Bill Connors

Bill Connors (* as William A. Connors on September 24, 1949 in Los Angeles ) is an American jazz guitarist of modern jazz and rock jazz. He played with Chick Corea's Return To Forever and with Jan Garbarek.

Life and work

Connors began at the age of fourteen, playing the guitar. After autodidactic studies of rock and blues influences, he played gigs with local bands in the Los Angeles area. He soon found, however, to jazz and this was strongly influenced by John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Jim Hall, Wes Montgomery, Scott LaFaro, Miles Davis, affected. But especially coined by Django Reinhardt

First, Bill Connors busy with the sounds of electrically amplified guitar in 1972 went to San Francisco and became a member of the band of Mike Nock ( "The Fourth Way " ) with drummer Eddie Marshall and bassist Dennis Parker. During this time he met the drummer and vibraphonist Glenn Cronkhite know who taught him in jazz. In San Francisco, Connors played with numerous musicians and was involved in 1973 at the recording of Julian Priest ECM album Love Love also played with Steve Swallow and pianist Art Lande.

His first fame he acquired when he may - through Steve Swallow - 1973 member of Chick Corea 's fusion band Return to Forever, was the he recorded his album Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy. In April 1974, after a tour of the band through Europe and Japan, Bill Connors Return To Forever left again. Then he too went the musical direction of the band leader towards rock, he believed in this context not being able to realize his ideas. He also took exception to the gängelnden Corea's leadership style, which was heavily influenced by the ideas of Scientology. After leaving Corea he worked intensively with the game of the classical guitar. 1974 was his first solo album for the jazz label ECM with acoustic guitar.

In 1977, Connors played with the known ECM musicians Jan Garbarek, Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette a probably his most famous album Of Mist And Melting. 1980, was a second solo album for ECM; 1977/78 he worked with Jimmy Giuffre, Lee Konitz and Paul Bley and took with them two albums. He has also performed with Jean -François Jenny -Clark and Barre Phillips. After that Connors turned in the 1980s again more to the fusion music; However, the albums of this phase, as Step It Up or double came at criticism of not. After it was long gone quiet around him, published in 2005 a new album by Bill Connors.

Discography

As a leader

As a sideman

• Chick Corea 's Return to Forever: Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy ( Polydor, 1974)
• Jimmy Giuffre: Giuffre / Konitz / Connors / Bley ( Improvising Artists, 1978)
• Lee Konitz & Paul Bley: Pyramid ( Improvising Artists, 1977)
• Julian Priester: Love Love (ECM, 1973)