Billy Bang
The violin is hardly the first instrument that comes to mind when you think about jazz, but that's never daunted Billy Bang, one of the instrument's most adventurous exponents. Over the past 26 years Bang's hard-edged tone, soulful sense of traditional swing and evocatively expressive style has enhanced over two dozen albums by top names in a variety of genres, from the blistering funk of Bootsy Collins and the harmolodic groove of Ronald Shannon Jackson's Decoding Society to the intergalactic uproar of Sun Ra. With more than 15 albums under his own leadership, nearly a dozen more in co-led endeavors, and five more with the String Trio of New York (which he co-founded in 1977 with guitarist James Emery and bassist John Lindberg), Billy Bang is one of the more prolific and original members of the progressive scene. Born William Vincent Walker in Mobile, Alabama in 1947, his family moved to New York City's Harlem while he was still an infant. In junior high school he was nicknamed Billy Bang after a cartoon character, and over his initial protests, it stuck. Around the same time, his primary interest turned to music, and he took up the violin, switching to percussion in the early '60s when he became captivated by Afro-Cuban rhythms. While attending a Massachusetts prep school under full scholarship, he met and began playing with fellow-student, folk-singer Arlo Guthrie. Drafted into the army following graduation, Bang was sent to Vietnam, an experience that profoundly affected his life, often quite painfully
Read moreTags
Album Review
- Da Bang! by Eyal Hareuveni
- Da Bang! by Glenn Astarita
- Da Bang! by John Sharpe
- Da Bang! by Troy Collins
- Da Bang! by Dan McClenaghan
- Da Bang! by Hrayr Attarian
- History of Jazz in Reverse by Nic Jones
Extended Analysis
Album Review
- History of Jazz in Reverse by Jerry D'Souza
- Prayer for Peace by Troy Collins
October 21, 2011
Fab Trio with Billy Bang - History of Jazz in Reverse (2011)
July 29, 2011
Billy Bang Quintet Featuring Frank Lowe - Above and Beyond (2007)
July 03, 2011
Billy Bang's Survival Ensemble - Black Man's Blues/New York Collage...
June 10, 2011
Vision Festival 16 Billy Bang Memorial and Then Some
April 15, 2011
April 14, 2011
April 13, 2011
Billy Bang (1947-2011): An Appreciation
April 13, 2011
April 12, 2011
Jazz Violinist Billy Bang Dies
April 12, 2011
Photos
Albums
Watch
Similar

bass

saxophone, alto

saxophone

piano

woodwinds

saxophone

trumpet

saxophone, tenor

saxophone, tenor

saxophone, alto

violin

percussion

piano

viola

saxophone, alto

drums