Steve Reid (January 29, 1944 – April 13, 2010) 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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

drummer who played with

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, trumpeter, violinist, and composer. He is best known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Ja ...

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kútì (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997) was a Nigerians, Nigerian musician and political activist. He is regarded as the principal innovator of Afrobeat, a Nigerian music genre t ...

, Kieran Hebden, and

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 ...

. He worked as a session drummer for

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

Biography

Born in the South Bronx, Reid started drumming at 16. His family moved to Queens, New York, three blocks away from

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

. Before attending

Adelphi University Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York, United States. Adelphi also has centers in Downtown Brooklyn, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County in addition to a virtual, online campus for remote students. As of 2019, it had ...

in Garden City, New York, he worked as part of the Apollo Theatre House Band and recorded with

Martha and the Vandellas Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1973 as Martha Reeves & the Vandellas) were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s as a major act for Motown Records. Formed by friends Annett ...

under the direction of

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

. In 1969, Reid refused to register for the draft during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. He was arrested as a conscientious objector and sentenced to a four-year prison sentence at Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary, where he served with Jimmy Hoffa. After his release on parole in 1971, Reid found work as a session musician with

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick ( ; born Marie Dionne Warrick; December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. During her career, Warwick has won many awards, including six Grammy Awards. She has been inducted into the Hollywood Wa ...

, Horace Silver, Charles Tyler,

, and Freddie Hubbard, in addition to Broadway stage work. In 1974, Reid formed the Legendary Master Brotherhood and his record label, Mustevic Sound. He lived in

Lugano Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...

, Switzerland, for several years in later life and released several recordings for the English label Soul Jazz and the German label CPR. For his final albums, his band included Chuck Henderson (soprano saxophone), Boris Netsvetaev (piano), and Chris Lachotta (double-bass). In 2006, Reid and electronic musician Kieran Hebden,Dacks, Davi
"Steve Reid's Rhythm Methods "
, ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'', February 2008. recorded the experimental album '' The Exchange Session Vol. 1''. The duo enjoyed this collaboration so much that they recorded three more albums: '' The Exchange Session Vol. 2'' (2006), '' Tongues'' (2007), and '' NYC'' (2008). In an interview, Reid referred to Hebden as his "musical soul mate". On April 13, 2010, Reid died in New York of throat cancer.

Discography

As leader

* ''Rhythmatism'' (Mustevic, 1976) * ''Nova'' (Mustevic, 1976) * ''Odyssey of the Oblong Square'' (Mustevic, 1977) * ''Raw Material'' with Per Henrik Wallin, Kevin Ross (Dragon, 1983) * ''A Drum Story'' (Altrisuoni, 2001) * ''Waves'' (C. P., 2003) * ''Spirit Walk'' (Soul Jazz, 2005) * ''Daxaar (Recorded in Africa)'' (Domino, 2007) With Kieran Hebden * '' The Exchange Session Vol. 1'' (Domino, 2006) * '' The Exchange Session Vol. 2'' (Domino, 2006) * '' Tongues'' (Domino, 2007) * '' NYC'' (Domino, 2008) * ''Live at the South Bank'' (Smalltown Superjazzz, 2011)

As sideman

With Arthur Blythe * ''

The Grip ''The Grip'' is a live album, live debut album by jazz saxophonist Arthur Blythe, recorded at the Brook, New York City in 1977 and released on the India Navigation label.Metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth transformation or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and different ...

'' (India Navigation, 1979) With

* '' The Popcorn'' (1969) With Ted Daniel * ''In the Beginning'' (Altura, 1975) With

* '' Tutu'' (1986) With Fela Ransome Kuti * ''Africa One'' With Frank Lowe * ''Fresh'' (1975) * ''Out Loud'' (2014) With

*" Dancing in the Street" (Motown, 1964) With Charles Tyler * ''Voyage from Jericho'' (1975) * ''Live in Europe'' (Umea, 1977) * '' Saga of the Outlaws'' (Nessa, 1978) * ''Folk and Mystery Stories'' (Sonet, 1980) * ''Definite Volume 1'' (Storyville, 1982) * ''Definite Volume 2'' (Storyville, 1984) * ''At WKCR'' (2014) With others * Lorraine Feather, ''The Body Remembers'' (Bean Bag, 1996) * Jackiem Joyner, ''Lil' Man Soul'' (Artistry, 2009) * Dave Koz, '' Dave Koz'' (Capitol, 1990) * Nelson Rangell, ''In Every Moment'' (GRP, 1992) * Richard Smith, ''From My Window'' (Brainchild, 1994)

References

External links

*
Steve Reid
article at the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Steve Reid
article at ''Prefix Magazine''
Steve Reid
article at Exclaim, February 2008
Steve Reid
interview at Domino Recording Company
Steve Reid
interview with P Sullivan at Wax Poetics {{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, Steve 1944 births 2010 deaths Adelphi University alumni American conscientious objectors Avant-garde jazz musicians American jazz drummers Musicians from Queens, New York Jazz musicians from New York City People from Lugano Deaths from throat cancer in New York (state) Spiritual jazz musicians American male drummers Drummers from New York City