Clifford Thornton
Clifford Edward Thornton ( born September 6, 1936 in Philadelphia / Pennsylvania, † November 25, 1983 in Geneva) was an American jazz trombonist and trumpeter.
Life and work
Thornton studied in the 1950s with trumpeter Donald Byrd and worked with the tuba player Ray Draper. After his army service, he settled in New York, where he among other things, as a sideman recorded with Sun Ra, Archie Shepp, Sam Rivers and Sunny Murray.
He then worked as a band leader (including the New Art Ensemble ) and composer and founded his own record label ( Third World Records ). In 1967 he released his first album ( Freedom & Unity ), the others followed in rapid succession. In 1971 he played with Joe McPhee ( Survival Unit II with Clifford Thornton: At WBAI 's Free Music Store, 1971). Since the early 1970s he lived mainly on in Europe.
Disco Graphical Notes
- Freedom & Unity ( Atavistic, 1967) with Karl Berger, Jimmy Garrison, John McCortney, Joe McPhee, Don Moore
- Ketchaoua ( BYG Actuel, 1969) with Dave Burrell, Claude Delcloo, Earl Freeman, Beb Guérin, Arthur Jones, Grachan Moncur III, Sunny Murray, Archie Shepp
- The Panther and the Lash [live ] (America, 1970) with Beb Guérin, Noel McGhie, François Tusques
- Communications Network ( 1972) with Jerome Cooper, Jayne Cortez, Nathan Davis, Jerry Gonzalez, Jay Hoggard, L. Shankar, Sirone
- The Gardens of Harlem (1974 ) with Roland Alexander, Carla Bley, Pat Patrick, Marvin Peterson, Dewey Redman, Wadada Leo Smith, Bob Stewart, Carlos Ward