Bobby Battle (January 8, 1944 – December 6, 2019 in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
) was an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...
drummer. Occasionally he played saxophone.
History
Battle moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
in 1968, playing with
Roland Kirk
Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...
and
Pharoah Sanders
Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of " sheets of sound", S ...
shortly after his arrival. He studied at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, ...
from 1972 to 1975. He played with
Don Pullen
Don Gabriel Pullen (December 25, 1941 – April 22, 1995) was an American jazz pianist and organist. Pullen developed a strikingly individual style throughout his career. He composed pieces ranging from blues to bebop and modern jazz. The grea ...
and
Sam Rivers through the late 1970s, and worked often with
Arthur Blythe
Arthur Murray Blythe (May 7, 1940 – March 27, 2017) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer. He was described by critic Chris Kelsey as displaying "one of the most easily recognizable alto sax sounds in jazz, big and round, with a f ...
in the 1980s and 1990s. He also worked with
Kenny Dorham
McKinley Howard "Kenny" Dorham (August 30, 1924 – December 5, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and composer. Dorham's talent is frequently lauded by critics and other musicians, but he never received the kind of attention or public ...
,
Sonny Stitt
Edward Hammond Boatner Jr. (February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982), known professionally as Sonny Stitt, was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/ hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of hi ...
, and
Sonny Fortune
Cornelius "Sonny" Fortune (May 19, 1939 – October 25, 2018) was an American jazz saxophonist. Fortune played soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones, clarinet, and flute.
Biography
He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United Stat ...
. He worked as a duo with
Jimmy Ponder
Jimmy Ponder (May 10, 1946 – September 16, 2013) was an American jazz guitarist.
Career
When Ponder's brother entered the military, he left his guitar, and Ponder picked it up. In his early teens he received lessons from the guitarist in a ba ...
in 1987.
Battle's only release as a leader is ''The Offering'', issued in 1990 on
Mapleshade, on which Battle leads a quartet with
David Murray,
Larry Willis
Lawrence Elliott Willis (December 20, 1942 – September 29, 2019) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He performed in a wide range of styles, including jazz fusion, Afro-Cuban jazz, bebop, and avant-garde.
Willis was born in New York Ci ...
, and
Santi Debriano
Santi Wilson Debriano (born 1955 in Panama) is a jazz bassist.
Debriano was raised in Brooklyn, having moved there with his family at age four. He studied composition at Union College in New York, then attended the New England Conservatory of Mus ...
.
Discography
As leader
*''The Offering'' (
Mapleshade, 1990)
As sideman
With
Arthur Blythe
Arthur Murray Blythe (May 7, 1940 – March 27, 2017) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer. He was described by critic Chris Kelsey as displaying "one of the most easily recognizable alto sax sounds in jazz, big and round, with a f ...
* ''
Illusions
An illusion is a distortion of the senses, which can reveal how the mind normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. Although illusions distort the human perception of reality, they are generally shared by most people.
Illusions may o ...
'' (Columbia, 1980)
* ''
Blythe Spirit
''Blythe Spirit'' is jazz saxophonist Arthur Blythe's fourth album for the Columbia label, recorded in New York City in 1981.
Reception
The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow states: "This is one of the most well-rounded Arthur Blythe records from hi ...
'' (Columbia, 1981)
* ''
Elaborations
''Elaborations'' is jazz saxophonist Arthur Blythe's fifth album for the Columbia label, recorded in New York City in 1982.
Reception
The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow states: "This post bop music (which falls between advanced hard bop and the a ...
'' (Columbia, 1982)
* ''
Light Blue: Arthur Blythe Plays Thelonious Monk'' (Columbia, 1983)
With
Don Pullen
Don Gabriel Pullen (December 25, 1941 – April 22, 1995) was an American jazz pianist and organist. Pullen developed a strikingly individual style throughout his career. He composed pieces ranging from blues to bebop and modern jazz. The grea ...
* ''
Capricorn Rising
''Capricorn Rising'' is an album by American jazz pianist Don Pullen featuring saxophonist Sam Rivers recorded in 1975 for the Italian Black Saint label. '' (
Black Saint
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 ...
, 1975)
* ''
Tomorrow's Promises
''Tomorrow's Promises'' is an album by American jazz pianist Don Pullen recorded in 1976 and 1977 and released on the Atlantic label.Warriors
A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste.
History
Warriors seem to have been ...
'' (Black Saint, 1979)
* ''
The Sixth Sense
''The Sixth Sense'' is a 1999 American psychological thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It stars Bruce Willis as a child psychologist whose patient ( Haley Joel Osment) claims he can see and talk to the dead.
Released ...
'' (Black Saint, 1985)
References
*Gary W. Kennedy, "Bobby Battle". ''
Grove Jazz'' online.
*https://www.amoeba.com/blog/2019/12/jamoeblog/rest-in-peace-detroit-jazz-drummer-bobby-battle-1944-2019-.html
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle, Bobby
American jazz drummers
Musicians from Detroit
1944 births
Living people
20th-century American drummers
American male drummers
Jazz musicians from Michigan
20th-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians
Mapleshade Records artists