Jazz Articles about Roy Campbell

TEST with Roy Campbell: Live at The Hinton House

by Mike Jurkovic
September 1, 2020

More exquisite madness from Brooklyn's barn burning free jazz label 577 Records, home to the free and the brave. This time it's a hard core NY borough blowout recorded live in April 1999 that cantankerously and vividly chronicles the only known performance of the late, free/avant, Harlem/NoBro legend, trumpeterRoy Campbell. Unrestrained, Campbell raises the roof with a loosely defined autonomous collective of downtown alchemists, namely drummer Tom Bruno, bassist Matt Heyner and the rioting reeds of Sabir Mateen ...

Roy Campbell: Songs & Themes & Akhenaten Suite

by Marc Medwin
June 8, 2008

Spring Heel Jack Songs & Themes Thirsty Ear 2008 Roy Campbell Akhenaten Suite AUM Fidelity 2008

Trumpeter Roy Campbell is presented here in two starkly different contexts yet his playing greatly enhances both. His work on Spring Heel Jack's Songs & Themes is meditatively translucent, subtle timbral shifts placing each note ...

Roy Campbell: Akhenaten Suite

by Lyn Horton
May 9, 2008

Any relationship to ethnicity or artistry that an individual advocates predisposes how that individual might be viewed from the outside, yet strength of self-perception cancels out the superficiality of any invisibly barbed labeling. Music becomes a means to translate self-perception into a language which not only transcends social divides but also can relate the story of origin.

For the 2007 Vision Festival, trumpeter Roy Campbell was commissioned to write “Akhenaten Suite," in which he paid tribute to his heritage using ...

Roy Campbell: Akhenaten Suite

by John Sharpe
March 5, 2008

"You might say jazz came from the sun priests of Egypt opined Sun Ra, and while trumpeter Roy Campbell might not be so forthright, he has long been inspired by the nation alongside the Nile. One of Campbell's most enduring ensembles is the Pyramid Trio. In some ways this suite follows the trajectory delineated by that combo, with a swinging world music lilt allied to taut free-bop and incisive outside elements. Not that there is anything daunting about this well ...

Roy Campbell: Akhenaten Suite

by Mark Corroto
March 4, 2008

Trumpeter Roy Campbell's music has always traveled the globe and been inspired by world music, be it Afro-Cuban, Asian, Jamaican, West African, the blues or free music. But while he plays with these various influences, Campbell is always firmly planted in the jazz tradition. For Akhenaten Suite, he travels not only the world but back in time. Dedicated to the Egyptian pharoah of the 18th dynasty--husband of Nefertiti, and perhaps father of Tutankhamun--the music was written in the fashion of ...

Roy Campbell 101: From Where He Came

by Jason Byrne - Red Cat Publicity
June 10, 2005

We're just about midway through 2005 and NYC-based trumpeter Roy Campbell has already toured Europe with The Nu Band; performed at the Tel Aviv Jazz Festival with his Pyramid Trio, featuring his musical brother, bassist William Parker; and toured Europe yet again with guitarist Marc Ribot's Spiritual Unity Band. Plus, he's played a host of gigs on his own turf and has presented jazz workshops for elementary school students with his group Tazz. “Tazz is Roy's nickname, bestowed upon him ...

Burton Greene/Roy Campbell Quartet: Isms Out

by Michael Holman
May 5, 2005

Free jazz pioneer pianist Burton Greene and trumpeter Roy Campbell front this deeply satisfying CIMP release. The disc has an eclectic feel, striking a nearly ideal balance between free improvisation and more structured jazz, while also drawing on some notable world music influences. Venerable drummer Lou Grassi and bassist Adam Lane round out the quartet and provide some enjoyable solos as well as solid support for the leaders. The album is primarily Greene's project, as he provides most of the ...