Jethro Tull (band)

Jethro Tull (short: Tull ) is a progressive rock band from the United Kingdom. Permanent member and band leader is the composer, multi - instrumentalist and singer Ian Anderson (vocals, flute, saxophone, tin whistle, harmonica, acoustic guitar, mandolin and others).

Jethro Tull is the only internationally successful rock band, whose music the flute plays a major role. Due perfected techniques of forced expression ( about sharp blowing, tongue flapping, simultaneous voice onset ), the musical style of the band of rock music and in some cases the hard rock music be assigned.

Band History

1967 was founded in Blackpool Jethro Tull Ian Anderson, Mick Abrahams, Glenn Cornick and Clive Bunker.

At the beginning the group was hardly booked, so she tried to wake with changing names interest. So she went temporarily below the name The Four Fingers. When she was booked for the first time in London's legendary Marquee Club, she had just called " Jethro Tull " a historically experienced booking agent, and that was that then. Jethro Tull, who lived in the 18th century, is considered the father of modern agriculture.

At the beginning of their careers Jethro Tull toured numerous music clubs in England. In the Marquee Club, the formation played regularly and quickly found because of their unusual sounds and their flamboyant performance a large following. At Sunbury Jazz Festival in the summer of 1968 came the breakthrough for Jethro Tull.

From the beginning, the music critics were divided in, what style of music Jethro Tull are attributable. Some of their music has been described as progressive rock and partly as Classic Rock. The first album This Was (1968 ) was still very blue oriented, but are already some aspects of later Tull - style present with the distinctive vocals and the flute Ian Anderson. Following the departure of bekennenderweise very focused on the blues guitarist Mick Abrahams, who on the debut album about the same share of the songwriting had like Ian Anderson, the musical spectrum has been significantly expanded. An example, the adaptation of the Bourrée from the Suite for Lute in E Minor was called ( BWV 996 ) by Johann Sebastian Bach, who are already on their second album Stand Up (1969 ) far from the blues-rock scheme of the first album: First, the Bach - suggestive theme, a driving, precise jazz-rock number with a developed improvisation interspersed flute solo that remembers neither melodic Bach playing techniques of early models such as Roland Kirk.

One of the few commercially successful single releases is the early song Living in the Past 1969, which is composed throughout in 5/4-Takt and primarily derives its unique character through this odd clocking. In the same year the band toured several times in the U.S. and was also known there. In 1970 he published the album Benefit.

Her biggest success was achieved by the band with the first of three that appeared in episode concept albums, Aqualung (1971 ), which includes several other Tull classics next to the title song, most notably perhaps the most famous song of the band, Locomotive Breath. Anderson doubted the classification as a concept album by the music press ( "just a bunch of songs"; German: just a collection of songs ) and decided to demonstrate, therefore, what a real concept album is: The follow-up album Thick as a Brick ( 1972) is based on the musical form of the suite, be grouped in various musical topics by more varied transitions to a larger musical unit. With A Passion Play, another, less commercially successful concept album was released in 1973. The fact reached complexity polarized fans and critics to this day - the spectrum ranges from blatant rejection to assessment as the most important album of the band. The following albums have been structured in the form of individual songs, which until 1980 (A) addition to a few catchy songs especially complex arranged pieces form the picture, not least because of the detailed way of playing the drummer Barrie Barlow and Mark Craney.

The albums Songs from the Wood ( 1977), Heavy Horses (1978) and to a lesser extent still Stormwatch (1979 ) are often grouped together under the label " folk-rock " phase. This appears superficially due to the largely acoustic instrumentation and text references to life on the land and nature myths understandable, but due to the stand-alone compositions and for the traditional folk music rather atypical complexity of the arrangements, especially on Songs from the Wood, also misleading. In addition to that from Stormwatch increasingly policy took a textual role; criticized as said album oil production in the North Sea, while the sophomore album A ( 1980) with lyrics about early warning systems and civil defense had references to nuclear policy.

Since 1982, the operative band's drummer Doane Perry. Only phased drumming Gerry Conway, Dave Mattacks and others. Perry's quiet and straightforward, " lyrical " style goes hand in hand ever since with more conventional rock arrangements. An exception is the re- polarizing highly album Under Wraps (1984). The strong influence of the experienced in dealing with the new digital synthesizers keyboardist Peter John Vettese as well as a programmed by Ian Anderson drum machine, which led in part to drum tracks that can not reproduce a human drummer, led once again to a ( in parts ) very complex arranged album. According to energy is also Ian Anderson's vocal performance, the designated this as the best of his career, even in interviews. Fatally, presented the new songs during the subsequent tour such high demands on Ian Anderson's vocal chords that these were permanently damaged. This limited for years a the vocal possibilities Anderson.

Named after the split echo and voice problems only released in 1987 follow-up album Crest of a Knave (common by then was an annual new Tull album ) ended the phase of a keyboard -dominated sound and brought the haunting electric guitar playing Martin Barre's more to the fore as on all previous albums. 1989 Crest of a Knave won the first and only ever awarded a Grammy in the category of Best Hard-Rock-/Metal-Darbietung - vocal or instrumental.

As the most innovative Tull album of the 1990s often Roots to Branches (1995 ) is considered. In contrast to the Jethro Tull albums of the early 1980s is on this album, Anderson's flute playing in the foreground. In many intros and solos Ian Anderson demonstrates that he has mastered delicate phrasing and ornamentation techniques. The self-taught artist had successfully incorporated into the scholastic fingering while playing the flute, use the classically trained flutist and combines a pure, classic-looking style of play with his own, rough rock style flutes. In addition, for the first time can be heard clearly influenced by traditional Oriental music, and first used Anderson in some pieces of bamboo flutes, in contrast to the key mechanism of the Boehm flute allow their open finger holes techniques such as pitch bending and glissando, in which the pitch is varied continuously.

1999 appeared the album J- Tull Dot Com, which was ranked 14 in the German charts. End of 2003, the album Christmas appeared, were re-recorded for the older tracks and new material has been written to match the working title.

Characteristics of the band

The band's history is characterized by often changing occupations. Ian Anderson aspires to each competent musicians around himself who are in a position, even his unusual, difficult -to-play musical ideas adequately implement - both in the studio and on stage. The live performances by Jethro Tull are accordingly characterized by great musical professionalism. The existing since 1969 core of Jethro Tull form frontman Anderson and guitarist Martin Barre.

Trademarks of Jethro Tull is still the rock-oriented virtuoso flute playing of singer and composer Ian Anderson. Numerous compositions are characterized by the use of minor keys, a strong momentum, frequent change of pace and a variety of syncopation and offbeat. However, there are also some Jethro Tull ballad pieces, but always get Tull typical rock accents through imaginative instrumentation and phrasing. Many of the lyrics Ian Anderson are original, sometimes bizarre, and act in all subtlety of everyday people and events.

Band Members

Guest musicians

• Phil Collins played in two pieces on 21 July 1982 drums
• Florian Opahle be heard since 2004 on some live recordings and see
• Maddy Prior sang on the album Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! in the background
• Angela Allen also sang on Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! in the background
• Anna Phoebe accompanied some songs on the violin since 2007
• Egill Ólafsson of the Icelandic band Þursaflokkurinn sang at the concert on 9 June 2013 at the Harpa in Reykjavík with multiple titles and played at One White Duck / 010 = Nothing at All Guitar also. In addition Brúðkaupsvísur was a Þursaflokkurinn Classic, played, composed Egill Ólafsson the.

Awards

• In 1989, Crest of a Knave won the first and only Grammy for best hard rock or heavy metal performance (see also: Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock / Metal Performance Vocal or Instrumental).

• In 2005, Ian Anderson and Martin Barre received an award from the public television of the Italian -speaking Switzerland to honor their " masterful fusion of styles and values ​​of traditional music with contemporary rock ."

• In 2006, Ian Anderson received from the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters the Ivor Novello Award, an award for outstanding composers and authors in the field of non-classical music.

• In 2008, Ian Anderson was nominated for his musical contributions to the Member of the Order of the British Empire.

Discography

For a detailed discography, see Jethro Tull / Discography

Studio albums

• This Was (1968 )
• Stand Up (1969 )
• Benefit (1970)
• Aqualung (1971 )
• Thick as a Brick ( 1972)
• Living in the Past ( 1972)
• A Passion Play ( 1973)
• War Child (1974 )
• Minstrel in the Gallery (1975 )
• Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! (1976)
• Songs from the Wood ( 1977)
• Heavy Horses (1978 )
• Storm Watch ( 1979)
• A ( 1980)
• The Broadsword and the Beast (1982 )
• Under Wraps (1984 )
• Crest of a Knave (1987 )
• Rock Iceland (1989 )
• Catfish Rising ( 1991)
• Roots to Branches (1995 )

Live albums Chronologically ascending order by the date of recording, not after the publication:

• Nothing Is Easy: Live At The Isle Of Wight 1970 ( published in 2005 )
• Bursting Out, 1978
• Live at Madison Square Garden 1978 ( published 2009)
• Live at Hammersmith '84 ( published in 1990 )
• In Concert ( At The Hammersmith Odeon, 8th October 1991) ( published in 1995)
• A Little Light Music, 1992
• Living With the Past, 2002
• Live at Montreux 2003 ( published in 2007 )
• Aqualung Live, 2005