MUSICIANS WHO DIED IN MAY 2018
MUSICIANS WHO DIED IN MAY 2018
MAY 3
TONY KINMAN (62) / AMERICAN PUNK ROCK MUSICIAN, BASS GUITARIST AND PRODUCER. WITH HIS BROTHER CHIP KINMAN FOUNDED THE DILS IN 1977 AND RECORDED THEIR FIRST SINGLE "I HATE THE RICH" / "YOU'RE NOT BLANK". TONY KINMAN PLAYED FOR SOME TIME WITH THE AVENGERS. THE DILS BROKE UP IN 1980. THEN THE BROTHERS STARTED A COWPUNK BAND RANK AND FILE AND LATER AN ELECTRONIC POST-PUNK / INDUSTRIAL / NOISE ROCK GROUP BLACKBIRD.
MAY 11
MIKHAIL ALPERIN (61) / UKRAINIAN-BORN NORWEGIAN JAZZ PIANIST AND EDUCATOR. FOUNDED AND LED THE MOSCOW ART TRIO. WORKED WITH ARKADY SHILKLOPER, JOHN SURMAN, JON CHRISTENSEN, HUUN HUUR TU. RECORDED FOR THE ECM LABEL. TAUGHT PIANIST HELGE LIEN.
MATT MARKS (38) / AMERICAN COMPOSER OF DARKLY COMIC OPERA-THEATRE WORKS AND INSTRUMENTAL / ELECTRONIC MUSIC EXPERIMENTIC WITH NARRATIVE AND POP IDIOMS. ALSO A MUSICIAN (FRENCH HORN, KEYBOARDS, VOICE). A FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE CONTEMPORARY MUSIC ENSEMBLE ALARM WILL SOUND, ALSO WORKED WITH THE WORDLESS MUSIC ORCHESTRA, INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARY ENSEMBLE (ICE), ARGENTO CHAMBER ENSEMBLE, THE BROOKLYN BRASS QUINTET, HOTEL ELEFANT ETC. A BIG BEATLES FAN, HE ARRANGED THEIR REVOLUTION 9 FOR AWS. MARKS WAS A SOLOIST IN THE LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC'S PRODUCTION OF FRANK ZAPPA'S 200 MOTELS. COMPOSED OPERAS AND MUSICAL THEATRE WORKS, INCL. THE LITTLE DEATH: VOL. 1 (2010), WHICH HE CALLED A POST-CHRISTIAN NIHILIST POP OPERA, MATA HARI (2016) AND HEADPHONE SPLITTER (SLASHER POP OPERA).
MAY 13
GLENN BRANCA (69) / AMERICAN AVANT-GARDE COMPOSER, GUITARIST AND LUTHIER, INTRERESTED IN PUNK ROCK, MINIMALISM, NOISE, MODERN CLASSICAL, MICROTONALITY AND NO WAVE. EXPERIMENTED WITH VOLUME, DRONES, REPETITION AND ALTERNATIVE GUITAR TUNINGS. IN THE EARLY 1970s STUDIED THEATER IN BOSTON. IN 1975 FOUNDED BASTARD THEATRE, AN EXPERIMENTAL THEATRE GROUP AND BEGAN HIS SONIC EXPLORATIONS. IN 1976 HE MOVED TO NEW YORK CITY WHERE HE MET JEFFREY LOHN WHO INRODUCED HIM TO SUICIDE AND OTHER NEW BANDS. BRANCA PLANNED STARTING A THEATRE GROUP WITH LOHN BUT FIRST, IMPRESSED AND INSPIRED BY THE AMAZING EXPLOSION OF PUNK ROCK, HE FOUNDED A BAND. FIRST CALLED THE STATIC, THEN CHANGED THE NAME TO THEORETICAL GIRLS. THEY ONLY PLAYED 20 GIGS AND RECORDED ONE SINGLE ("U.S. MILLIE" / "YOU GOT ME"). STILL, THE BAND WAS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT NO WAVE GROUPS MIXING MODERN CLASSICAL INFLUENCES WITH PUNK ROCK AND FREE JAZZ.
IN 1977 BRANCA PERFORMED WITH RHYS CHATHAM'S NOISE MUSIC GUITAR TRIO. IN 1982 STARTED HIS OWN RECORD LABEL NEUTRAL RECORDS, WHICH RELEASED AN ALL-FEMALE NOISE GROUP Y PANTS' LP AND THE FIRST SONIC YOUTH DISCS. GLENN BRANCA RELEASED 22 RECORDS UNDER HIS OWN NAME, THE FIRST ONE BEING HIS DEBUT SOLO EP LESSON NO. 1 (1980), THEN HIS FIRST STUDIO ALBUM THE ASCENSION (1981), THEN WHO ARE YOU STARING AT? WITH JOHN GIORNO (1982). COMPOSED HALLUCINATION CITY SYMPHONY FOR 100 GUITARS. WORKED WITH THE INDUSTRIAL MUSIC PIONEER Z'EV FOR SYMPHONY NO.2. GLENN BRANCA'S GROUP INCLUDED SONIC YOUTH'S THURSTON MOORE AND LEE RANALDO, MICHAEL GIRA (SWANS), ALGIS KIZYS (OF CABBAGES AND KINGS, SWANS, FOETUS), PAGE HAMILTON (HELMET), DAN BRAUN (CIRCUS MORT, SWANS).
MAY 19
REGGIE LUCAS (65) / AMERICAN JAZZ AND R&B GUITARIST, SONGWRITER AND RECORD PRODUCER. IN THE EARLY 1970's PLAYED WITH BILLY PAUL, A GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING AMERICAN SOUL SINGER, THEN WITH MILES DAVIS ELECTRIC BAND (1972-1976) RECORDING EIGHT ALBUMS INCL. AGHARTA, PANGAEA, GET UP WITH IT AND WITH ROBERTA FLACK (1976). AS A SIDEMAN RECORDED WITH ROBERTA FLACK, URSZULA DUDZIAK, ZBIGNIEW SEIFERT, GARY BARTZ, MASABUMI KIKUCHI, FLORA PURIM, LONNIE LISTON SMITH, BABATUNDE OLATUNJI OR CARLOS GARNETT.
REGGIE LUCAS WAS ALSO A NOTED PRODUCER, WORKING FOR MADONNA ON HER SELF-TITLED DEBUT ALBUM (1983) AND AUSTRALIN POST-PUNK MODELS, RANDY CRAWFORD, THE FOUR TOPS. TOGETHER WITH JAMES MTUME PRODUCED STEPHANIE MILLS, THE SPINNERS AND GARY BARTZ.
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