Collin Walcott (April 24, 1945 – November 8, 1984)
Early life
Walcott was born in New York City, United States.
He studied violin and
tympani in his youth, and was a percussion student at Indiana University School of Music.
After graduating in 1966, he went to the University of California, Los Angeles, and studied
sitar under
Ravi Shankar and
tabla under
Alla Rakha.
Later life and career
According to critic
Scott Yanow of
AllMusic, Walcott was "one of the first sitar players to play jazz".
Walcott moved to New York and played "a blend of bop and oriental music with Tony Scott" in 1967–69.
Around 1970 he joined the Paul Winter Consort and co-founded the band Oregon.
These groups, along with the trio
Codona, which was founded in 1978, combined "jazz improvisation and instrumentation with elements of a wide range of classical and ethnic music".
Walcott also played on the Miles Davis 1972 album On the Corner,
Walcott was killed in a bus crash in Magdeburg, East Germany, on November 8, 1984,
Author David James Duncan wrote retrospectively in 1996 about an Oregon concert he attended in Cascade Head in his piece "My One Conversation with Collin Walcott". Duncan described Walcott as sitting in "buddha-style" on stage, surrounded by instruments. Along with an electronic drum kit "to his north", Walcott "had five different tablas to his south, a sitar to his east and a bewildering semicircle of rattles, chimes, clackers, bells, whistles, finger-drums, triangles and unnameable noisemakers to his west. He was the first Western 'jazz' percussionist I'd ever seen sit flat on the floor like an East Indian."
Discography
As leader
With Oregon
-
Our First Record CD (1970) Universe 42
-
Music of Another Present Era CD (1973) Vanguard VMD-79326
-
Winter Light CD (1974) Vanguard VMD 79350
-
Distant Hills CD (1974) Vanguard VMD-79341
-
In Concert CD (1975) Universe 25
-
Together (w/Elvin Jones) CD (1976) Universe 9
-
Friends CD (1977) Vanguard 79370-2
-
Out of the Woods CD (1978) Discovery 71004
-
Violin CD (1978) Universe 40
-
Moon and Mind CD (1979) Vanguard VMD 79419
-
Roots in the Sky CD (1979) Discovery 71005
-
In Performance CD (1980) Wounded Bird Records 304
-
Oregon (ECM, 1983)
-
Crossing (ECM, 1984)
codona">
With Codona
-
Codona (recd.1978, pbl.4/1979) ECM 1132
-
Codona 2 (recd.1980, pbl.2/1981) ECM 1177
-
Codona 3 (recd.1982, pbl.2/1983) ECM 1243
With The Rainbow Band
-
The Rainbow Band (Elektra, 1971)
As sideman
Within his brief career Walcott played with a range of different musicians of different styles and contributed to the following albums:
With David Amram
With Bobby Callender
With Don Cherry
With Larry Coryell
With Cosmology
With David Darling
With Miles Davis
With Rachel Faro
-
Refugees (RCA Victor, 1974)
With Cyrus Faryar
-
Cyrus (Elektra, 1971)
-
Islands (Elektra, 1972)
With Egberto Gismonti
-
Sol do Meio Dia (ECM, 1978)
With Tim Hardin
-
Bird on a Wire (Columbia 1971)
With Richie Havens
-
Richard P. Havens, 1983 (Verve, 1969)
With Dave Liebman
With Alan Lorber Orchester
-
The Lotus Palace (Big Beat Records, 1967)
With Meredith Monk
-
Key (Increase/Lovely Music, 1971)
-
Our Lady of Late (Minona/WERGO, recd. 1972, publ. 1973)
-
Dolmen Music (ECM, 1981)
-
Turtle Dreams (ECM, 1983)
With Jim Pepper
With Vasant Rai
-
Spring Flowers (Universe, 1976)
-
Autumn Song (Universe, 1978)
With Alla Rakha
-
Tabla Solo (Vanguard, 1977)
With Tony Scott
-
Music for Yoga Meditation and Other Joys (Verve, 1968)
-
Tony Scott (Verve, 1970)
With Titos Sompa
-
Yao! Titos Sompa with the Tanawa Dance Company (Vanguard, 1978) production
With Ralph Towner
With Barry Wedgle
-
Kake (Wonderful World Records, 1982)
With Elyse Weinberg
-
Elyse (Orange Twin, 1968)
With Paul Winter
See also
External links
