Bill Summers (musician)

Bill Summers ( born May 20, 1948) is an American percussionist of Jazz Funk, who also works as a music producer.

Life and work

Summers was trained from 1953 to 1963 at the Conservatory of Detroit; 1970 to 1974 he studied ethnomusicology at the University of California, Berkeley, and began to intensively deal with African rhythms. With Herbie Hancock he took in 1973 on the album Head Hunters ( and many more to 1980) and was part of the group The Headhunters, which was revived in 1998, he contributed to their repertoire and with whom he was in Europe, most recently in 2008. He also started an own career, releasing several albums under his own name and with Summers Heat. He also belonged to the trio of Walter Payton. As a studio musician he worked with Nina Simone, George Benson, Stanley Clarke, John Singleton, Bennie Maupin (The Jewel in the Lotus 1974) and Salif Keïta, for which he also as well as Dianne Reeves and Joe Zawinul composed and arranged. He also went with Kool & the Gang, Dianne Reeves, Earth, Wind and Fire, Anita Baker and George Duke on extended tours.

Furthermore, Los Hombres Calientes worked with, one inspired by Latin rhythms and fusion group, which he put together the trumpeter Irvin Mayfield leads since 1998. His former wife Yvette Bostic - Summers sings on the Los Hombres albums.

In addition, he worked on various film scores by Quincy Jones, about to The Color Purple and the music for the TV series Roots.

Disco Graphical Notes

• Feel the Heat ( Prestige, 1976)
• Cayenne ( Prestige, 1977)
• Straight to the Bank ( Prestige, 1978)
• On Sunshine ( Prestige, 1979)
• Call it What You Want (MCA, 1980) ( U.S. # 129)
• Jam the Box (MCA, 1981) ( U.S. # 92)
• Seventeen (MCA, 1982)
• Iroko ( Vital Records, 1992)
• Essence of Kwanzaa (Monkey Hill, 1997)
• Studies in Bata: Sacred Drum of the Yoruba, Havana to Matanzas ( Bilsum Music, 2002)

Singles