Sandy Bull

Sandy Bull

Sandy Bull (January 1, 1941April 11, 2001) was an American folk musician who was active from the late 1950s until his death.

Born in New York City, he was the only child of Harry A. Bull, an editor in chief of "Town & Country" magazine, and Daphne van Beuren Bayne (1916–2002), a New Jersey banking heiress who became known as a jazz harpist under the name Daphne Hellman. His parents were divorced in 1941, shortly after his birth.

Sandy Bull was a composer and accomplished player of many stringed instruments, including guitar, pedal-steel, banjo and oud. His music and recordings are characterized by his blending of non-western instrumentation and improvisational traditions with the 1960s folk revival. His albums for Vanguard Records often combined extended modal improvisations on oud with an eclectic repertoire of instrumental cover material. Bull is well known for his arrangement of Carl Orff's composition "Carmina Burana" for 5-string banjo on his first album, which was included on an album of R.E.M.'s favourite songs. Other such musical fusions include his adaptation of Luiz Bonfá's "Manhã de Carnaval," and compositions derived from works of J.S. Bach.

Sandy Bull's approach to performance, composition and recording is notable for his extensive use of overdubbing and multi-track tape recording before such techniques became commonplace in music production. However, unlike the sophisticated, glossy aesthetic commonly associated with these techniques, Bull simply used overdubbing as a way to accompany himself and play all the instruments on many of his recordings. As documented in the "Still Valentine's Day 1969" concert recording, Sandy Bull's use of tape accompaniment was part of his live, solo performances as well. Bull also played the oud on Sam Phillips' 1991 album, "Cruel Inventions". Bull primary played a fingerpicking style of guitar and banjo and his style has been compared to that of John Fahey and Robbie Basho of the early Takoma label in the 1960s.

By his mother's second marriage to "The New Yorker" writer Geoffrey Hellman, Bull had a half-sister, the sitar player Daisy Paradis, and a half-brother, Digger St. John.

Sandy Bull struggled with a drug problem for many years which seriously affected his performing. After completing a rehabilitation program in 1974, he began performing again. Bull died of lung cancer on April 11, 2001 at his home near Nashville, Tennessee.

Discography

Vanguard Records

* "Fantasias for Guitar and Banjo" (VRS-9119, 1963; with drummer Billy Higgins)
* "Inventions" (VSD-79191, 1965; with Billy Higgins)
* "E Pluribus Unum" (VSD-6513, 1969)
* "Demolition Derby" (VSD-6578, 1972)
* "The Essential Sandy Bull" (Vanguard Twofers VSD-59/60, 1974)
* "Re-Inventions: Best of the Vanguard Years" (79520-2, 1999)
* "Vanguard Visionaries" (73159-2, 2007)

Other record labels

* "Jukebox School of Music" (ROM, 1988)
* "Vehicles" (Timeless Recording Society, 1991)
* "Steel Tears" (Timeless Recording Society, 1996)
* "Still Valentine's Day 1969: Live at the Matrix, San Francisco" (Water, 2006)

ources

* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:gifexql5ldte Sandy Bull at Allmusic]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Bull Run Hydroelectric Project — The Bull Run Hydroelectric Project was a Portland General Electric (PGE) development in the Sandy River basin in the U.S. state of Oregon. Originally built between 1908 and 1912 near the town of Bull Run, it supplied hydroelectric power for the… …   Wikipedia

  • Sandy River (Oregon) — Sandy River Vorlage:Infobox Fluss/KARTE fehlt Daten …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Sandy Springs, Georgia — Sandy Springs   City   City of Sandy Springs A la …   Wikipedia

  • Sandy River (Oregon) — Près de la source de la Sandy River dans la réserve sauvage Mount Hood Wilderness Caractéristiques Longueur 90 km …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Bull Sluice Lake — Morgan Falls Dam Location Fulton / Cobb counties, Georgia Coordinates …   Wikipedia

  • Sandy Island, South Carolina — Sandy Island is a small unincorporated community in Georgetown County, South Carolina, United States, and a larger island between the Pee Dee and Waccamaw Rivers that has been preserved as a refuge and nature center.The island itself is about… …   Wikipedia

  • Bull Run, Oregon — Bull Run is an unincorporated community in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, about three miles northeast of Sandy near the Bull Run River.The first post office in the locale was Unavilla , established in 1893.cite book last = McArthur… …   Wikipedia

  • Sandy River (Oregon) — Geobox | River name = Sandy River category = River image size = image caption = Sandy River and Mount Hood etymology = Named Quicksand River in 1805 by Lewis and Clark because of emence quantitys of sand at the mouth; apparently shortened to… …   Wikipedia

  • Bull Run River (Oregon) — 45° 26′ 46″ N 122° 14′ 49″ W / 45.4461, 122.247 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Bull Island — For other uses, see Bull Island (disambiguation). Bull Island (Oileán an Tairbh in Irish) or more properly North Bull Island (Oileán an Tairbh Thuaidh in Irish) is an island located in Dublin Bay in Ireland, about 5 km long and 800 m wide,… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”