William Hooker (musician)

William Hooker (born 1946) is an American jazz drummer and composer.

Early in his career, he played with the Isley Brothers and Dionne Warwick, among others. In college, Hooker began broadening his musical vision: He wrote a paper on Alban Berg, and befriended some members of Funkadelic.

A move to New York City in the mid-1970s led Hooker to the so-called "loft scene" of adventurous free jazz performers. While Hooker was active in music throughout the 1980s, he was little recorded until the 1990s.

While most of Hooker's output is rooted in free jazz, critic Neil Strauss has written, "William Hooker is a man determined to get his music 'out there', and he'll cross any genre to do it." [see notes for Hooker's "Shamballa"] His work has also crossed over into noise rock and free improvisation.

He has worked with Glenn Spearman, Christian Marclay, Tomaas Proitsis, DJ Olive, William Parker, and Sonic Youth founders Thurston Moore, and Lee Ranaldo.

Discography

* "...Is Eternal Life" (1982)
* "Brighter Lights" (1986)
* "Lifeline" (1988)
* "The Firmament Fury" (1989)
* "Envisioning " (1994)
*"Joy (Within)!" (1994)
* "Radiation" (1994)
* "Armageddon" (1995)
* "Gift of Tongues" (1995)
* "Heat of the Light (Dream Sequences)" (1996)
* "Tibet" (1996)
* "Mindfulness" (1997)
* "The Distance Between Us" (1999)
* "Bouquet: Live at the Knitting Factory 4.23.99" (2000)
* "Black Mask" (2002)
* "Out Trios, Vol. 1: Monsoon" (2003)

References

External links

* [http://www.furious.com/perfect/williamhooker.html] Interview held in 2000