David Axelrod (musician)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
David Axelrod
arranger, composer
LabelsCapitol/EMI Records
Websitewww.davidaxelrodmusic.com

David Axelrod (April 17, 1931

environment to heightened mental awareness.[3]

With his early solo projects, Axelrod was one of the first recording artists to fuse elements of jazz, rock, and R&B.[4] One of his most important records, Song of Innocence (1968), featured instrumental interpretations of 18th-century poet William Blake's poetry collection of the same name done in a contemporary musical vein,[5] leading one critic at the time to coin the term "jazz fusion" and numerous hip hop producers to sample the album's music decades later.[6]

Early life

Born in Los Angeles, California, David Axelrod was raised in its

R&B and jazz. His father was active in radical labour union politics.[2]

Career

David Axelrod with Lou Rawls c. 1966

After a stint as a boxer, Axelrod found studio work in the film and television industry, and was soon in demand as a drummer, producer and arranger. He produced his first album in 1959, saxophonist Harold Land’s The Fox.

In late 1963, Axelrod joined

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at 'The Club', which spawned the jazz hit "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy”, written by the band's pianist Joe Zawinul
, which reached No. 11 in the US pop charts.

Around this time Axelrod also began working with a regular group of leading

Song of Innocence (1968) and Songs of Experience (1969), were homages to the mystical poetry and paintings of William Blake. These used sweeping strings, booming sound and heavy beats in a way that was unique for the time and became highly influential many years later. His third solo album, Earth Rot (1970), warned of the impact of environmental pollution and degradation.[5][6]

At the same time, Axelrod continued to work with Adderley and Rawls, and with the South African singer

David Rose, and unsuccessful psychedelic groups The Common People and Hardwater. In 1970, he left Capitol and over the next few years issued a rock version of Handel's oratorio Messiah
and further solo albums, as well as continuing to work with Adderley on several albums until the latter's death in 1975. His approach fell out of fashion for a while, and three solo albums he recorded in the 1980s went unreleased.

His work as arranger and composer began to be rediscovered in the early 1990s, and to be sampled by artists such as

Emperor Penguin
track "Burnt Sienna and Avocado".

Axelrod appeared at the Royal Festival Hall, London, on 17 March 2004 as part of the Ether festival where he conducted a performance of his solo work. He was joined onstage by Richard Ashcroft who sang "Holy Are You", originally recorded by The Electric Prunes. During the intro of his song "The Edge", he spoke on the subject of sampling, saying "I'm such a hypocrite, I hate sampling because it takes jobs away from musicians, but it allows me to have fun. It's screw-you money. So I love this, naturally. Thank you Dre.".[8] At the end of this rare concert he informed the audience that he was suffering from ill health. In 2006, Live at Royal Festival Hall was released as a DVD and CD. Axelrod signed with Blue Note Records in 2005.

Axelrod died of lung cancer on February 5, 2017, at the age of 85.[2][9]

Discography

Albums

List of albums, with selected details
Title Details
Song of Innocence
  • Released: 1968
  • Label: Capitol
  • Formats:
    LP
Songs of Experience
  • Released: 1969
  • Label: Capitol
  • Formats: CD, LP
Earth Rot
  • Released: 1970
  • Label: Capitol
  • Formats: CD, LP
Rock Messiah
  • Released: 1971
  • Label: RCA
  • Formats: LP
The Auction
  • Released: 1972
  • Label: Decca
  • Formats: LP
Heavy Axe
  • Released: 1974
  • Label: Fantasy
  • Formats: LP, CD
Seriously Deep
  • Released: 1975
  • Label: Polydor
  • Formats: LP, CD
Strange Ladies
  • Released: 1977
  • Label: MCA
  • Formats: LP
Marchin'
  • Released: 1980
  • Label: MCA
  • Formats: LP
Requiem: The Holocaust
The Big Country
  • Released: 1995
  • Label: Stateside
  • Formats: CD
David Axelrod
  • Released: 2001
  • Label: Mo' Wax
  • Formats: CD
David Axelrod Live at Royal Festival Hall
  • Released: 2004
  • Label:
  • Formats: CD/DVD

Compilation

  • The Edge: David Axelrod At Capitol Records 1966-1970 (Capitol Jazz, 2005)

Singles

  • "Gumshoe" / "The Lost Lament" (Decca, 1972)
  • "The Leading Citizen" (Decca, 1972)
  • "The Dr & The Diamond" (Mo' Wax, 2001)
  • "Holy Thursday" (Stateside, 2002) (split)
  • "The Signs" (Capitol Jazz, 2005) (split)
  • "London" (Stateside, 2006)

Other credits

As arranger

With Hampton Hawes

With The Electric Prunes

With Gene Ammons

As producer

With David McCallum

  • Music...A Part Of Me (Capitol ST 2432, 1966)
  • Music...A Bit More Of Me (Capitol ST 2498, 1966)
  • Music...It's Happening Now! (Capitol ST 2651, 1967)
  • McCallum (Capitol ST 2748, 1968)

With Donna Loren

  • Beach Blanket Bingo (Capitol T-2323, ST-2323, 1965)
  • "Blowing Out the Candles" b/w "Just a Little Girl" (Capitol 5250, 1964)
  • "Ten Good Reasons" b/w "Ninety Day Guarantee" (Capitol 5337, 1964)
  • "New Love" b/w "So, Do the Zonk" (Capitol 5409, 1965)
  • These Are the Good Times: The Complete Capitol Recordings (Now Sounds CRNOW-47, 2014) (tracks: "Just a Little Girl", "So, Do the Zonk", "Good Things" [previously unreleased], "Leave Him to Me" [previously unreleased], "Ten Good Reasons", "Ninety Day Guarantee", "Blowing Out the Candles", "Drop the Drip" [previously unreleased], and the tracks from the Beach Blanket Bingo album).

With Cannonball Adderley

Notes

  1. ^ Although some sources give his year of birth as 1933, or 1936, official records and his family state that he was born in 1931.

References

  1. ^ a b Alapatt, Eothen (9 February 2017). "David Axelrod, 1931-2017". Rappcats.com. Archived from the original on 6 September 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d Caramanica, Jon (February 16, 2017). "David Axelrod, Music Producer Who Bridged Genres, Dies at 85". The New York Times. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  3. ^
    Rovi Corporation. Archived
    from the original on February 11, 2013. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  4. ^ George, Lynell (June 3, 2007). "Replay". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
  5. ^ a b Sonksen, Mike (June 15, 2012). "Songs of Innocence and Experience: The Tone Poems of David Axelrod and William Blake". KCET. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Mudhaffer, Zaid (January 20, 2014). "Heavy Axe: A Guide to David Axelrod". Red Bull Music Academy Daily. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  7. ^ Unterberger, Richie. "Liner notes for the Electric Prunes' Mass in F Minor". Retrieved March 7, 2013.
  8. ^ Lynskey, Dorian (March 19, 2004). "David Axelrod, Royal Festival Hall, London". The Guardian. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  9. ^ "David Axelrod, Influential Musician and Producer, Dies: Report". Billboard.com. February 5, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2017.

External links

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