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Vernon Reid

Guitarist Vernon Reid is best known as the founder of the groundbreaking African-American rock group Living Colour. But to recognize Reid solely for his Grammy Award-winning work as a rock musician would be to miss a rich and varied body of work that has extended into virtually every musical genre. Reid has played with artists ranging in style from Mariah Carey to Public Enemy, and from Mick Jagger to jazz guitarist Bill Frisell. He has undertaken a wide range of musical journeys, including the production of James Blood Ulmer's blues album at the legendary Sun Studios in Memphis, reuniting with Living Colour for a series of shows, and touring with former Cream front man Jack Bruce.

Reid's eclectic musical vision was fostered at a young age. Born in 1958 in London, England, Reid's family moved to Brooklyn, New York, when he was two. He grew up listening to rock and roll, soul, and even calypso music, an influence from his West Indian parents. As a young man, Reid's tastes gravitated toward the guitar heroes of the day—Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and especially Carlos Santana, who incorporated his own Latin heritage into conventional rock music. At the age of 15, Reid took up the guitar and soon gravitated toward jazz music under the tutelage of free form guitarists Ten Dunbar and Rodney Jones.

Reid's first band of note was drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson's experimental jazz-rock group Decoding Society. Throughout the 1980s Reid recorded four albums with Decoding Society and built a reputation for himself as a lightning-fast yet versatile guitarist. This notoriety in the New York music world led to his appearances on the albums of Defunkt, Bill Frisell, Jim Zorn, Mick Jagger, and Public Enemy, during the period from 1985 to 1987. But it was one of Reid's side projects that would make him a real star in the music world.

In 1983 Reid formed his own band, called Living Colour. The group started out as a hard rock power trio but changed and evolved through the years. By the time of Reid's collaboration with The Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger three years later, Living Colour had become a four-man unit and was regularly gigging at the New York rock club CBGBs. Though the group enjoyed some success in New York City, Living Colour had yet to record any original material. Jagger heard the group at the club and agreed to produce a demo for the band to send out to the big record companies. Jagger produced "Glamour Boys" and "Which Way to America," and sent the songs, along with the rest of what would become the group's first album, Vivid, to Epic Records.

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Album Review

M. E. B.: That You Not Dare To Forget

Read "That You Not Dare To Forget" reviewed by Doug Collette


With all due respect to Lettuce's A Tribute to Miles Davis--Witches Stew (Self Produced, 2017) and the all-star ensemble dubbed Bitches Brew Revisited, M.E.B. (formerly known as Miles Electric Band) is an inordinately creative homage to Miles Davis. And given the continually experimental path The “Man With The Horn" chose to follow throughout his career, it is no doubt one of which he would approve. That You Not Dare To Forget is a slightly less than half-hour audio ...

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Album Review

Nate Smith: Kinfolk 2: See The Birds

Read "Kinfolk 2: See The Birds" reviewed by Mark Corroto


If there were brick & mortar establishments called record stores today, one could imagine the challenge Nate Smith's Kinfolk projects would pose for an employee trying to file his latest releases. Those familiar with the drummer's work in the bands of Chris Potter, Dave Holland, or Alex Sipiagin might place the discs in the jazz section, but then again he's worked with the jazz/pop/soul singers José James and Norah Jones and he heads up the funk/soul band The Fearless Flyers. ...

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Album Review

Vernon Reid & Masque: Other True Self

Read "Other True Self" reviewed by John Kelman


Vernon Reid has been always been a stylistic chameleon. Straddling many musical worlds, he's just as likely to record with Public Enemy as James Blood Ulmer, Jack Bruce or Lafayette Gilchrist. With a general approach best described as metal-edged reckless abandon, he proves on Other True Self that, as always, he's still capable of much more.

Reid's previous album with Masque, Known Unknown (Favored Nations, 2004), sported a completely different lineup than the group's debut, Mistaken Identity (Sony, 1996). This ...

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Album Review

Vernon Reid & Masque: Known Unknown

Read "Known Unknown" reviewed by John Kelman


A member of the Downtown New York scene for many years, guitarist Vernon Reid is better known for his genre-blasting work with Living Color. Still, over the years he has collaborated with such a wide variety of artists including Bill Frisell, David Torn and, most notably, Ronald Shannon Jackson that it is difficult to peg down exactly what he is about; or is it? With Known Unknown , his second recording with his group Masque, Reid demonstrates one of the ...

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Album Review

Vernon Reid, Elliot Sharp, David Torn: GTR OBLQ

Read "GTR OBLQ" reviewed by Glenn Astarita


Guitar summits take on new connotations with the advent of GTR OBLQ. Recorded live in New York's Knitting Factory, GTR OBLQ takes us into the 21st Century with digital loops, limitless EFX, electronic rhythms, sonic mayhem and stunning electric guitar expertise by Elliot Sharp, David Torn and Vernon Reid. Much anticipation has surrounded the release of this cd and essentially, the end product is what this reviewer mentally prepared for. GTR OBLQ is a staggering exhibition of ...

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Performance / Tour

Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Vernon Reid, G. Calvin Weston Free Form Funky Freqs Cd Release Concert At World Cafe Live

Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Vernon Reid, G. Calvin Weston Free Form Funky Freqs  Cd Release Concert At World Cafe Live

Source: Jamaaladeen Tacuma

Free Form Funky Freqs present their latest release Bon Vivant and Jamaaladeen Tacuma honors his mentors at WXPN's World Cafe Live Philadelphia (Upstairs) Saturday June 8th 2013, Doors 8pm FREE FORM FUNKY FREQS The Bon Vivant Jamaaladeen Tacuma: Bass Vernon Reid: Guitars G. Calvin Weston: Drums The birth of the FREE FORM FUNKY FREQS intertwined with the untimely death of Tonic, the legendary underground center for jazz, rock performance and experimental music in lower ...

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Recording

Spectrum Road: Jack Bruce, Cindy Blackman Santana, Vernon Reid & John Medeski

Spectrum Road: Jack Bruce, Cindy Blackman Santana, Vernon Reid & John Medeski

Source: Calabro Music

Spectrum Road is a groundbreaking collaboration between four giants of modern music: Jack Bruce, Vernon Reid, John Medeski and Cindy Blackman Santana. Born from a shared passion for the music of legendary drummer Tony Williams, the band will release their self-titled debut album on June 5 through Palmetto Records. Later that week, Spectrum Road celebrates its arrival with a highly anticipated performance at Bonnaroo on June 9, which also serves as the first show of a US summer tour. Complete ...

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Performance / Tour

Tony Williams Lifetime Tribute Vernon Reid, Medeski, Jack Bruce

Tony Williams Lifetime Tribute Vernon Reid, Medeski, Jack Bruce

Source: JamBase

FOUR MONSTER TALENTS GATHER TO SALUTE VISIONARY MUSICIAN & BAND Tony Williams Lifetime Tribute featuring legendary bassist of Cream and one-time Lifetime member Jack Bruce, guitarist Vernon Reid (Living Colour), organist John Medeski (Medeski Martin & Wood), and ace drummer Cindy Blackman brings their unique take on Williams' revolutionary music to The Blue Note in New York City (Jan. 27-30), Yoshi's in Oakland (Feb. 2-5) and Jazz Alley in Seattle (Feb. 7 & 8). Lifetime was founded as a trio ...

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Performance / Tour

Yohimbe Brothers Feat. Vernon Reid + DJ Logic Perform NJ / Philadelphia / NYC - July / Aug 2008

Yohimbe Brothers Feat. Vernon Reid + DJ Logic Perform NJ / Philadelphia / NYC - July / Aug 2008

Source: Allegro Media

The Yohimbe Brothers are an electronica world music mash-up group, with elements of salsa, brazilian, american disco, r&b and black rock surrounded by turntable manipulations, samples and loops. NEW JERSEY THURSDAY JULY 31 Chase Sounds of the City Summer Festival Theater Square One Center Street Newark, New Jersey 07102 Cost: FREE

PHILADELPHIA * First YB show in Philly in 4 years!* SATURDAY AUG 2 ...

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Recording

Vernon Reid & Masque set to release 'Other True Self' on April 18 on Favored Nations

Vernon Reid & Masque set to release 'Other True Self' on April 18 on Favored Nations

Source: All About Jazz

Vernon Reid, one of the world's great guitarists and a legendary exponent of the New York downtown music scene, has finished work on the second Vernon Reid & Masque album. Titled Other True Self, it is his third “solo" album in all. The self-produced CD is set for April 18 release on Favored Nations Recordings.

Reid, who has just returned from US and global tours with his mothership group Living Colour, will look to the spring and summer for US ...

150

Recording

Vernon Reid and Masque's "Other True Self" Continues Versatile Musician's Journey

Vernon Reid and Masque's "Other True Self" Continues Versatile Musician's Journey

Source: All About Jazz

Vernon Reid, one of the world's great guitarists and a legendary exponent of the New York downtown music scene, has finished work on the second Vernon Reid & Masque album. Titled Other True Self, it is his third “solo" album. The self-produced CD is set for April 18 release on Favored Nations Recordings.

Reid, who has just returned from U.S. and global tours with his mothership group Living Colour, will look to the spring and summer for U.S. tour dates ...

141

Performance / Tour

Vernon Reid & James "Blood" Raw Blues Band At The Iridium Jazz Club Oct. 1-6

Vernon Reid & James "Blood" Raw Blues Band At The Iridium Jazz Club Oct. 1-6

Source: All About Jazz

James Blood Ulmer-guitar/vocals Vernon Reid-guitar Mark Peterson-bass Aubrey Dayle-drums

The experimental guitarist James “Blood" Ulmer combines the Harmolodic free-jazz theories of Ornette Coleman with the soaring-yet-rough edge of Jimi Hendrix. But at the root, he is ultimately a blues man Over three days in April 2001 in the legendary Sun Studios in Memphis, Ulmer and producer/guitarist Vernon Reid (of Living Colour fame) recorded some of the greasiest, knottiest, most surreal blues music ever. The ...

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Music Industry

VERNON REID IN ARGENTINA

VERNON REID IN ARGENTINA

Source: All About Jazz


Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

That You Not Dare To...

Legacy Recordings
2023

buy

Kinfolk 2: See The...

Edition Records
2021

buy

Spectrum Road

Palmetto Records
2012

buy

Other True Self

Favored Nations
2006

buy

Known Unknown

Favored Nations
2004

buy

GTR OBLQ

Knitting Factory
1998

buy

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