Annette Peacock

Annette Peacock
Era Contemporary
Notable work Abstract-Contact, Sky-skating, I Have No Feelings, The Perfect Release, X-Dreams, I'm The One, I Belong To A World That's Destroying Itself, An Acrobat's Heart

Annette Peacock is an American composer, arranger, producer, musician, writer, singer.

Biography

"Annette Peacock is a stone cold original - an innovator, an outlier, authentically sui generis." John Doran, The Quietus.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Annette began composing at age four.[1] Her mother a violist in the San Diego and Philadelphia Philharmonic Orchestras, had studied at the Curtis Institute of Music.

At 19, Annette married jazz bassist Gary Peacock. At the beginning of the '60s she toured with Albert Ayler, studied Zen macrobiotics with Michio Kushi, and was a close associate of Timothy Leary at the psychedelic center in Millbrook.

In 1964, avant-garde pianist Paul Bley first began featuring her new language of compositions - ultimately on over 60 records. At the end of the 1960s, she and Bley became strongly associated with the musical possibilities of the newly-emergent synthesizer. Given a prototype by Robert Moog Annette was the first to use one to process her voice.[1] As well as playing electric bass, electric piano and electric vibraphone - most notably in concerts in New York at Town Hall, and a live performance of the "Bley-Peacock Synthesizer Show" in 1969 at Philharmonic Hall, Lincoln Center, which she promoted with spots on late night TV and a guest appearance on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. Peacock recorded and produced her first album in 1968 for Polydor, but Revenge: The Bigger the Love, the Greater the Hate was not released until 1971. (She reissued the album 2014, as I Belong to a World That's Destroying Itself.(track 3) on her own 'ironic US' label.) Revenge was followed by two live albums that were recorded in Europe, which she mixed, edited and produced Dual Unity recorded in 1970 (Freedom Records and Improvisie released on the French America label under Bley's name in 1971; on both albums they were accompanied for the most part by percussionist Han Bennink.

In 1971 she also recorded her second solo album. I'm the One was released by RCA Victor the following year. The journalists of UK music magazine The Wire received the album as one of the top 100 records that "set fire to the world". After a hiatus of six years, she released her next two albums X-Dreams and The Perfect Release on the British Aura label. While she played several instruments on her debut albums, she only used her voice backed by British prog-rock musicians like guitarists Chris Spedding, Mick Ronson, Brian Godding, keyboardist Peter Lemer and drummer Bill Bruford. She also collaborated with Bruford on his first solo project, 1977 Feels Good to Me, which became a prog-rock/jazz fusion classic.[2] (In the 1970s she also appeared as a "Hologram" in a show by Salvador Dalí.

She launched her own indie label from the UK, 'ironicrecords', distributed in Europe by Rough Trade, with the single "Sky-skating", followed by the Sky-skating album 1982, Been in the Streets Too Long 1983, I Have No Feelings 1986, and Abstract-Contact 1988.

Producer Manfred Eicher commissioned Annette Peacock in 1997 to compose a project for string quartet and herself on piano and voice. It was a 3 year project of composing and arranging, and then, after a recording silence of 12 years, An Acrobat's Heart was released in 2000 by ECM.[3] The commission was preceded by ECM's 1997 double CD Nothing Ever Was, Anyway: Music of Annette Peacock, a tribute to Annette's 1964–1969 catalog of compositions, by pianist Marilyn Crispell with (ex-husband) Gary Peacock and Paul Motian .[3]

At the beginning of 2006, she started up her own label again – now as 'ironic US', with 31:31, a signed, numbered unpromoted, limited edition that sold out. In the same year the result of her collaboration with Coldcut, "Just for the Kick", was released on their album Sound Mirrors.

Invited by The Whitney Museum of American Art to perform May 2013, her solo appearance inspired two rave reviews in The New York Times. She was the cover of the UK's December 2015 The Wire (magazine); and August 2016, with 'Circuit Des Yeux' on The Wire cover, the interview features a photo of Haley Fohr holding Annette's "X-Dreams" album. In The Quietus, Diamanda Galas also cites Annette's work as an influence.

In November 2015, Annette Peacock gave a rare performance at Le Guess Who? Festival as part of a four-day program presented by drone band Sunn O))).[4]

On his Blue Note Records album Lovers, released August 5, 2016, Wilco guitarist Nels Cline recorded a medley of two Annette Peacock compositions "So Hard It Hurts/Touching", arranged by Michael Leonhart.

The music of Annette Peacock has also been recorded by: David Bowie, Brian Eno, Mick Ronson, Al Kooper, Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius, Bill Frisell, Bill Bruford, Chris Spedding, Paul Bley, Mary Halvorson, Nels Cline, RZA, Busta Rhymes, J-Live, Ghostface Killah, Morcheeba,

Selected discography

Albums

Compilation albums

Singles

Compositions appeared on

References

  1. 1 2 Adler, David. "Annette Peacock: Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-01-09.
  2. ↑ On tour Peacock was also the guest vocalist of Bruford's band, e.g. the Rock Goes to College concert in March 1979 at the Oxford Polytechnic, BBC broadcast on YouTube, min 22:40–37:00.
  3. 1 2 Williamson, Don (2000-11-01). "An Acrobat's Heart". All About Jazz. Retrieved 2011-01-09.
  4. ↑ "Le Guess Who? Festival official site". Leguesswho.com. Retrieved 17 June 2015.

External links

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