Bud Spangler
Bud Spangler | |
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Bud Spangler in 2005 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Robert Spangler |
Born |
Norwalk, Ohio, U.S. | December 7, 1938
Died | January 16, 2014 75) | (aged
Genres | Jazz, R&B, blues, funk[1] |
Occupation(s) | Producer, composer, instrumentalist, radio personality, concert organizer |
Instruments | Percussion |
Years active | 1950s-2014 |
Labels | Strata Records, Blue Note Records, Tribe Records, Monarch Records, Amoeba Music |
Associated acts | Tribe, Tom Peron, Interplay, Jessica Williams, Joe Gilman, Lyman Woodard, Contemporary Jazz Quintet |
Website | BudSpangler.com |
Notable instruments | |
Drum set |
Robert "Bud" Spangler (December 7, 1938 – January 16, 2014) was an American jazz percussionist, composer, radio broadcaster, music producer, and concert organizer.[2] He began his music career in the Detroit music scene of the 1960s, engineering for R&B, blues, and funk-oriented bands, and working as a drummer for jazz groups.[3] In the 1970s[1] that included working with Strata Records, Blue Note,[4] and Tribe Records.[3]
After moving to Northern California in the 1970s, Spangler produced Grammy-nominated recordings for jazz artists such as Taylor Eigsti, Mark Levine, and Cedar Walton,[5] and from 1982 co-led and performed in the modern jazz ensemble Tom Peron-Bud Spangler Interplay Quartet.[6] From 1991 to 2007[7] Spangler helped create and produce the Woodside, California concert series Jazz at Filoli. He worked as a host-producer at radio stations from the late 1950s,[8] including KCSM (FM)[9] in San Mateo and KJAZ (FM) in San Francisco.[1]
Early life
Robert "Bud" Spangler[4] was born in Norwalk, Ohio on December 7, 1938.[1] He moved to Wyandotte, Michigan at a young age, where he attended high school. Despite having had polio as a child, he began to learn percussion in the 7th grade, and took a particular interest in jazz.[5]
Career
Music in Detroit
Spangler moved to Lansing, Michigan in the late 1950s to attend Michigan State University.[4] Around that time he began drumming close to Detroit in Wyandotte, Michigan, where he played his first gigs with saxophonist Dick Lozon. He also performed locally while attending school, and through the Stan Kenton Summer Jazz Workshops at Michigan State met New Yorkers like trumpeter Marvin Stamm and saxophonist Charlie Mariano. He played gigs with both of them locally and in nearby Saugatuck.[1]
During the mid-'60s he connected with veteran saxophonist Benny Poole of Michigan, and started drumming for a number of jazz groups. He encountered a young Paul Motian, a percussionist who introduced him to Mose Allison. Other jazz musicians Spangler collaborated with include Larry Nozero, Lyman Woodard, Ron English, Teddy Harris, Jr., and Leonard King. He performed with trumpeter Eddie Henderson, organist Gene Ludwig, pianist Jessica Williams, saxophonist Archie Shepp, and a single gig with Stan Getz. He began work as a studio recording engineer for a number of R&B, blues, and funk-oriented bands.[1]
Throughout the 1970s[1] Spangler was active within the Detroit musical co-operative Strata Records, notably as the drummer for Kenny Cox’s Contemporary Jazz Quintet (aka CJQ) on the Blue Note label. In CJQ Spangler was a dual drummer with Danny Spencer, creating an unusual sound for the era. Also in the 1970s he was the drummer for a Detroit band called Tribe, an artistic cooperative run by Phil Ranelin, trumpeter Marcus Belgrave,[4] and Wendell Harrison.[3]
Spangler/Peron Quartet
"Jessica Williams was living in Sacramento, and she called me and said, 'Find us a gig in the Bay Area. I've got a trumpet player, and you're just gonna fall in love with his playing.' It turned out to be Tom Peron, who was then in his late teens. We hit it off immediately, both personally and musically, and we've been playing music together ever since." |
— Bud Spangler (1997)[6] |
Spangler moved to California in the 1970s. For years Spangler co-led and drummed in the Tom Peron-Bud Spangler Interplay Quartet,[7] a California-based modern jazz ensemble that also Tom Peron on trumpets.[1] Peron and Spangler became musical partners in 1982, when they were introduced by pianist Jessica Williams.[6]
Jessica Williams went on to play piano on the first Peron/Spangler album in 1994, Interplay, which was released on the San Francisco-based Monarch label. The group also came to consist of bassist Scott Steed and pianist Joe Gilman (later replaced by pianist Jacob Semetko). The group's second album on the Monarch label, Dedication, mixed well-known modern-jazz pieces with originals, mostly by Peron. Spangler has stated about the ensemble's method, "We believe in taking a piece of music and treating it as a vehicle for improvisation. We expand things sometimes well beyond the parameters of the original song, but with great respect for the tune and its form and the traditions of jazz."[6]
Production
Spangler produced Grammy-nominated recordings for jazz artists such as Mark Levine and Cedar Walton,[5] and has also produced music for Anton Schwartz, Taylor Eigsti, Kitty Margolis, Joe Gilman, Mimi Fox, Dave Ellis, Clairdee, Ellen Robinson, Ed Reed, Nicolas Bearde,[7] Kristen Miranda,[10] and several dozen others.[7]
Concerts
- Jazz at Filoli concert series
From 1991 to 2007[7] Spangler helped create and produce the concert series Jazz at Filoli at Woodside, California[1] According to Spangler, “I’d gotten to know Chuck Huggins, who was CEO of See's Candies, through musician Turk Murphy...Chuck called me one day and asked, ‘Do you know Filoli?’ I said I’d never heard of it. He replied that was the problem — many Bay Area residents had never heard of what was a real local treasure. Being a jazz aficionado, it occurred to him that a series of jazz concerts on the grounds might introduce Filoli to more people." Spangler was brought on as producer, and the first concert, a tribute to Duke Ellington, occurred on Father’s Day in June, 1991.[5]
- Cotati Jazz Festival
In June 1996, he performed at the 16th Annual Cotati Jazz Festival, along with artists such as Madeline Eastman and Joyce Cooling.[11]
- Salute to Bud Spangler
On July 13, 2011, the live jazz show "A Salute to Bud Spangler" was held in Oakland. Among the performers were Khalil Shaheed & The Oaktown Jazz Workshop, The Ellen Robinson Band, Mimi Fox, Kitty Margolis, Mark Levine & The Latin Tinge, and the Bobby Hutcherson Band.[2]
Radio and television
During the late 1950s Spangler was a student DJ on Michigan State University’s radio station WKAR-FM.[4] Later he became a DJ on the public radio station WDET-FM in Detroit, presenting the show Jazz Today in the 1960s.[1] He was producer and director of the Wayne State University TV Department from 1967 to 1971, and after that was the program director for jazz at WDET from 1971 to 1975.[8]
For a short period of time he worked at WJCT-FM[1] and the TV station WJCT-TV in Jacksonville, Florida, and after that, he did a year in Orlando at the radio station WMFE-FM.
After moving to Northern California in the 1970s,[4] Spangler joined the radio station KCSM (FM) in San Mateo and KJAZ (FM) (now KREV) in San Francisco[1] as a host-producer, and he has remained a radio personality in Oakland, California for several decades.[12] By the early 1980s Spangler was hosting "The Turk Murphy Show"[9] and the live jazz performance show[7] "Sunday Sunday Night" on KCSM.[9] He also hosted "See’s Sunday Night Jazz Show" on KJAZ,[5] and has done hosting and producing for National Public Radio.[7]
Personal life and death
As of 2013 Bud Spangler lived in Oakland, California.[12] His nephew is drummer RJ Spangler of Eastlawn Records in Detroit.[3] He died of lung cancer on January 16, 2014.[13][14]
Selected discography
Instrumentals
Year | Title | Artist or group | Label | Role |
---|---|---|---|---|
1975 | Saturday Night Special | The Lyman Woodard Organization | Strata Records | Percussion |
1976 | Vibes From The Tribe | Phil Ranelin | Tribe Records | Drums, co-producer |
1981 | Watch That First Step | Bruce Stephens | Strawberry Records | Drums |
1990 | Fine and Mellow | Mary Stallings | Amoeba Music | Percussion, co-producer, remix[15] |
1994 | Interplay | Tom Peron and Bud Spangler Quartet | Monarch Records | Drums, group leader[16] |
1996 | Dedication | Tom Peron and Bud Spangler Quartet | Monarch Records | Drums, group leader |
1996 | An Anthology Of Tribe Records: 1972-1976 | Various | Tribe Records | Drums |
Production
Year | Title | Group | Label | Role |
---|---|---|---|---|
1974 | Maulawi | Maulawi Nururdin | Strata Records | Production |
1994 | A Handful of Stars | Dave McKenna | Concord Records | Engineer |
1994 | Evolution | Kitty Margolis | Mad-Kat Records | Co-producer |
2001 | Vibes From The Tribe | Phil Ranelin | Amoeba Music | Co-producer[15] |
2006 | Radiant Blue | Anton Schwartz | Antonjazz | Co-producer |
2007 | 75th Birthday Bash Live! | Kenny Burrell | Blue Note Records | Location producer |
2011 | Sagacious Grace | Dee Bell | Laser Records | Resurrection Engineer |
2014 | Flash Mob | Anton Schwartz | Antonjazz | Co-producer |
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Nastos, Michael G. "Bud Spangler Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
- 1 2 "A Salute To Bud Spangler". San Francisco Chronicle. July 13, 2011. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
- 1 2 3 4 Gallo, Mark E. (March 2002). "Feature & Interview - R.J. Spangler". Blues on Stage. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Bud Spangler". 180 Proof Records. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Gulker, Linda Hubbard (June 19, 2012). "Bud Spangler tells the sweet tale of how summer jazz concerts came to Filoli". InMenlo. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
- 1 2 3 4 Gilbert, Andrew (September 11–17, 1997). "Togetherness". Metro (metroactive). Retrieved 2014-01-05.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Bud Spangler". BudSpangler.com. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
- 1 2 Darling, Robin (7 April 2011). "Oral history interview with Bud Spangler, 2011, April 7 [electronic resource]". Wayne State University Libraries: Cass Corridor Documentation Project. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
- 1 2 3 "For KCSM 91.1 FM's Music Director Jesse "Chuy" Varela, music roots have run deep.". Jazz 91.1 FM. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
- ↑ "Kristen Miranda". Sacramento Talent Magazine. February 1, 2013. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
- ↑ "Livin' Is Easy: Cotati Jazz Festival". Retrieved 2008-04-01.
- 1 2 "Bud Spangler Profile". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
- ↑ "Bud Spangler". Jazz from Gallery 41. Retrieved 2014-01-16.
- ↑ http://jazztimes.com/sections/news/articles/117497-drummer-producer-and-broadcaster-bud-spangler-dies-at-75
- 1 2 "Bud Spangler - Credits". Amoeba Music. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
- ↑ Yanow, Scott. "Tom Peron / Bud Spangler - Interplay Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bud Spangler. |
- Interviews
- "Bud Spangler tells the sweet tale of how summer jazz concerts came to Filoli". InMenlo. June 19, 2012.
- "Spoken Interview with Bud Spangler". Wayne State University Libraries. April 7, 2011.
- "Togetherness". Metro. September 11–17, 1997.
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