Sirone (Norris Jones) 1940

Photo Credits Gérard Rouy

Contrabbassista, trombonista, flautista e compositore statunitense (Atlanta, Georgia, 28.9.1940 – Berlino, Germania, 21.8.2009).

Dopo aver studiato musica (1945-47), si applica al trombone fino al 1957 e quindi opta per il contrabbasso. Fino al 1961 suona in un gruppo cui appartiene anche George Adams. Agli inizi degli anni ’60 si occupa di Rhythm and blues, con Sam Cooke, Jerry Butler.

Su invito del sassofonista Marion Brown, intraprende una carriera newyorkese e, durante la metà degli anni ’60, si unisce a John Coltrane e a diversi protagonisti del movimento free (Sunny Murray, Albert Ayler, Archie Shepp, Rashied Ali, Don Cherry, Bill Dixson, Dave Burrell ecc.), incidendo fra gli altri con Noah Howard, Gato Barbieri, Pharoah Sanders, Sonny Sharrock. Fra il 1970 e il 1977 forma, assieme a Leroy Jenkins e a Jerome Copper, il Revolutionary Ensemble. Si ha modo di ascoltarlo anche in compagnia di Dewey Redman, Roswell Rudd, Ornette Coleman (con cui effettua una tournée in Europa nel 1974) e Cecil Taylor.

Nel 1978 incide il suo primo disco da leader, chiamando accanto a sé James Newton, Don Moye e il violoncellista Muneer Bernard Fennell. Due anni dopo si esibisce in trio con Claude Lawrence e Dennis Charles, anche lui al contrabbasso, flauto e trombone. Nel 1982 partecipa a una tournée europea di Walt Dickerson, in un trio completato da Andrew Cyrille.

Alla fine degli anni ’80 suona e incide col quartetto Phalanx, in cui figurano anche George Adams, James Blood Ulmer e Rashied Ali, e in trio con Charles Gayle. Negli ultimi anni a suonato anche col ricostituito Revolutionary Ensemble, poco prima della scomparsa di Leroy Jenkins.

Note staccate, che riesce a prolungare, ma anche ad abbreviare in uno staccato veloce, linee melodiche di natura esplosiva: queste le caratteristiche che gli hanno permesso di ottenere un effetto orchestrale, soprattutto negli assolo.
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[J.P.A.]

American double bass player, trombonist, flutist, and composer (Atlanta, Georgia, 28.9.1940 - Berlin, Germany, 21.8.2009).

After studying music (1945-47), he applied himself to the trombone until 1957 and opted for the double bass. Until 1961 he plays in a group to which George Adams also belongs. In the early 60s, he deals with Rhythm and blues with Sam Cooke, Jerry Butler.

At the invitation of saxophonist Marion Brown, he embarks on a New York career and, during the mid-60s, joins John Coltrane and several protagonists of the free movement: Sunny Murray, Albert Ayler, Archie Shepp, Rashied Ali, Don Cherry, Bill Dixson, Dave Burrell, etc. He was recording, among others, with Noah Howard, Gato Barbieri, Pharoah Sanders, Sonny Sharrock. Between 1970 and 1977, Sirone formed the Revolutionary Ensemble with Leroy Jenkins and Jerome Copper. You can also listen to him in the company of Dewey Redman, Roswell Rudd, Ornette Coleman (with whom he toured Europe in 1974), and Cecil Taylor.

In 1978 he recorded his first album as a leader, calling James Newton, Don Moye, and cellist Muneer Bernard Fennell. He performed in a trio with Claude Lawrence and Dennis Charles two years later, also on double bass, flute, and trombone. In 1982 he took part in a European tour of Walt Dickerson, in a trio completed by Andrew Cyrille.

At the end of the 1980s, he plays and records with the Phalanx quartet, including George Adams, James Blood Ulmer, Rashied Ali, and in a trio with Charles Gayle. In recent years he has also played with the reconstituted Revolutionary Ensemble, shortly before the death of Leroy Jenkins.
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Detached notes, which he manages to prolong, but also to shorten into a fast staccato, melodic lines of an explosive nature: these are the characteristics that have allowed him to obtain an orchestral effect, especially in solos.
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[J.P.A.]