Roy Campbell Jr., Avant-Garde Jazz Trumpeter, Dies at 61

By NATE CHINENJAN. 18, 2014

Roy Campbell Jr., who carried the soulful swagger of hard-bop trumpet into the jazz avant-garde, of which he became a pillar, died on Jan. 9 at his home in the Bronx. He was 61.

The cause was hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, said his sister, Valerie Campbell Morris, his only immediate survivor.

Mr. Campbell was a proud heir to the legacy of 1960s free jazz as established by trailblazers like the saxophonist Albert Ayler, the pianist Cecil Taylor and the trumpeter Don Cherry, one of Mr. Campbell’s idols. Combining a pugnacious sound with an open-minded approach, Mr. Campbell worked with an array of colleagues in that lineage. He was a fixture at the Vision Festival in New York, an annual celebration of avant-gardism, and recorded his most recent album, “Akhenaten Suite” (Aum Fidelity), in concert there in 2007.

As a composer and bandleader he favored strong rhythm and folkloric texture, putting those elements together in Tazz, an energetic quartet featuring piano, bass and drums, and Pyramid Trio, with the bassist William Parker and a succession of drummers. “Ethnic Stew and Brew,” a Pyramid Trio album released on Delmark in 2001, was one of Mr. Campbell’s most critically acclaimed.

For more than 20 years, off and on, he also stood front and center in Other Dimensions in Music, a ruggedly spontaneous band with Daniel Carter on reeds and flute (and sometimes trumpet), Mr. Parker on bass and Rashid Bakr on drums. He held a similar role as a member of the Nu Band, and in ensembles led by Mr. Parker, the pianist Matthew Shipp and the guitarist Marc Ribot.

Roy Sinclair Campbell Jr. was born in Los Angeles on Sept. 29, 1952, and raised from the age of 2 in the Bronx. His mother, Erna Arene Forte Campbell, worked at P.S. 21 in the Bronx; his father was a Wall Street communications specialist and a trumpeter himself. Roy Jr. began his musical training on piano and also learned flute and violin.

The trumpet became his focus during his senior year in high school, and from then on he moved quickly. Through the nonprofit music-outreach organization Jazzmobile, he studied with Lee Morgan, Kenny Dorham and Howard McGhee, assertive trumpeters from different points on the bebop spectrum. He majored in trumpet at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, where he also studied theory and composition with the esteemed multi-reedist Yusef Lateef, who died last month at 93.

Mr. Campbell formed his first band, Spectrum, at 20, and began playing widely as a sideman, notably with Ensemble Muntu, a fixture on New York’s 1970s loft-jazz scene. He released his debut album, “New Kingdom” (Delmark), in 1992, around the time he ended a two-year stint in the Netherlands; its opening track was “I Remember Lee,” a pledge of allegiance to Morgan. (On his following album, Mr. Campbell would include a waltz titled“Booker’s Lament,” after another influence, the trumpeter Booker Little.)

Beyond his affinities with hard bop and free jazz, Mr. Campbell worked in a range of styles including funk, hip-hop and reggae. And he was an encouraging mentor to younger trumpeters, both informally and in his capacity as a founder of the stylistically broad Festival of New Trumpet Music, which he established with Dave Douglas in 2003.

*****

Roy Sinclair Campbell, Jr. (September 29, 1952 – January 9, 2014) was anAmerican trumpeter frequently linked to free jazz, although he also performedrhythm and blues, bebop and funk at times during his career.

[hide]

Biography[edit]

Born in Los Angeles, California, in 1952,^[1] Campbell was raised in New York. At the age of fifteen he began learning to play trumpet and soon studied at the Jazz Mobile program along with Kenny Dorham, Lee Morgan and Joe Newman.^[2]Throughout the 1960s, still unacquainted with the avant-garde movement, Campbell performed in the big bands of the Manhattan Community College. From the 1970s onwards he performed primarily within the context of free jazz, spending some of this period studying with Yusef Lateef.^[3]

In the early 1990s Campbell moved to the Netherlands and performed regularly with Klaas Hekman and Don Cherry.^[2] In addition to leading his own groups, he performed with Yo La Tengo, William Parker, Peter Brotzmann, Matthew Shipp, and other improvisors. Upon returning to the United States he began leading his group Other Dimensions In Music and also formed the Pyramid Trio, apianoless trio formed with William Parker.^[2] He performed regularly as part of the Festival of New Trumpet Music, which is held annually in New York City.^{[citation needed]}

He died in January 2014 of hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseaseat the age of 61.^[4]^[5]

Discography[edit]

As leader[edit]

New Kingdom (1992, Delmark)
La Tierra del Fuego (1994, Delmark)
Communion (1995, Silkheart)
Ancestral Homeland (1998, No More)
Ethnic Stew and Brew (2001, Delmark)
It's Krunch Time (2001, Thirsty Ear)
Akhenaten Suite (2008, Aum Fidelity)

with Other Dimensions In Music[edit]

Other Dimensions in Music (Silkheart, 1990)
Now! (Aum Fidelity, 1988)
Time is of the Essence is Beyond Time (Aum Fidelity, 2002)
Live at the Sunset, Paris (Marge, 2007)
Kaiso Stories (Silkheart, 2011)

with The Nu Band (Roy Campbell Jr., Mark Whitecage, Joe Fonda, Lou Grassi)[edit]

Live at the Bop Shop (Clean Feed, 2001)
Live (Konnex, 2005)
The Dope and the Ghost (Not Two, 2007)
Lower East Side Blues (Porter Records, 2009)
Live in Paris (No Business, 2010)
Relentlessness Live at the Sunset (Marge, 2011)

with Tribute to Albert Ayler (Joe McPhee, Roy Campbell, William Parker, Warren Smith)[edit]

Live at The Dynamo (Marge, 2009)

As sideman[edit]

with Jemeel Moondoc

The Evening of the Blue Men (Muntu, 1979)
New York Live! (Cadence, 1981)
The Intrepid Live in Poland (Poljazz, 1981)
The Athens Concert (Praxis, 1982)
Konstanze's Delight - Live 1981 (Soul Note, 1983)
Spirit House (Eremite, 2000)
Live in Paris (Cadence, 2003)
Just Grew Orchestra Live at the Vision Festival (Ayler, 2003)

with Saheb Sarbib

Live at the Public Theatre (Cadence, 1981)
Aisha (Cadence, 1981)

with Billy Bang

Live at Carlos 1 (Soul Note, 1986)

with William Parker

Flowers Grow in my Room (Centering, 1994)
Sunrise in the Tone World (Aum Fidelity, 1997)
Mayor of Punkville (Aum Fidelity, 2000)
Raincoat in the River (Eremite, 2001)
Mass for the Healing of the World (Black Saint, 2003)
Spontaneous (Splasc(h), 2003)
Fractured Dimensions (FMP, 2003)
For Percy Heath (Victo, 2006)
Essence of Ellington (Centering, 2012)

with Ehran Elisha

Sweet Empathy (Cadence, 1995)
The Kicker (CIMP, 1998)
Lowe Down Suite (CIMP, 1999)

with Peter Brötzmann's Die Like a Dog Quartet

From Valley to Valley (Eremite, 1998)

with Matthew Shipp

Strata (hatOLOGY, 1998)
Pastoral Composure (Thirsty Ear, 2000)

with Rob Brown

Jumping off the Page (No More, 2000)
The Big Picture (Marge, 2004)

with Alan Silva

& The Sounds Visions Orchestra (Eremite, 2001)

with Yuko Fujiyama

Re-entry (CIMP, 2001)

with Steve Lehman

Structural Fire (CIMP, 2001)
Camouflage (CIMP, 2002)

with Peter Brötzmann Tentet + 2

Short Visit to Nowhere (Okkadisk, 2002)
Broken English (Okkadisk, 2002)

with Maneri Ensemble

Going to Church (Aum Fidelity, 2002)

with Khan Jamal

Balafon Dance (CIMP, 2002)

with Kevin Norton

The Dream Catcher (CIMP, 2003)

with Yo La Tengo

Summer Sun (Matador, 2003)

with Exuberance

The Other Shore (Boxholder, 2003)
Live at Vision Festival (Ayler, 2004)

with Steve Swell

Suite for Players, Listeners and Other Dreamers (CIMP, 2003)
Rivers of Sound Ensemble - News from the Mystic Auricle (Not Two, 2008)

with Burton Greene

Isms Out (CIMP, 2004)

with Dennis Gonzalez

Nile River Suite (Daagnim, 2004)

with El-P

High Water (Thirsty Ear, 2004)

with Whit Dickey

Coalescence (Clean Feed, 2004)
In a Heartbeat (Clean Feed, 2005)
Sacred Ground (Clean Feed, 2006)

with Marc Ribot

Spiritual Unity (Pi recordings, 2005)

with Charles Tyler

Live at Sweet Basil vol. 1 & 2 (1984) (Bleu Regard, 2007)

with Garrison Fewell

Variable Density Sound Orchestra (Creative Nation Music, 2009)

with Stone Quartet

Live at Vision Festival (Ayler, 2011)

with William Hooker Trio with Dave Soldier

Heart of the Sun (Engine Records, 2013)

with New Atlantis Octet

Unto the Sun (Not Two. 2013)

with Adam Lane

Blue Spirit Band (CIMP, 2013)
Oh Freedom (CIMP, 2013)

***

Roy Sinclair Campbell, Jr. (September 29, 1952 – January 9, 2014) was an American trumpeter frequently linked to free jazz, although he also performed rhythm and blues, bebop and funk at times during his career.

Born in Los Angeles, California, in 1952, Campbell was raised in New York. At the age of fifteen he began learning to play trumpet and soon studied at the Jazz Mobile program along with Kenny Dorham, Lee Morgan, and Joe Newman. Throughout the 1960s, still unacquainted with the avant-garde movement, Campbell performed in the big bands of the Manhattan Community College. From the 1970s onwards, he performed primarily within the context of free jazz, spending some of this period studying with Yusef Lateef.

In the early 1990s, Campbell moved to the Netherlands and performed regularly with Klaas Hekman and Don Cherry. In addition to leading his own groups, he performed with Yo La Tengo, William Parker, Peter Brotzmann, Matthew Shipp, and other improvisors. Upon returning to the United States, he began leading his group Other Dimensions In Music and also formed the Pyramid Trio, a pianoless trio formed with William Parker. He performed regularly as part of the Festival of New Trumpet Music, which is held annually in New York City.

Roy Campbell, Jr., died in January 2014 of hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease at the age of 61.

The discography of Roy Campbell, Jr. reads as follows:

As leader

New Kingdom (1992, Delmark)
La Tierra del Fuego (1994, Delmark)
Communion (1995, Silkheart)
Ancestral Homeland (1998, No More)
Ethnic Stew and Brew (2001, Delmark)
It's Krunch Time (2001, Thirsty Ear)
Akhenaten Suite (2008, Aum Fidelity)

with Other Dimensions in Music

Other Dimensions in Music (Silkheart, 1990)
Now! (Aum Fidelity, 1988)
Time is of the Essence is Beyond Time (Aum Fidelity, 2002)
Live at the Sunset, Paris (Marge, 2007)
Kaiso Stories (Silkheart, 2011)

with The Nu Band (Roy Campbell Jr., Mark Whitecage, Joe Fonda, Lou Grassi)

Live at the Bop Shop (Clean Feed, 2001)
Live (Konnex, 2005)
The Dope and the Ghost (Not Two, 2007)
Lower East Side Blues (Porter Records, 2009)
Live in Paris (No Business, 2010)
Relentlessness Live at the Sunset (Marge, 2011)

with Tribute to Albert Ayler (Joe McPhee, Roy Campbell, William Parker, Warren Smith)

Live at The Dynamo (Marge, 2009)

As sideman

with Jemeel Moondoc

The Evening of the Blue Men (Muntu, 1979)
New York Live! (Cadence, 1981)
The Intrepid Live in Poland (Poljazz, 1981)
The Athens Concert (Praxis, 1982)
Konstanze's Delight - Live 1981 (Soul Note, 1983)
Spirit House (Eremite, 2000)
Live in Paris (Cadence, 2003)
Just Grew Orchestra Live at the Vision Festival (Ayler, 2003)

with Saheb Sarbib

Live at the Public Theatre (Cadence, 1981)
Aisha (Cadence, 1981)

with Billy Bang

Live at Carlos 1 (Soul Note, 1986)

with William Parker

Flowers Grow in my Room (Centering, 1994)
Sunrise in the Tone World (Aum Fidelity, 1997)
Mayor of Punkville (Aum Fidelity, 2000)
Raincoat in the River (Eremite, 2001)
Mass for the Healing of the World (Black Saint, 2003)
Spontaneous (Splasc(h), 2003)
Fractured Dimensions (FMP, 2003)
For Percy Heath (Victo, 2006)
Essence of Ellington (Centering, 2012)

with Ehran Elisha

Sweet Empathy (Cadence, 1995)
The Kicker (CIMP, 1998)
Lowe Down Suite (CIMP, 1999)

with Peter Brotzmann's Die Like a Dog Quartet

From Valley to Valley (Eremite, 1998)

with Matthew Shipp

Strata (hatOLOGY, 1998)
Pastoral Composure (Thirsty Ear, 2000)

with Rob Brown

Jumping off the Page (No More, 2000)
The Big Picture (Marge, 2004)

with Alan Silva

& The Sounds Visions Orchestra (Eremite, 2001)

with Yuko Fujiyama

Re-entry (CIMP, 2001)

with Steve Lehman

Structural Fire (CIMP, 2001)
Camouflage (CIMP, 2002)

with Peter Brotzmann Tentet + 2

Short Visit to Nowhere (Okkadisk, 2002)
Broken English (Okkadisk, 2002)

with Maneri Ensemble

Going to Church (Aum Fidelity, 2002)

with Khan Jamal

Balafon Dance (CIMP, 2002)

with Kevin Norton

The Dream Catcher (CIMP, 2003)

with Yo La Tengo

Summer Sun (Matador, 2003)

with Exuberance

The Other Shore (Boxholder, 2003)
Live at Vision Festival (Ayler, 2004)

with Steve Sewell

Suite for Players, Listeners and Other Dreamers (CIMP, 2003)
Rivers of Sound Ensemble - News from the Mystic Auricle (Not Two, 2008)

with Burton Greene

Isms Out (CIMP, 2004)

with Dennis Gonzalez

Nile River Suite (Daagnim, 2004)

with El-P

High Water (Thirsty Ear, 2004)

with Whit Dickey

Coalescence (Clean Feed, 2004)
In a Heartbeat (Clean Feed, 2005)
Sacred Ground (Clean Feed, 2006)

with Marc Ribot

Spiritual Unity (Pi recordings, 2005)

with Charles Tyler

Live at Sweet Basil vol. 1 & 2 (1984) (Bleu Regard, 2007)

with Garrison Fewell

Variable Density Sound Orchestra (Creative Nation Music, 2009)

with Stone Quartet

Live at Vision Festival (Ayler, 2011)

with William Hooker Trio with Dave Soldier

Heart of the Sun (Engine Records, 2013)

with New Atlantis Octet

Unto the Sun (Not Two. 2013)

with Adam Lane

Blue Spirit Band (CIMP, 2013)
Oh Freedom (CIMP, 2013)

Biographies

Sunday, January 26, 2014