Sonny Sharrock

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Warren Harding "Sonny" Sharrock (August 27, 1940 – May 25, 1994)<ref name="AMG">Template:Cite web</ref> was an American jazz guitarist. His first wife was singer Linda Sharrock, with whom he recorded and performed.

One of only a few prominent guitarists who participated in the first wave of free jazz during the 1960s, Sharrock was known for his heavily chorded attack, use of feedback, and distorted saxophone-like lines. His early work also features creative use of slide guitar.

Biography

Early life and career

Sonny Sharrock was born Warren Harding Sharrock on August 27, 1940, in Ossining, New York.<ref name="AMG"/> He began his musical career singing doo-wop in his teen years.<ref name="AMG"/> He collaborated with Pharoah Sanders and Byard Lancaster in the late 1960s, first appearing on Sanders's 1966 album Tauhid.<ref name="AMG"/> He made several appearances with flautist Herbie Mann<ref name="AMG"/> and an uncredited appearance on Miles Davis' A Tribute to Jack Johnson.

Sharrock first wanted to play tenor saxophone after hearing John Coltrane on Davis' Kind of Blue at age 19, but his asthma prevented this. However, he considered himself "a horn player with a really fucked up axe."<ref>Stagener, Dave. (1998). Sound Practices Mailing List Files - Volume 1. Subject: Re: Jazz Tips. Retrieved January 5, 2008, from Template:Cite web</ref>

Three albums under Sharrock's name were released from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s: Black Woman,<ref name="AMG" /> Monkey-Pockie-Boo, and Paradise (which he later disavowed).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Flynn, Ed & Sharrock, Sonny. (1993). Sounds & Voices of the Avant-Garde: Excerpts from an Interview with Sonny Sharrock, Hosted, Edited and Produced by Ed Flynn, WPKN-FM, 89.5, Bridgeport, Air Date 6/9/93. Retrieved January 5, 2008, from Template:Cite web</ref>

Career revival

After the release of Paradise, Sharrock semi-retired for much of the 1970s and early 1980s. Undergoing a divorce from his wife and collaborator Linda in 1978, he worked as a chauffeur and a caretaker for mentally challenged children. At bassist and producer Bill Laswell’s urging, Sharrock came out of retirement to appear on Material's 1981 album Memory Serves. Starting in 1986, Sharrock was a member of Last Exit with Laswell, saxophonist Peter Brötzmann, and drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson.<ref name="AMG"/> During the late 1980s, he performed extensively with the New York-based band Machine Gun and led his own band. Sharrock flourished with Laswell's help, noting in a 1991 interview that "the last five years have been pretty strange for me, because I went twelve years without making a record at all, and then in the last five years, I've made seven records under my own name. That's pretty strange."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Laswell produced most of Sharrock's later recordings, including the entirely solo Guitar, the "metal-influenced" Seize the Rainbow, and Highlife. Sharrock's band at the time featured Abe Speller on percussion, Lance Carter on drums, Charles Baldwin on bass, and David Snider on keyboards. These albums were followed by Ask the Ages in 1991, which featured Pharoah Sanders and drummer Elvin Jones. One writer described Ask the Ages as "hands down, Sharrock's finest hour, and the ideal album to play for those who claim to hate jazz guitar."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sharrock recorded music, including the opening and ending themes, for Cartoon Network's Space Ghost Coast to Coast with drummer Lance Carter; this was one of the last projects he completed in the studio before his death.<ref name="AMG"/> The Space Ghost Coast to Coast episode "Sharrock" carried a dedication to him at the end, and previously unheard music that he had recorded for the show was featured throughout most of the episode.Template:Cn

Death

On May 25, 1994, as he was on the verge of signing his first major label contract, Sharrock died of a heart attack in Ossining.<ref name="AMG"/> He was 53 years old.<ref name="AMG"/> He is survived by his second wife, Dannette Hill, and their daughter Jasmyn.Template:Citation needed

Tributes

French guitarist Noël Akchoté's 2004 album Sonny II features tracks written, performed, and inspired by Sharrock.

In August 2010, S. Malcolm Street in Ossining was officially renamed "Sonny Sharrock Way".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A sign was erected on Saturday, October 2, 2010.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sharrock was also inducted into Ossining High School's Hall of Fame.