Dave Pike

Dave Pike
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)
Genres	Brazilian jazz, Latin jazz, world
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter
Instrument(s)	Vibraphone, marimba
Labels	Timeless, Criss Cross, Atlantic, MPS

David Samuel "Dave" Pike (March 23, 1938 – October 3, 2015) was a jazz vibraphone and marimba player. He appears on many Herbie Mann albums as well as those by Bill Evans, Nick Brignola, Paul Bley and Kenny Clarke. 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 vibes. Pike made his recording debut with the Paul Bley Quartet in 1958. He began putting an amplifier on his vibes when working with flautist Herbie Mann in the early 1960s. 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. 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 like alto saxophonist Lee Konitz, bassist Chuck Israels and pianist Don Friedman.

Pike's move 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. The group recorded six records from 1969-1972 that ran the gamut from funky grooves to free, textural territory. The group, though short-lived, created a unique identity and textural palette. 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.

Discography

As leader

• 1961: It's Time for Dave Pike (Riverside)
• 1961: Pike's Peak (Epic)
• 1962: Bossa Nova Carnival (New Jazz)
• 1962: Limbo Carnival (New Jazz)
• 1962: Dave Pike Plays the Jazz Version of Oliver! (Moodsville)
• 1964: Manhattan Latin (Decca)
• 1966: Jazz for the Jet Set (Atlantic)
• 1966: The Doors of Perception (Vortex)
• 1969: Got the Feelin' (Relax)
• 1969: Noisy Silence - Gentle Noise (MPS)
• 1969: Four Reasons (MPS)
• 1969: Live at the Philharmonie (MPS)
• 1970: Infra Red (MPS)
• 1971: Album (MPS)
• 1972: Salamão (MPS)
• 1973: Masterpieces (MPS)
• 1975: Times Out of Mind (Muse)
• 1977: On a Gentle Note (Muse)
• 1980: Let the Minstrels Play On (Muse)
• 1986: Pike's Groove (Criss Cross)
• 1998: Bop Head (Ubiquity)
• 2000: Peligroso (Cubop)

As sideman

With Paul Bley

• Solemn Meditation (GNP Crescendo, 1958)

With the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band

• All Smiles (MPS, 1968)

With Herbie Mann

• The Family of Mann (Atlantic, 1961)
• Herbie Mann Returns to the Village Gate (Atlantic, 1961 [1963])
• Herbie Mann Live at Newport (Atlantic, 1963)
• My Kinda Groove (Atlantic, 1964)
• Herbie Mann Plays The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd (Atlantic, 1965)
• Monday Night at the Village Gate (Atlantic, 1965 [1966])
• Latin Mann (Columbia, 1965)
• Standing Ovation at Newport (Atlantic, 1965)
• Today! (Atlantic, 1966)
• Our Mann Flute (Atlantic, 1966)
• The Beat Goes On (Atlantic, 1967)

With Bill Evans

• Piano Player (Columbia/Legacy, 1962)

With the Jazz Couriers

• Gene Norman Presents the Jazz Couriers (Whippet, 1958)

External links

• Obituary Los Angeles Times
• Interview with Dave Pike National Association of Music Merchants Oral History Program (2007)