Melvin Sparks

Melvin Sparks
Born	March 22, 1946 Houston, Texas, United States.
Died	March 15, 2011(2011-03-15) (aged 64) Mount Vernon, New York, United States
Genres	Soul jazz, hard bop, jazz blues
Occupations	Guitarist
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	1960s–2011
Labels	Prestige, Savant

Melvin Sparks (March 22, 1946 – March 15, 2011)^[1] was an American soul jazz, hard bop and jazz blues guitarist. He recorded a number of albums for Prestige Records, later recording for Savant Records. He appeared on several recordings with musicians including Lou Donaldson, Sonny Stitt, Leon Spencer and Johnny Hammond Smith.^[1]

Sparks was born in Houston, Texas, United States, and raised in a musical family. He received his first guitar at age 11. Sparks began working in the rhythm and blues genre as a high school student, first with Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, and then with the Upsetters, a touring band formed by Little Richard, which also backed Jackie Wilson, Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye.^[2]

Sparks moved to New York City and worked as a session musician for Blue Note and Prestige Records. As part of the burgeoning soul-jazz scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Sparks often backed organists like Jack McDuff, Dr. Lonnie Smith and Charles Earland. Sparks released his debut album, Sparks!, for Prestige in 1970.^[2]

He was seen on Northeastern television commercials as the voice of Price Chopper's House of BBQ advertising campaign.^[3]

Sparks died on March 15, 2011, at age 64, at his home in Mount Vernon, New York. He had diabetes and high blood pressure.^[2]

Discography

As leader

• Sparks! (Prestige), 1970
• Akilah! (Prestige), 1971
• Spark Plug (Prestige), 1971
• Texas Twister (Eastbound), 1972
• '75 (Westbound), 1974
• Sparkling (Muse), 1981
• I'm a Gittar Player (Cannonball), 1997
• What You Hear Is What You Get (Nectar), 2001
• It Is What It Is (Savant), 2004
• This Is It! (Savant), 2005
• Groove on Up (Savant), 2005

As sideman

With Henry "Pucho" Brown

• Jungle Strut (Lexington), 1993
• Rip a Dip (Milestone), 1995

With Rusty Bryant

• Soul Liberation (Prestige), 1970

With Hank Crawford

• Indigo Blue (Milestone), 1983
• Down on the Deuce (Milestone), 1984
• Roadside Symphony (Milestone), 1985
• Night Beat (Milestone), 1988
• South Central (Milestone), 1992
• Tight (Milestone), 1996
• After Dark (Milestone), 1998
• Crunch Time (Milestone), 1998
• The World of H.C. (Milestone), 2000

With Dennis Day

• All Things in Time (D-Day Media), 2008

With Joey DeFrancesco

• All in the Family (Highnote), 1998
• Plays Sinatra His Way (Highnote), 1998
• Hip Cake Walk (Highnote), 2000

With Lou Donaldson

• Hot Dog (Blue Note), 1969
• Everything I Play Is Funky (Blue Note), 1969
• The Scorpion (Cadet, 1970)
• Cosmos (Blue Note, 1971)

With Charles Earland

• Black Talk! (Prestige), 1969
• Slammin' and Jammin' (Savant), 1997
• Cookin' with the Mighty Burner (Highnote), 1997

With Ceasar Frazier

• Hail Ceasar! (Eastbound), 1972

With Red Holloway

• Coast to Coast (Milestone), 2003

With Plas Johnson

• Keep That Groove Going! (Milestone), 2000

With Etta Jones

• If You Could See Me Now (Muse), 1978

With Charles Kynard

• Wa-tu-wa-zui (Prestige), 1970

With Ron Levy

• Zim Zam Zoom: Acid Blues on B-3 (Bullseye Blues), 1996
• Voodoo Boogaloo (Levtronic), 2005

With Johnny Lytle

• Good Vibes (Muse), 1981
• Happy Ground (Muse), 1989

With Jack McDuff

• Do It Now (Atlantic), 1966
• Double-Barelled Soul (Atlantic), 1967

With Jimmy McGriff

• Countdown (Milestone), 1983
• State of the Art (Milestone), 1985
• Blue to the Bone (Milestone), 1988
• McGriff Avenue (Milestone), 2001

With Idris Muhammad

• Black Rhythm Revolution (Prestige), 1970
• Peace and Rhythm Suite (Prestige), 1971

With John Patton

• Soul Connection (Nilva), 1983

With Houston Person

• The Nearness of You (Muse), 1977
• Heavy Juice (Muse), 1982
• We Owe It All for Love (Baseline), 1988

With Sonny Phillips

• Black Magic (Prestige), 1970
• Black on Black (Prestige), 1970

With Bernard Purdie

• In Tokyo (Lexington), 1993

With Alvin Queen

• Lenox and Seventh (Black and Blue), 1985

With Rhoda Scott

• Very Saxy (Night and Day), 2004

With Lonnie Smith

• Think! (Blue Note), 1968
• Turning Point (Blue Note), 1969

With Leon Spencer

• Sneak Preview (Prestige), 1970
• Louisiana Slim (Prestige), 1971
• Bad Walkin' Woman (Prestige), 1972

With Dakota Staton

• A Packet of Love Letters (Highnote), 1996

With Tom "T Bone" Stinson

• On Fire (Golden Zebra), 2004

With Sonny Stitt

• Turn It On (Prestige), 1971

With Leon Thomas

• Bluesband (Portrait), 1988

With Reuben Wilson

• Blue Mode (Blue Note), 1969
• The Cisco Kid (Groove Merchant), 1974
• Down with It (Cannonball), 1998
• Fun House (Savant), 2004

With Jimmy Witherspoon

• The Blues Is Now (Verve), 1967

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Henderson, Alex. "Melvin Sparks Biography". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p25942/biography. Retrieved 2007-06-23. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Chinen, Nate (March 20, 2011). "Melvin Sparks, Guitarist, Is Dead at 64". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/21/arts/music/melvin-sparks-soul-guitarist-dies-at-64.html. Retrieved March 21, 2011. 
3. ^ House of BBQ

Persondata
Name	Sparks, Melvin
Alternative names
Short description	American soul jazz, hard bop and jazz blues guitarist
Date of birth	March 22, 1946
Place of birth	Houston, Texas, United States
Date of death	March 15, 2011
Place of death	Mount Vernon, New York, United States