantly black music, including reggae, soul, ska, Dub and jazz...
in London, UK, and German jazz label CPR. For his final releases, his ensemble was based around Reid himself, Chuck Henderson (soprano saxophone; previous saxophonist Lena Bloch, tenor sax, left to play with the UMass Amherst jazz ensemble), Boris Netsvetaev (piano; living in Hamburg, Germany) and Chris Lachotta (double-bass; living in Munich, Germany).
In 2006, Reid teamed up with electronic musician Kieran Hebden, to release the experimental The Exchange Session Vol. 1
The Exchange Session Vol. 1
The Exchange Session Vol. 1 is a 2006 album by Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid, recorded in one day at The Exchange Mastering Studios in London...
. The duo enjoyed this initial collaboration so much that they went on to release three further albums: The Exchange Session Vol. 2
The Exchange Session Vol. 2
The Exchange Session Vol. 2 is a 2006 album by Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid.-Track listing:# "Hold Down the Rhythms, Hold Down the Machines" – 20:00# "Noémie" – 17:28# "We Dream Free" – 16:02-Personnel:*Steve Reid – drums and percussion...
(2006), Tongues (2007), and NYC (2008). In an interview discussing the collaborations, Reid referred to Hebden as his new-found "musical soul mate".
On April 13, 2010, Reid died in New York of throat cancer.
As leader
- Raw (as Steve Reid and the Legendary Master Brotherhood, Mustevic, 1975)
- Nova (as Steve Reid and the Legendary Master Brotherhood, Mustevic, 1976)
- Rhythmatism (as Steve Reid and the Legendary Master Brotherhood, Mustevic, 1976)
- New Live Version of the Eye (1976)
- Odyssey of the Oblong Square (Mustevic, 1977)
- Sounds Across America (Mustevic, 1978)
- Wave (as Steve Reid Trio, CPR Records, 1993)
- Live In Europe (as Steve Reid Quartet, MSI Records, 2001)
- Trio-Invitation (as Steve Reid Trio, CPR Records, 2002)
- Drum Story (Altrisuoni Switzerland, 2002)
- Spirit Walk (Soul Jazz Records, 2005)
- Daxaar (Domino, 2007)
With Kieran Hebden
- The Exchange Session Vol. 1The Exchange Session Vol. 1The Exchange Session Vol. 1 is a 2006 album by Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid, recorded in one day at The Exchange Mastering Studios in London...
(Domino, 2006) - The Exchange Session Vol. 2The Exchange Session Vol. 2The Exchange Session Vol. 2 is a 2006 album by Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid.-Track listing:# "Hold Down the Rhythms, Hold Down the Machines" – 20:00# "Noémie" – 17:28# "We Dream Free" – 16:02-Personnel:*Steve Reid – drums and percussion...
(Domino, 2006) - TonguesTongues (Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid album)-Track listing:#"The Sun Never Sets" – 5:50 #"Brain" – 3:48 #"Our Time" – 5:04 #"People Be Happy" – 4:42 #"Greensleeves" – 2:39 #"Rhythm Dance" – 6:51...
(Domino, 2007) - NYC (Domino, 2008)
As sideman
With Martha and the VandellasMartha and the Vandellas
Martha and the Vandellas were among the most successful groups of the Motown roster during the period 1963–1967...
- "Dancing in the Street" (1964, Motown)
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...
- The Popcorn (1969)
With Frank Lowe
Frank Lowe
Frank Lowe was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist and composer.Born and brought up in Memphis, Tennessee, Lowe took up the tenor saxophone and then moved to San Francisco...
- Fresh (1974)
With Charles Tyler
Charles Tyler (musician)
Charles Lacy Tyler was an American jazz baritone saxophonist.Tyler was born in Cadiz, Kentucky and spent his childhood years in Indiana, New York City and Cleveland, Ohio...
- Voyage From Jericho (1974, Akba)
- Saga of the Outlaws (1976, Nessa)
- Live in Europe (1978, AK)
- Folk & Mystery Stories
- Definite Volume 1 (1981, Storyville)
- Definite Volume 2
With Arthur Blythe
Arthur Blythe
Arthur Blythe is an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer. His stylistic voice has a distinct vibrato and he plays within the post-bop subgenre of jazz.- Biography :...
- The Grip (1977, India Navigation)
- Metamorphosis (1977, India Navigation)
With David Wertman
- Ka Ra Suite
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,...
- TutuTutu (album)Tutu is an album released in 1986 by trumpeter Miles Davis on Warner Bros. Records.Originally planned as a collaboration with pop singer/songwriter Prince, Davis ultimately worked with bassist/multi-instrumentalist Marcus Miller...
(1986)
With Fela Ransome Kuti
- Africa One
With Per Henrik Wallin
Per Henrik Wallin
Per Henrik Wallin was a Swedish jazz pianist and composer. He was acclaimed in Continental Europe, but relatively obscure in the United States. He received the Swedish variant of the Golden Django two years before his death....
- Farewell to Sweden (2002, STIM Records Sweden)