* En anglais uniquement
Of the electric guitar's few proponents in avant-garde jazz,
Sonny Sharrock is easily the most influential; he was one of the earliest guitarists to even attempt free playing, along with
Derek Bailey and
Sonny Greenwich.
Sharrock's visceral aggression and monolithic sheets of noise were influenced by the screaming overtones of saxophonists like
Coltrane,
Sanders, and
Ayler, and his experiments with distortion and feedback predated even
Jimi Hendrix. Naturally, he provoked much hostility among traditionalists, but once his innovations were assimilated, he enjoyed wide renown in avant-garde circles.
Born
Warren Harding Sharrock in Ossining, NY, in 1940, he began singing in doo wop groups in 1953. He fell in love with jazz through
Kind of Blue, but took up guitar (in 1960) instead of saxophone because of his asthma. In 1965 -- four years after a failed stint at Berklee -- he moved to New York, where he first worked with
Byard Lancaster and
Babatunde Olatunji. He made his recording debut in late 1966 on
Pharoah Sanders'
Tauhid, and remained with
Sanders until 1968; he subsequently joined
Herbie Mann's group, where his wild freakouts clashed -- often intriguingly -- with the flautist's accessible leanings.
Sharrock's first recordings as a leader, 1969's
Black Woman and 1970's
Monkey-Pockie-Boo, featured his wife
Linda's swooping wordless vocals. In 1970,
Sharrock turned down an audition with
Miles Davis, feeling that his seismic, uncredited solo on
A Tribute to Jack Johnson spoke for itself; unfortunately, the result was years of obscurity after he exited
Mann's group around 1972. Fortunately, producer/bassist
Bill Laswell invited
Sharrock to join the avant-punk-jazz supergroup
Last Exit in 1986.
Laswell also produced the majority of a series of albums documenting
Sharrock at his most unfiltered (1986's unaccompanied
Guitar, 1987's
Seize the Rainbow, 1990's
Highlife, and the
Nicky Skopelitis duet album Faith Moves). 1991's
Ask the Ages was
Sharrock's masterpiece, reuniting him with
Pharoah Sanders and capturing his visceral and melodic sides. Sadly, though, just as he was becoming popular with adventurous young rock fans,
Sharrock died of a heart attack in May 1994; his last recordings were for the animated series Space Ghost Coast to Coast. ~ Steve Huey