David Axelrod (musician)

For other people named David Axelrod, see David Axelrod (disambiguation).
David Axelrod
Born (1933-04-17) April 17, 1933[1]
Los Angeles, California, US
Genres Jazz, funk, soul[2]
Occupation(s) Producer, arranger, composer
Website www.davidaxelrodmusic.com

David Axelrod (born April 17, 1933)[1] is an American composer, arranger, and producer. After starting out as a staff producer for cool jazz labels, Axelrod became famous by the mid-1960s in soul and jazz circles for his recording skills. In 1968, he embarked on a solo career and released several eccentric albums during the 1970s that showcased his characteristic sound, which combined heavily microphoned drums and baroque orchestration, and avant garde themes ranging from the environment to heightened mental awareness.[2] With his early solo projects, Axelrod was one of the first recording artists to fuse elements of jazz, rock, and R&B.[3]

Early life

Born in Los Angeles, California, David Axelrod was raised in its South Central neighborhood, where he grew up listening to R&B and jazz. His father was active in radical labour union politics.

Career

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, which was seen as a landmark record.

In late 1963, he joined Capitol Records as a producer and A&R man. He encouraged the label to develop their black musicians. He began working with Lou Rawls, producing his successful Live album and a succession of gold albums and hit singles including "Love Is a Hurtin' Thing", "Your Good Thing (Is About to End)" and "Dead End Street", which Axelrod wrote and produced. He also began working with Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, one of the most successful jazz crossover artists of the 1960s. Axelrod produced Adderley’s 1967 album Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at 'The Club', which spawned one of the biggest jazz hits of all time, the funky "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy”, written by the band’s pianist Joe Zawinul (who would later, along with Wayne Shorter, create Weather Report, one of the most influential bands in jazz fusion), which reached No. 11 in the US pop charts.

Around this time Axelrod also began working with a regular group of leading session musicians, notably Howard Roberts (guitar), Carol Kaye (bass) and Earl Palmer (drums). In 1968, Axelrod wrote Mass in F Minor and Release of an Oath in a contemporary rock vein for the Electric Prunes; they were released under the band's name, but because of their complexity were recorded by other musicians.[4] The Electric Prunes disbanded during the recording sessions and Axelrod's team completed the albums. Axelrod’s success also encouraged Capitol to allow him to produce solo albums, the first two of which, 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.

At the same time, Axelrod continued to work with Adderley and Rawls, and with the South African singer Letta Mbulu, bandleader 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 Händel'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 DJ Shadow and Lauryn Hill. In 1993 he released his first album for over a decade, Requiem: Holocaust. Several compilations of his earlier work were also released. In 2000 he released David Axelrod, which used rhythm tracks originally recorded for a proposed third Electric Prunes album, with new arrangements. Dr. Dre used a David McCallum cut ("The Edge") for "The Next Episode" from 1999's 2001. Masta Ace also used a cut from "The Edge" in his song, "No Regrets" from the 2001 album, Disposable Arts. In addition, "The Edge" was heavily sampled on the 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. 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.

Influence

Axelrod's music has been sampled many times by hip hop musicians:

Madlib covered "A Divine Image" as part of his Sound Directions project. Cypress Hill used parts of the same song for the track "16 Men Till There's No Men Left" on their album IV.

In 2008, two tracks by Axelrod, "Holy Thursday" and "The Edge", were included in the soundtrack to the video game Grand Theft Auto IV.

Discography

Year Album details
1968 Song of Innocence
1969 Songs of Experience
  • Released: 1969
  • Label: Capitol
  • Formats: CD, LP
1970 Earth Rot
  • Released: 1970
  • Label: Capitol
  • Formats: CD, LP
1971 Rock Messiah
  • Released: 1971
  • Label: RCA
  • Formats: LP
1972 The Auction
  • Released: 1972
  • Label: Decca
  • Formats: LP
1974 Heavy Axe
  • Released: 1974
  • Label: Fantasy
  • Formats: LP, CD
1975 Seriously Deep
  • Released: 1975
  • Label: Polydor
  • Formats: LP, CD
1977 Strange Ladies
  • Released: 1977
  • Label: MCA
  • Formats: LP
1980 Marchin'
  • Released: 1980
  • Label: MCA
  • Formats: LP
1993 Requiem: The Holocaust
1995 The Big Country
  • Released: 1995
  • Label: Stateside
  • Formats: CD
2001 David Axelrod
  • Released: 2001
  • Label: Mo' Wax
  • Formats: CD
2004 David Axelrod Live at Royal Festival Hall
  • Released: 2004
  • Label:
  • Formats: CD/DVD

As arranger

With Hampton Hawes

With The Electric Prunes

With Gene Ammons

As producer

With David McCallum

With Donna Loren

With Cannonball Adderley

References

  1. 1 2 Alapatt, Eothen (1 November 2005). "The Axe: Part 1 of Big Daddy's David Axelrod interview". Wax Poetics. originally Big Daddy (1999/2000).
  2. 1 2 Bush, John. "David Axelrod - Music Biography, Credits and Discography". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on February 10, 2013. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  3. George, Lynell (June 3, 2007). "Replay". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
  4. Unterberger, Richie. "Liner notes for the Electric Prunes' Mass in F Minor". Retrieved March 7, 2013.

External links

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