Sonny Sharrock

Back in the late '90s/early '00s, when I was in an experimental/improv band – ambibat – one of my main guitar influences was Sonny Sharrock. One of few guitarists in the first wave of free jazz in the 1960s, Sharrock was known for his incisive, heavily chorded attack, his bursts of wild feedback, and for his use of saxophone-like lines played loudly on guitar. He had in fact wanted to play tenor saxophone from his youth after hearing John Coltrane play on Miles Davis' album Kind of Blue, but his asthma prevented this from happening. Sharrock often said that he still considered himself "a horn player with a really fucked up axe."

Sharrock made several appearances with flautist Herbie Mann and saxophonist Pharoah Sanders – the latter even gave Sonny the first five minutes on his album Tauhid. Sonny also released three albums under his own name in the late 60's/mid-70's with his wife Linda, who has a Yoko Ono styled approach to vocals. And perhaps his most famous cameo, Sharrock also appeared on Miles Davis' A Tribute to Jack Johnson, but was unfortunately uncredited.

After the release of Paradise – an album which he was embarrassed by – Sharrock semi-retired for much of the 1970s. Years later, producer/bassist Bill Laswell coaxed him out of retirement and created a new punk/jazz band Last Exit, together with Peter Brötzmann, Laswell and Ronald Shannon Jackson.

In 1994, Sharrock died unexpectedly of a heart attack just as he was on the verge of signing the first major label deal in his entire career. He was 53. Today, Sharrock is perhaps best known for the soundtrack to the Cartoon Network program Space Ghost: Coast to Coast with his drummer Lance Carter, one of the last projects he completed in the studio before his death.


Here's a mix of the different stages of Sonny Sharrock's career as a guitarist...

[DOWNLOAD] Sonny Sharrock mix
01- Upper Egypt & Lower Egypt -- Pharoah Sanders - Tauhid
02- In Tangier/Paradise Beach -- Herbie Mann - Stone Flute
03- Peanut -- Sonny Sharrock - Black Woman
04- Balance -- Pharoah Sanders - Izipho
05- Super Nova -- Wayne Shorter - Super Nova
06- Hold On, I'm Coming -- Herbie Mann - Memphis Underground
07- Soon -- Sonny Sharrock - Monkey-Pockie-Boo
08- Geno -- Marzette Watts - Marzette Watts and Company
09- Miss Doris -- Sonny & Linda Sharrock - Paradise
10- [untitled] -- Bailey/Frith/Sharrock/Zorn/Laswell/Noyes - Improvised Music New York 1981
11- Discharge -- Last Exit - Last Exit
12- Last Call -- Last Exit - Köln
13- Pig Cheese -- Last Exit - The Noise of Trouble: Live in Tokyo
14- My Balls/Your Chin -- Last Exit - Cassette Recordings '87
15- Devil's Rain -- Last Exit - Iron Path
16- Once Upon A Time -- Sonny Sharrock - Ask The Ages

And here's the soundtrack to Space Ghost: Coast to Coast...


[DOWNLOAD] Sonny Sharrock - Space Ghost: Coast to Coast
01- Hit Single
02- Cinnamon Ghost
03- Out to Launch
04- Fear of a Ghost Planet
05- Rocket #99
06- Ghost Planet National Anthem
07- Ghost Planet National Anthem (remix)

And here's an episode of Space Ghost: Coast to Coast starring Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore as fictional character Fred Cracklin...although Thurston is never actually interviewed. Instead, the whole episode is dedicated to the music of Sonny Sharrock and Lance Carter in honor of Sharrock who passed away in 1994.