Denis Charles

Denis Alphonso Charles[1] (December 4, 1933[2] – March 26, 1998)[3] was a jazz drummer.

Biography

Charles was born in St. Croix, Virgin Islands,[2] and first played bongos at age seven with local ensembles in the Virgin Islands. In 1945, he moved to New York, and gigged frequently around town.[2] In 1954, he began working with Cecil Taylor, and the pair collaborated until 1958.[2] Following this he played with Steve Lacy, Gil Evans, and Jimmy Giuffre. He befriended Ed Blackwell, and the two influenced each other.

He recorded with Sonny Rollins on a calypso-tinged set, and then returned to time with Lacy, with whom he played until 1964.[2] He worked with Archie Shepp and Don Cherry in 1967,[2] but heroin addiction saw him leave the record industry until 1971.[2] In the 1970s and 1980s, he played regularly on the New York jazz scene with Frank Lowe, David Murray, Charles Tyler, Billy Bang, and others,[2] and also played funk, rock, and traditional Caribbean music. He released three discs as a leader between 1989 and 1992, and died of pneumonia in his sleep in New York in 1998.[4]

Charles died four days after a five-week European tour with the Borgmann/Morris/Charles (BMC) Trio, with Wilber Morris and Thomas Borgmann. His last concert with this trio took place at the Berlin's Willy-Brandt-Haus. With the BMC Trio he recorded some albums in his last two years. A fifth CD was released after he died: The Last Concert - Dankeschön, Silkheart Records, 1999.

In 2002, Veronique Doumbe released a film documentary, Denis A. Charles: An Interrupted Conversation, about the life of Charles.[5]

Discography

As leader or co-leader

As sideman

With Cecil Taylor

With Steve Lacy

With Gil Evans

With Sonny Rollins

With Archie Shepp

With Peter Kuhn

  • 1979: Livin' Right (Big City)
  • 1981: The Kill (Soul Note)

With Billy Bang

With Jemeel Moondoc

With Wilber Morris and Charles Tyler

  • 1981: Collective Improvisations (Bleu Regard, 1994)

With The Jazz Doctors (Rafael Garrett, Frank Lowe, Billy Bang)

With Rob Brown

With William Parker

With John Blum (pianist)

  • 1998: Astrogeny (Eremite, 2005)

With Raphe Malik

With Sirone

  • 2005: Live (Atavistic)

References
  1. "Dennis Charles | SecondHandSongs". Secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  2. Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 83. ISBN 0-85112-580-8.
  3. Ratliff, Ben (12 April 1998). "Denis Charles, 64, Drummer Who Gave Jazz Caribbean Lilt". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  4. "Denis Charles | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  5. "Denis Charles". Ndolofilms.com. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
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