Joe Bonner (April 20, 1948 – November 20, 2014) was a

hard bop Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or "bop") music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz that incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gosp ...

and

modal jazz Modal jazz is jazz that makes use of musical modes, often modulating among them to accompany the chords instead of relying on one tonal center used across the piece. Although precedents exist, modal jazz was crystallized as a theory by compose ...

pianist, influenced by McCoy Tyner and

Art Tatum Arthur Tatum Jr. (, October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956) was an American jazz pianist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest in his field. From early in his career, Tatum's technical ability was regarded by fellow musicians as extraord ...

. He was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina and studied at

Virginia State College Virginia State University (VSU or Virginia State) is a public historically Black land-grant university in Ettrick, Virginia. Founded on , Virginia State developed as the United States's first fully state-supported four-year institution of hi ...

, but indicated that he learned more about music from musicians he worked with. In the seventies he played with Roy Haynes, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw and Billy Harper, among others. He died of heart disease in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

at the age of 66.

Discography

As leader

Compilation

*''Two & One'' (Steeplechase); with Johnny Dyani (bass)

As sideman

With Richard Davis * '' Epistrophy & Now's the Time'' (Muse, 1972) With Billy Harper * '' Black Saint'' (Black Saint, 1975) With Azar Lawrence * ''

Bridge into the New Age ''Bridge into the New Age'' is an album by saxophonist Azar Lawrence which was recorded in 1974 and released on the Prestige label.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 ...

* '' Black Unity'' (Impulse!, 1971) * '' Live at the East'' (Impulse!, 1972) * '' Village of the Pharoahs'' (Impulse!, 1973) * ''

Elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § ...

'' (Impulse!, 1973) * ''

Love in Us All ''Love in Us All'' is an album by American saxophonist and composer Pharoah Sanders released on the Impulse! label.Wisdom Through Music ''Wisdom Through Music'' is an album by saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. It was recorded in New York City and Los Angeles, California, and was released in 1973 by Impulse! Records. On the album, Sanders is joined by flutist James Branch, pianist Joe B ...

'' (Impulse!, 1973) * '' Journey to the One'' (Theresa, 1980) * '' Rejoice'' (Theresa, 1981) With Woody Shaw * '' Love Dance'' (Muse, 1975) With Harold Vick * '' Don't Look Back'' (Strata-East, 1974) With The Visitors * ''Motherland'' (Muse, 1975) With Stephanie Hancock * ''

This Happy Madness "This Happy Madness" (aka ''"Estrada Branca"'', Portuguese for "white road") is a bossa nova song composed in 1958 by Antônio Carlos Jobim with lyrics by Vinícius de Moraes. English-language lyrics were added later by Gene Lees. According to Jobi ...

'' (DaJazz, 2001)

References

External links

The Bonner Party's site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonner, Joe 1948 births 2014 deaths American jazz pianists American male pianists Virginia State University alumni SteepleChase Records artists Muse Records artists 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from Virginia 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians