Billy Bang (September 20, 1947 – April 11, 2011), born William Vincent Walker, was an American

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

violinist and composer.

Biography

Bang's family moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

neighborhood while he was still an infant, and as a child he attended a special school for musicians in nearby

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

.Hull, Tom (October 3, 2005)
"Billy Bang Is in the House"
''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

''. Retrieved July 17, 2007. . At that school, students were assigned instruments based on their physical size. Bang was fairly small, so he received a violin instead of either of his first choices, the

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

or the

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

. It was around this time that he acquired the nickname of "Billy Bang", derived from a popular cartoon character.Kelsey, Chris. "Billy Bang – Biography"

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

. Retrieved July 17, 2007. Bang studied the violin until he earned a hardship scholarship to the Stockbridge School in

Stockbridge, Massachusetts Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,018 at the 2020 census. A year-round resort area, Stockbridg ...

, at which point he abandoned the instrument because the school did not have a music program.Jung, Fred (November 14, 2003)
"A Fireside Chat With Billy Bang"
AllAboutJazz.com. Retrieved July 17, 2007. He had difficulty adjusting to life at the school, where he encountered racism and developed confusion about his identity, which he later blamed for his onset of

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

. Bang felt that he had little in common with the largely privileged children at the school, who included Jackie Robinson, Jr. (son of baseball star

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first Black American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the Baseball color line, ...

) and

Arlo Guthrie Arlo Davy Guthrie (born July 10, 1947) is an American folk music, folk singer-songwriter. He is known for singing protest song, songs of protest against social injustice, and storytelling while performing songs, following the tradition of his fa ...

, and he struggled to reconcile the disparity between the wealth of the school and the poverty of his home in New York. He left the school after two years and attended a school in The Bronx. He did not graduate, decided not to return to school after receiving his draft papers, and at the age of 18, he was drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

.Redwine, Nancy (November 11, 2004)
"Big Bang Theory"
'' The Santa-Cruz Sentinel''. Retrieved July 17, 2007. . Bang spent six months in

basic training Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique dema ...

and another two weeks learning jungle warfare, arriving in

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

just before the

Tet Offensive The Tet Offensive was a major escalation and one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. The Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) launched a surprise attack on 30 January 1968 against the forces of ...

. Starting out as an

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

man, he did one tour of combat duty, rising to the rank of

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

before he mustered out. After Bang returned from the war, his life lacked direction. The job he had held before the army had been filled in his absence. He pursued and then abandoned a law degree, before becoming politically active and falling in with an underground group of revolutionaries. The group recognized Bang's knowledge of weapons from his time in the Army, and they used him to procure firearms for the group during trips to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, buying from pawnshops and other small operators who did not conduct extensive background checks. During one of these trips, Bang spotted three

violins The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino pic ...

hanging at the back of a pawnshop, and he impulsively purchased one. He later joined

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...

's band. In 1977, Bang co-founded the String Trio of New York (with guitarist James Emery and double bassist John Lindberg). Bang explored his experience in Vietnam in two albums: '' Vietnam: The Aftermath'' (2001) and '' Vietnam: Reflections'' (2005), recorded with a band which included several other veterans of that war. The latter album also features two Vietnamese musicians based in the United States (voice and '' đàn tranh'' zither). The film ''Billy Bang Lucky Man'' documents his return to Vietnam in 2008 to collaborate with Vietnamese musicians and come to terms with his experiences in the war. A

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...

was released in 2021. Bang died on April 11, 2011. According to an associate, Bang had had lung cancer. He had been scheduled to perform on the opening day of the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival on June 10, 2011. He is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, New York.

Discography

As leader or co-leader

* 1977: ''Black Man's Blues'' ( NoBusiness 2011) with the Survival Ensemble * 1978: ''New York Collage'' (& Survival Ensemble) (Anima Recs reissued as NoBusiness 2011) * 1979: ''

Distinction Without a Difference A distinction without a difference is a type of logical fallacy where an author or speaker attempts to describe a distinction between two things where no discernible difference exists. It is particularly used when a word or phrase has connotatio ...

'' ( hat Hut) * 1979: '' Sweet Space'' (Anima) * 1981: ''Changing Seasons'' (Bellows) * 1981: '' Rainbow Gladiator'' (

Soul Note Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

) * 1982: '' Untitled Gift'' (Anima, 1982) * 1982: '' Invitation'' (Soul Note) * 1982: '' Bangception'' (hat MUSICS, 1983) with Dennis Charles; reissued as ''Bangception, Willisau 1982'' (hatOLOGY, 1998) * 1982: ''Live at Green Space'' (Anima) * 1983: '' Outline No. 12'' (

Celluloid Celluloids are a class of materials produced by mixing nitrocellulose and camphor, often with added dyes and other agents. Once much more common for its use as photographic film before the advent of safer methods, celluloid's common present-day ...

) * 1984: '' The Fire from Within'' (Soul Note) * 1986: '' Live at Carlos 1'' (Soul Note) * 1991: '' Valve No. 10'' (Soul Note) * 1992: '' A Tribute to Stuff Smith'' (Soul Note) * 1993: ''Hip Hop Be Bop'' (ITM) * 1996: '' Joy (Within)!'' (Silkheart) with William Hooker * 1996: '' Spirits Gathering'' ( CIMP) * 1997: ''Forbidden Planet'' (Masterplan) * 1997: '' Bang On!'' ( Justin Time) * 1997: '' Commandment (For the Sculpture of Alain Kirili)'' (No More) * 2000: ''

Big Bang Theory The Big Bang is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models based on the Big Bang concept explain a broad range of phenomena, including the ...

'' (Justin Time) * 2001: '' Vietnam: The Aftermath'' (Justin Time) * 2004: '' Vietnam: Reflections'' (Justin Time) * 2005: ''

Configuration Configuration or configurations may refer to: Computing * Computer configuration or system configuration * Configuration file, a software file used to configure the initial settings for a computer program * Configurator, also known as choice board ...

'' ( Silkheart) with Sirone * 2007: '' Above & Beyond: An Evening in Grand Rapids'' (Justin Time) * 2009: ''Four Seasons - East meets West'' (Heart Lord Studio, Japan) * 2010: '' Prayer for Peace'' (TUM) * 2010: '' Billy Bang/Bill Cole'' (Shadrack) * 2013: '' Da Bang!'' (TUM) * 2014: '' Medicine Buddha'' ( NoBusiness) with William Parker * 2021: '' Lucky Man: Music from the Film'' (BBE) With the String Trio of New York * '' First String'' (Black Saint, 1979) * ''

Area Code 212 Area is the Measure (mathematics), measure of a Domain (mathematical analysis), region's size on a surface (mathematics), surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while ''surface are ...

'' (Black Saint, 1980) * '' Common Goal'' (Black Saint, 1983) * '' Rebirth of a Feeling'' (Black Saint, 1983) * '' Natural Balance'' (Black Saint, 1986) With the FAB Trio ( Joe Fonda /

Barry Altschul Barry Altschul (born January 6, 1943, in New York City) is a free jazz and hard bop drummer who first came to notice in the late 1960s for performing with pianists Paul Bley and Chick Corea. Biography Altschul is of Russian Jewish heritage, ...

/ Bang) * '' Transforming the Space'' (CIMP, 2003) * ''Live at the Iron Works, Vancouver'' (Konnex, 2005) * ''A Night in Paris (Live at the Sunset)'' (Marge, 2008) * ''Live in Amsterdam'' (Porter, 2009) * '' History of Jazz in Reverse'' (TUM, 2011)

As sideman

With

Ahmed Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah (born Leroy Bland; May 10, 1946) is an American jazz trumpeter who was a prominent member of Sun Ra's band. Biography He began playing the trumpet at age 13 in his native New York City. One of the first groups he performed with wa ...

* '' Tara's Song'' (TUM, 2005) * '' Traveling the Spaceways'' (Planet Arts, 2004) With Marilyn Crispell * '' Spirit Music'' (Cadence, 1983) With Kahil El'Zabar * '' Big Cliff'' ( Delmark, 1995) * ''The Power'' (CIMP, 2000) * '' Spirits Entering'' (Delmark, 2001) * ''If You Believe...'' (8th Harmonic Breakdown, 2002) * '' Live at the River East Art Center'' (Delmark, 2005) * '' Big M: A Tribute to Malachi Favors'' (Delmark, 2006) With The Group (

Marion Brown Marion Brown (September 8, 1931 – October 18, 2010) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, writer, visual artist, and ethnomusicologist. He was a member of the avant-garde jazz scene in New York City during the 1960s, playing alongsi ...

, Bang, Sirone, Fred Hopkins,

Andrew Cyrille Andrew Charles Cyrille (born November 10, 1939) is an American avant-garde jazz drummer. Throughout his career, he has performed both as a leader and a sideman in the bands of Walt Dickerson and Cecil Taylor, among others. AllMusic biographer ...

) * ''

Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film * ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...

'' (recorded in 1986, issued in 2012 by NoBusiness Records) With John Lindberg * '' Dimension 5'' (Black Saint, 1981) With William Parker * ''

Through Acceptance of the Mystery Peace ''Through Acceptance of the Mystery Peace'' is an album by bassist William Parker, his debut as a leader. It was recorded during 1974–1979, and was initially released on LP in limited quantities by Parker's Centering label in 1980. In 1998, the ...

'' (Centering, 1980) * ''

Scrapbook Scrapbook may refer to: * Scrapbooking, the process of making a scrapbook Software * Scrapbook, an early (1970s) information storage and retrieval system developed at the National Physical Laboratory in the United Kingdom * Scrapbook (Mac OS), ...

'' ( Thirsty Ear, 2003) * '' Wood Flute Songs'' ( AUM Fidelity, 2013) With World Saxophone Quartet * ''

Experience Experience refers to Consciousness, conscious events in general, more specifically to perceptions, or to the practical knowledge and familiarity that is produced by these processes. Understood as a conscious event in the widest sense, experience i ...

'' (2004)

References

External links

*
Billy Bang
at

Myspace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

Billy Bang
discography at

MindSpring EarthLink is an American Internet service provider. Earthlink went public on NASDAQ in January 1997. Much of the company's growth was via acquisition. In 2000, ''The New York Times'' described it as the "second largest Internet service provider ...

Billy Bang
interview by Fred Jung at ''

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

''
Billy Bang
audio interview at New England Jazz History Database
Billy Bang
obituary by Steve Smith in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''
Billy Bang
bio from

Justin Time Records Justin Time Records is a Canadian record company and independent record label founded in Montreal by Jim West. It was established in 1983 and specialises in jazz and blues. Although Justin Time initially recorded Canadian musicians such as Oliver ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bang, Billy 1947 births 2011 deaths 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American violinists American jazz violinists American male jazz composers American male violinists Avant-garde jazz composers Avant-garde jazz violinists Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) CIMP artists Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state) Electric violinists Free jazz composers Free jazz violinists Jazz musicians from Alabama Justin Time Records artists Musicians from Mobile, Alabama NoBusiness Records artists People with schizophrenia String Trio of New York members United States Army non-commissioned officers United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War