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Artist Views: 51753
City of Birth: Philadelphia
Current Residence: Philadelphia
Played With: ORNETTE COLEMAN, JAMES 'BLOOD;ULMER
DAVID MURRAY, JAMAALADEEN TACUMA
JOHN LURIE, JOHN ZORN, MARK RIBOT
VERNON REID AND MANY,MANY, OTHERS.
Instruments: DRUMS-TRUMPET-BASS.
Other Activities:
Website: www.myspace.com/calvinweston
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| GCALVIN WESTON WAS BORN JUNE 6 1959 IN PHILDELPHIA PA. AT THE AGE 6 HIS NEIGHBORS DISCOVERED HIS TALENT FOR RHYTHM AS HE BEAT ON EVERY CAR ON THE BLOCK.IN HIS NEIGHBORHOOD IN NORTH PHILLY HE SAW MUSICIANS, STEVIE WONDER, THE JACKSON 5 AND JAMES BROWN AT THE UPTOWN THEATER. HIS FATHER NOTICED HIS ATTENTION DRAWN TOWARDS ALL THE DRUMMERS SO HE BOUGHT LITTLE CALVIN A SMALL DRUMKIT. IN HIGH SCHOOL CALVIN LEARNED TO READ AND PLAY SECOND SNARE IN THE DRUM ENSEMBLE. LATER,HE CO-FOUNDED THE GROUP "BAD INFLUENCE" PLAYING CABARETS AND CLUBS IN THE PHILADELPHIA AREA. AT THE AGE 17 HE JOINED UP WITH ORNETTE COLEMAN'S PRIME TIME BAND, WHICH TOURED EXTENSIVELY IN NORTH AMERICA AND EUROPE. AFTER RECORDING 4 ALBUMS WITH PRIME TIME HE WENT TO PLAY WITH GUITARIST JAMES 'BLOOD' ULMER FOR 13 YEARS,THEN WITH "JOHN LURIE AND THE LOUNGE LIZARDS" FOR 10 YEARS IN THE 90'S. IN THE LATE 90'S, CALVIN RECORDED AND TOURED WITH BILLY MARTIN OF MEDESKI,MARTIN AND WOOD AND THE JOHN LURIE NATIONAL ORCHESTRA FEATURING THE TWO PERCUSSIONISTS. OTHER RECENT COLLABORATIONS WITH,TRICKY, EYVIND KANG'S DYING, DEREK BAILEY, MARK RIBOT, JAMES CARTER, DAVID MURRAY AND THE WORLD SAXOPHONE QUARTET, JAMAALADEEN TACUMA, JOHN ZORN, OLIVER LAKE, AND MANY OTHERS. AS HE CONTINUES WITH HIS OWN PROJECTS, THE NASSIRA PROJECT BIG TREE AND THE MOST RECENT ONE, FREE,FORM, FUNKY, FREQS WITH GUITARIST VERNON REID AND JAMAALADEEN TACUMA.
THE UNPARALLELED INSTRUMENTATION OF G.CALVIN WESTON'S MUSIC TAKES LISTENERS THROUGH A SERIES OF EMOTIONAL COMPOSITIONS, WHICH PAY HOMAGE TO THE RICH HISTORY OF JAZZ, PAN-AFRICN MUSIC AND THE AVANTGARDE, DRIVEN BY THE SPIRIT OF IMPROVISATION AND POLYRHYTHMIC SIGNATURES CALVIN'S DRUMMING. SOME WHO HAVE WITNESSED HIM PERFORM LEFT SAYING HIS MUSIC PROVIDED THE MOST INTENSE AND CAPTIVATING SET OF THE EVENING AND HE COMES OUT SMOKING FROM THE BEGINNING AND BY THE END OF THE SET THE ENTIRE AUDIENCE FELT LIKE THEY HAD A WORKOUT (DANIEL PIOTROSKI-OF JAZZTIMES & PHILLY WEEKLY.) CALVIN'S MUSIC HAS BEEN COMPARED TO THE LIKES OF: MILES DAVIS(BITCHES BREW+BEYOND), ORNETTE COLEMAN, PHAROAH SANDERS , AND JOHN McHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA, AND THE LIST THAT COULD ENCOMPASS PAGES ,HAVE MADE HIS PASSIONATE AND UNIQUE ART OF DRUMMING WHAT IT IS TODAY,,, DELIVERS A HIGHLY CAPTIVATING AND INTERCTIVE GROOVE. |
