Joe Chambers

Joe Chambers
Joe Chambers
	Joe Chambers (right) with Freddie Waits (left)
Background information
Born	June 25, 1942 (age 82); Stoneacre, Virginia, U.S.
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer
Instrument(s)	Drums, piano, vibraphone
Years active	1963–present
Labels	Muse, Finite, Baystate, Blue Note, Savant

Joe Chambers (born June 25, 1942)^[1] is an American jazz drummer, pianist, vibraphonist and composer. He attended the Philadelphia Conservatory for one year.^[2] In the 1960s and 1970s, Chambers gigged with many high-profile artists such as Eric Dolphy, Charles Mingus, Wayne Shorter, and Chick Corea.^[3] During this period, his compositions were featured on some of the albums on which he appeared, such as those with Freddie Hubbard and Bobby Hutcherson.^[3] He has released fifteen albums as a bandleader and been a member of several incarnations of Max Roach's M'Boom percussion ensemble.^[4]

He has also taught, including at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City, where he leads the Outlaw Band.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8] In 2008, he was hired to be the Thomas S. Kenan Distinguished Professor of Jazz in the Department of Music at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.^[9]

Personal Life

Joe Chambers was born in Stoneacre, Virginia in 1942.^[10] However, Chambers was mostly raised in Chester, Pennsylvania.^[11] He attended the Philadelphia Conservatory and American University in Washington, D.C., where he studied composition before moving to New York.^[10]^[11] Chambers lived in Washington, D.C. from 1960 to 1963. The first instrument he played was the piano before he moved on to playing the vibraphone and drums.^[12] He is most well known for his work in Freddie Hubbard’s Breaking Point, along with his composed piece, “Mirrors."^[10] He is a retired educator and works as a jazz musician, composer, and leader.^[11]

Career

Chambers gained a lot of inspiration from various jazz drummers, such as Max Roach, Philly Joe Jones, and Elvin Jones.^[13] Chambers joined Blue Note back in the 1960s, where he was a house percussionist and drummer.^[13] He was given the opportunity after moving to New York in 1963, which is when he initially started learning how to play.^[12] It was mentioned in an interview that Tony Williams, a drummer, set Chambers up with a recording of “Mirrors,” where he gained exposure that led to him joining Blue Note.^[13] His first recording with Blue Note was recorded with Freddie Hubbard in Breaking Point.

Chambers’ earliest gigs were recorded during the time of his eighteenth year when he toured with Bobby Lewis and the JFK Quintet.^[11] Chambers was mainly working at the Bohemian Caverns, where he spent six nights a week playing gigs.^[11] He was recognized by Freddie Hubbard, who motivated him to move to New York City in 1963. He then shifted to playing for Minton’s Playhouse in 1964 alongside Blue Mitchell and Chick Corea.^[13]

In his late teens, Chambers worked in Washington, D.C. before moving to New York in 1963, where he played with various artists such as Eric Dolphy, Freddie Hubbard, Jimmy Giuffre, and Andrew Hill.^[14]

In 1974, Chambers set off as a band leader and created a new album, The Almoravid.^[10]^[11] Chambers was an original member of Max Roach’s percussion ensemble that formed in 1970, M’Boom.^[10] The group often practiced at Warren Smith’s Studio on West 21st Street in Manhattan to become capable of performing various instruments, which is when Chambers first learned the vibraphone.^[12] He was able to play alongside Sonny Rollins, Tommy Flanagan, Charles Mingus, and Art Farmer. Chambers created the Super Jazz Trio with Flanagan and Reggie Workman, a bassist.^[13]

In the late 1970s, he helped lead a band alongside Larry Young, an organist. In the early 1980s, Chambers collaborated with artists such as Chet Baker and Ray Mantilla.

Chamber started his journey as an instructor in 1990 at the New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music in NYC. He later moved to teach at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington.^[10] He currently does not teach and is focusing on his career in jazz. It was not until 2021 that he returned to Blue Note and released his album, Samba de Maracatu.^[10] He released another album, Dance Kobina, in 2023.^[10]

Achievements

During his time as an educator at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, he was titled the first Thomas S. Kenan Distinguished Professor of Jazz in 2008.^[11]

Discography

As leader

1973: The Almoravid (Muse, 1974)
1976: New World (Finite, 1976)
1977: Double Exposure (Muse, 1978)
1979: Joe Chambers and Friends: Chamber Music (Baystate, 1979)
1979: Joe Chambers Plays Piano (Denon, 1979)
1981: New York Concerto featuring Yoshiaki Masuo (Baystate, 1981)
1991: Phantom of the City (Candid, 1992) – live
1995: Isla Verde with Trio Dejaiz (Paddle Wheel, 1995)
1998: Mirrors (Blue Note, 1999)
2002: Urban Grooves (Eighty-Eight's, 2002)
2005: The Outlaw (Savant, 2006)
2009: Horace to Max (Savant, 2010)
2012: Joe Chambers Moving Pictures Orchestra (Savant, 2012)
2015: Landscapes (Savant, 2016)
2020: Samba de Maracatu (Blue Note, 2021)
2022: Dance Kobina (Blue Note, 2023)^[15]

As sideman

With Franck Amsallem

Summer Times (Sunnyside, 2003)

With Chet Baker

Peace (Enja, 1982)

With Donald Byrd

Mustang! (Blue Note, 1967) – recorded in 1964-66
Fancy Free (Blue Note, 1970) – recorded in 1969

With Chick Corea

Tones for Joan's Bones (Atlantic, 1968) – recorded in 1966

With Stanley Cowell

Brilliant Circles (Freedom, 1972) – recorded in 1969
Back to the Beautiful (Concord, 1989)

With Miles Davis

The Complete In a Silent Way Sessions (Columbia, 2001) – recorded in 1968-69

With Art Farmer

Something Tasty (Baystate, 1979)

With Don Friedman

Metamorphosis (Prestige, 1966)

With Jimmy Giuffre

New York Concerts (1965; Elemental Music, 2014)

With Joe Henderson

Mode for Joe (Blue Note, 1966)
Big Band (Verve, 1997) – recorded in 1992-96

With Andrew Hill

Andrew!!! (Blue Note, 1968) – recorded in 1964
Compulsion!!!!! (Blue Note, 1967) – recorded in 1965
One For One (Blue Note, 1975) – recorded in 1965-70

With Freddie Hubbard

Breaking Point (Blue Note, 1964)

With Bobby Hutcherson

Dialogue (Blue Note, 1965)
Components (Blue Note, 1966) – recorded in 1965
Happenings (Blue Note, 1967) – recorded in 1966
Total Eclipse (Blue Note, 1969) – recorded in 1968
Now!, (Blue Note, 1970) – recorded in 1969
Oblique (Blue Note, 1979) – recorded in 1967
Spiral (Blue Note, 1979) – recorded in 1965-68
Patterns (Blue Note, 1980) – recorded in 1968
Medina, (Blue Note, 1980) – recorded in 1969
Blow Up, (JMY, 1969 released 1990)

With Robin Kenyatta

Nomusa (Muse, 1975)

With Lee Konitz

Figure & Spirit (Progressive, 1977) – recorded in 1976

With Hubert Laws

Wild Flower (Atlantic, 1972)

With Ray Mantilla

Mantilla (Inner City, 1978)

With M'Boom

Re: Percussion (Strata-East, 1973)
M'Boom (Columbia, 1979)
Collage (Soul Note, 1984)
To the Max! (Enja, 1992) – recorded in 1990–91

With Charles Mingus

Charles Mingus and Friends in Concert (Columbia, 1972)
Something Like a Bird (Atlantic, 1978)
Me, Myself an Eye (Atlantic, 1978)

With Grachan Moncur III

Shadows, (Denon, 1977)

With Karl Ratzer

In Search Of The Ghost, (Vanguard, 1978)

With Sam Rivers

Contours, (Blue Note, 1967) – recorded in 1965

With Jeremy Steig

Lend Me Your Ears, (CMP Records, 1978)

With Woody Shaw

In the Beginning (Muse, 1983) – recorded in 1965
The Iron Men with Anthony Braxton (Muse, 1980) – recorded in 1977

With Archie Shepp

Fire Music (Impulse!, 1965)
On This Night (Impulse!, 1965)
New Thing at Newport (Impulse!, 1966) – recorded in 1965. also features a set by John Coltrane.
For Losers (Impulse!, 1969)
Kwanza (Impulse!, 1969)
On Green Dolphin Street (Denon, 1978)