Dave Pike

Dave Pike
Pike in a 1970 DownBeat advertisement
Background information
Birth name	David Samuel Pike
Born	(1938-03-23)March 23, 1938 Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Died	October 3, 2015(2015-10-03) (aged 77) Del Mar, California, U.S.
Genres	Brazilian jazz, Latin jazz, world
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter
Instrument(s)	Vibraphone, marimba
Labels	Timeless, Criss Cross, Atlantic, MPS

David Samuel Pike (March 23, 1938 – October 3, 2015)^[1] was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. He appeared on many albums by Nick Brignola, Paul Bley and Kenny Clarke, Bill Evans, and Herbie Mann. He also recorded extensively as leader, including a number of albums on MPS Records.

Biography

He learned drums at the age of eight and was self-taught on vibraphone.^[2] Pike made his recording debut with the Paul Bley Quartet in 1958.^[2] He began putting an amplifier on his vibes, when working with flautist Herbie Mann in the early-1960s.^[3] By the late-1960s, Pike's music became more exploratory, contributing a unique voice and new contexts that pushed the envelope in times remembered for their exploratory nature.^{[citation needed]} The Doors of Perception, released in 1970 for the Atlantic Records subsidiary Vortex Records, and produced by former boss Herbie Mann, explored ballads, modal territory, musique concrète, with free and lyrical improvisation, and included musicians including alto saxophonist Lee Konitz, bassist Chuck Israels and pianist Don Friedman.^[4]

Pike moved to Europe and signed with MPS Records. With the collaboration of Volker Kriegel (guitar), J. A. Rettenbacher (acoustic and electric bass), and Peter Baumeister (drums), he formed the Dave Pike Set.^[2] The group recorded six records from 1969 to 1972 that ran the gamut from funky grooves to free, textural territory.^{[citation needed]} The group, though short-lived, created a unique identity and textural palette.^{[citation needed]} Kriegel's compositional and instrumental (playing acoustic, classical, and electric guitar as well as sitar) contributions to the group helped set the Dave Pike Set's sound apart, organically incorporating influences from jazz, soul jazz, psychedelia, avant-garde music, and world music.^{[citation needed]}

He died in Del Mar, California of emphysema, aged 77.^[1]

Discography

As leader

• It's Time for Dave Pike (Riverside, 1961)
• Pike's Peak (Epic, 1962) – rec. 1961
• Bossa Nova Carnival (New Jazz, 1962)
• Limbo Carnival (New Jazz, 1962)
• Dave Pike Plays the Jazz Version of Oliver! (Moodsville, 1963) – rec. 1962
• Manhattan Latin (Decca, 1964)
• Jazz for the Jet Set (Atlantic, 1966) – rec. 1965
• Got the Feelin (Relax, 1969)
• Four Reasons (MPS, 1969)
• Noisy Silence/Gentle Noise (MPS, 1969)
• Live at the Philharmonie (MPS, 1970)
• Infra-Red (MPS, 1970)
• The Doors of Perception (Vortex, 1970) – live rec. 1966
• Album (MPS/BASF, 1971)
• Salomao (MPS/BASF, 1972)
• Times Out of Mind (Muse, 1976)
• On a Gentle Note (Muse, 1978)
• Let the Minstrels Play On (Muse, 1980)
• Moon Bird (Muse, 1983)
• Pike's Groove (Criss Cross, 1986)
• Bluebird (Timeless, 1989)
• Bophead (Ubiquity, 1998)
• Peligroso (CuBop, 2000)
• At Studio 2 (B.Free, 2016)

As sideman

With Herbie Mann

• Brazil, Bossa Nova & Blues (United Artists, 1962)
• Herbie Mann Returns to the Village Gate (Atlantic, 1963)
• Herbie Mann Live at Newport (Atlantic, 1963) – live
• My Kinda Groove (Atlantic, 1965) – rec. 1964
• Latin Mann (Columbia, 1965)
• Standing Ovation at Newport (Atlantic, 1965) – live
• The Roar of the Greasepaint the Smell of the Crowd (Atlantic, 1965)
• Monday Night at the Village Gate (Atlantic, 1966) – rec. 1965
• Today! (Atlantic, 1966) – rec. 1965
• The Evolution of Mann (Atlantic, 1972)[2LP] – compilations

With others

• Paul Bley, Solemn Meditation (GNP, 1957)
• Nick Brignola, All Business (Reservoir, 1999)
• Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band, All Smiles (MPS, 1968)
• Slide Hampton, Mellow-dy (LRC, 1992)
• The Jazz Couriers, Gene Norman Presents the Jazz Couriers (Whippet, 1957)
• Babatunde Olatunji, High Life! (Columbia, 1963)
• Clark Terry, At the Montreux Jazz Festival (Polydor, 1970)

References

1. "Dave Pike, Vibraphonist, Dies at 77". Jazztimes.com. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
2. Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. pp. 321/2. ISBN 0-85112-580-8.
3. Yanow, Scott. "Dave Pike: Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
4. "The Doors of Perception - Dave Pike | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved July 31, 2021.

External links

• Obituary Los Angeles Times
• Dave Pike Interview at NAMM Oral History Library (2007)