Hiram Bullock

Hiram Bullock ‎- Way Kool - 1992 - Atlantic Jazz

On the follow-up to his Atlantic debut, guitarist and producer Hiram Bullock pulled out all the stops and dove wholeheartedly onto the "funk" side of jazz-funk and left out the jazz. No, that's not a bad thing. If anything, Way Kool feels a lot more like a funky rock record than anything else. With a handpicked cast of studio greats, Bullock set out to make a party record and he did it. From the screaming guitar work on "Da Alley," to the deeply funky George Duke-styled keys and guitar wonk on "Show Me" (with its Prince-styled handclaps and big backing chorus), to the groovy bass pop and chunky chords on the title track, it's all in there. On Way Kool Bullock showed that he couldn't care less about what people thought he was or should have been doing, and he did exactly what he wanted -- and this time it was making a primarily instrumental set (there are only three vocal cuts out of the ten here) that stayed close to rock and funk with up-to-the-minute production (that in retrospect sounds a bit dated). There is a jazzy instrumental ballad called "Never Give Up," with some nice hand percussion from Don Alias and keyboard work from Dave Delhomme. But the strength of the set comes from Bullock's guitar playing, and his screaming tone is the most enduring thing about it. Check the track that reveals its Prince influence not only in its instrumental attack but even in its title: "I No U." The big funker "Wolfman" even contains scratching! The biggest surprise on Way Kool, however, is the cover of Lennon and McCartney's "Dear Prudence" that closes the album. It's modern, reverent, restrained, and quite beautiful. (Admittedly, it's such a great song it would be tough to mess up.) Bullock's guitar solo that takes over after the three-minute mark is killer. © Thom Jurek ©2013 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/way-kool-mw0000275070

A longtime fixture of the New York City session circuit, the late, great guitarist Hiram Bullock was equally adept in many music genres from rock & roll to jazz to avant-garde. He also recorded a series of solo funk and fusion LPs, but perhaps he is best remembered as a founding member of the original Late Night with David Letterman house band. Hiram was once described as "the greatest jazz / funk / soul / fusion guitarist on the planet". His style was never easily categorized, but his albums usually contained a creative blend of rock, funk, blues, and jazz. "Way Kool" is a mostly instrumental and great group-orientated funky jazz rock album with ten well composed tracks including Lennon & McCartney’s “Dear Prudence”, and displays the late musician's guitar talents to great effect and also his underrated vocals. The album is HR by A.O.O.F.C. Check out "Hiram Bullock Plays The Music Of Jimi Hendrix" and his wonderful "Carrasco" album. Buy his "Jam Jam" album which displays most of Hiram's musical influences. Hiram’s session work can be heard on many great albums including Billy Joel's The Stranger and Steely Dan's Aja. [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 109 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 Da Alley - Hiram Bullock 5:15
2 Shut Up - Dave Delhomme, Hiram Bullock 4:09
3 Show Me - Hiram Bullock (L): Paul Peterson (M) 3:51
4 Way Kool - Dave Delhomme, Hiram Bullock 4:09
5 Never Give Up - Dave Delhomme, Hiram Bullock 5:56
6 I No U - Hiram Bullock, Ricky Peterson 5:02
7 Wolfman - Dave Delhomme, Hiram Bullock, Steve Wolf 5:16
8 Another Night - Dave Delhomme, Hiram Bullock 4:20
9 10 To 11 - Dave Delhomme, Hiram Bullock 3:57
10 Dear Prudence - John Lennon, Paul McCartney 6:03

MUSICIANS

Hiram Bullock - Guitar, Synth-Guitar on Track 4, Keyboards on Tracks 4, 9, Lead Vocals on Track 3, All Vocals on Track 8, Backing Vocals on Track 3,
Vocal Chorus on Track 1
Paul Peterson - Guitar, Bass, Keyboards, Backing Vocals on Track 3
Steve Logan - Bass on Tracks 2, 5, 7, 8, 10
Will Lee - Bass on Track 1, Vocal Chorus on Track 1
Dave Delhomme - Keyboards on Tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9
Ricky Peterson - Keyboards on Tracks 1, 6, 10, Backing Vocals on Track 3, Vocal Chorus on Track 1
Steve Wolf - Drums on Tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, Samples on Track 7
Charley Drayton - Drums on Tracks 1, 10, Vocal Chorus on Track 1
Don Alias - Percussion on Tracks 1, 4, 5, 8
Matt Seitz - Scratching on Track 7
Craig Schumacher - Backing Vocals on Track 3

BIO

Over the course of his career, from his mid ‘70s run with The Brecker Brothers to his various stints as a “hired gun” for everyone from Gil Evans and David Sanborn to Billy Joel and James Brown, Hiram Bullock earned his reputation as a bona fide guitar hero. But all along, Hiram has also been developing his skills as a singer/songwriter and charismatic live performer. His style is not easily categorized, since his playing is a creative blend of rock, funk, blues, and jazz. It is easy to say, however, that his music is fun ! Hiram Bullock was born in Osaka, Japan and came to America at the age of 2. As a child, he studied piano at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Maryland, playing his first recital at the age of 6. He learned to play the saxophone at age 11, and began playing the bass guitar in junior high school rock bands as a teenager. He switched to guitar at age 16, admittedly “to meet more girls”. Hiram attended the University of Miami music school, where he studied with Pat Metheny and Jaco Pastorius, and where he met many of the musicians that he would play with throughout his professional career. One of his steady nightclub gigs was with the singer Phyllis Hyman, and this eventually led him to New York. Almost immediately after arriving in the Big Apple, Hiram’s international career began. He first played with David Sanborn, meeting producer Phil Ramone and playing on many gold and platinum albums. His credits include: The Brecker Brothers, David Sanborn, Paul Simon, Chaka Khan, Pete Townsend, Bob James, Sting, James Brown, Miles Davis, Kenny Loggins, Billy Joel, Barbra Streisand, Burt Bacharach, Roberta Flack, Spyro Gyra, Eric Clapton, Al Green and James Taylor. He has worked with many others; a full discography can be found on the discography page of this website. Hiram gained a huge following as the barefoot guitar player on Late Night with David Letterman. From the inception of the show until 1984, he was a regular member of the World’s Most Dangerous Band, led by Paul Shaffer. Other television work includes being a member of the house band on Saturday Night Live, and working as the musical director on David Sanborn’s critically acclaimed Night Music show. He was also seen acting the part of a musician in Under Siege (starring Steven Segal); he wrote 6 of the internal songs in the film. Hiram’s career as a solo artist began in 1983. He has produced all of his albums, which include many of his own songs. His albums span many different genres of music, from the contemporary jazz of “From All Sides” to the rock of “World of Collision”; from the latin-influenced “Carrasco” to the organ-trio jazz of “Late Night Talk”. The style that Hiram’s fans have come to expect in live performances is exemplified by the group-oriented funky rock of “Color Me”, and continued with “Try Livin’ It” and his latest release, “Too Funky 2 Ignore”. He is also known as a dynamic performer, who gives his all for the sake of the show. © http://www.hirambullock.com/bio.html

OBITUARY

You could argue that the guitarist Jimi Hendrix, in his brief, dazzling career, galvanised jazz as much as he shook up pop and rock. In three years, he sketched out several lifetimes' worth of possibilities in sound, rhythm and showmanship. His example sparked a new generation of musicians - Jaco Pastorius, Mike Stern, George Duke - and encouraged more established figures, such as Miles Davis, Gil Evans and Joe Zawinul, to reinvent their careers. The jazz-funk guitarist Hiram Bullock, who has died aged 52, was one of the new breed of guitarists liberated by Hendrix's example, and uninhibited by preconceptions of what jazz and rock were supposed to be. He was a flamboyant stylist, as comfortable jamming with legends as doing sessions or television. Though he released many solo albums, he is best remembered as a sideman, albeit one who was rarely self-effacing. His CV included studio work with Sting, Bonnie Tyler, Kenny Loggins and Marcus Miller, and he played memorable stints with jazz composers Evans and Carla Bley, and saxophonist David Sanborn. US television viewers of a certain age will remember him as the "barefoot guitarist" in The World's Most Dangerous Band, the house musicians, led by Paul Shaffer, of the long-running Late Night with David Letterman show on NBC. Born in Osaka, Japan, where his parents had been posted with the US military, Bullock moved to America aged two and grew up in Baltimore, where he learned the piano, saxophone and bass, before switching to guitar at 16. He went to Miami University, studying alongside Pat Metheny and Pastorius, and a regular gig with singer Phyllis Hyman soon led him to New York City. By his mid-20s, he had played with a host of stars including Billy Joel, Joan Armatrading, Paul Simon and Chaka Khan - plus every crossover project in town, among them the Brecker Brothers, Sanborn, Hank Crawford, Bob James and his own New York City Band. He joined Evans's band for its irregular tours and regular Mondays at New York's Sweet Basil club. Bullock played with Pastorius's trio in his final, difficult years and made significant contributions to Bley's compositional palette, playing live and on albums such as Night Glo and Sextet (ECM Records). One of his most memorable moments was soloing on the Hendrix song Little Wing on Sting's Nothing Like the Sun (A&M, 1987). This was no casual session - the ex-Police frontman had sat in with Evans at Sweet Basil, and recruited his entire band for that track. Anyone who heard the Evans band during the 1980s will testify to Bullock's raw energy and inventiveness, which his boss clearly relished. Asked whether Bullock had achieved his potential as a jazz guitarist, the London Jazz Festival programmer John Cumming replied that it may not matter whether Hiram was a jazz player or not. "He essentially came from a blues, funk and rock corner, and it was his ability to bring this attack to a jazz context that always seemed to be the defining factor," said Cumming. "It was this that endeared him to artists like Gil, for instance. Although he played on countless sessions, he was a great live performer, and this is where he stood out, whether with Sanborn, Bley or Gil Evans." Bullock's health had been damaged by drug abuse. A poignant blog entry (posted in March this year) described his treatment for throat cancer: "Basically, they poison me to kill the cancer, then bring me back to health (actually I guess that last part is on me). I needed to lose some weight anyway!" He is survived by his partner, Jennifer, and two stepsons. • Hiram Law Bullock, guitarist and songwriter, born September 11 1955; died July 25 2008 © John L Walters The Guardian, Wednesday 20 August 2008 © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/aug/20/jazz.popandrock