Artists
Biography
"He was the coolest producer of the sixties, the mastermind behind the Electric Prunes' Mass In F Minor. David Axelrod's music is visionary, deeply rooted in soul and jazz." - Record Collector
"Axelrod's music: a signature sound of reverberating drums, twisted strings, and mournful singing, has a scale, a beauty, and a groove that you'll seldom find anywhere else."- NME
David Axelrod's contributions to music are immeasurable, from recording jazz classics in the 50s, 60s and 70s, to having his music form the backbone of recordings by Lauryn Hill, Dr. Dre, DJ Shadow and the Beatnuts, amongst others. He is steeped in musical history, from winding up an old Victrola gramophone for his brother to drum along with, to recording his latest album for Mo' Wax. He has produced both jazz giants and Hollywood film stars, and released an album preaching environmental awareness years before most had even heard of the ozone layer. The album that he wrote, arranged and recorded for the Electric Prunes provided the music that got both the Verve and Radiohead in the right frame of mind to go on stage. He has created music that is both visionary and deeply rooted in a soul and jazz tradition.
David was born into a family of working class radicals in Los Angeles. His father was a campaigner for union rights in an America that was none too kind to left wing agitation, and to this day, David is a proud liberal. After a stint as a boxer, he found himself caught up in a vibrant jazz scene that was no doubt boosted by the ready availability of studio work from the booming film and television industry. David was soon in demand as a producer and from there it was a short step to using his knowledge of music for writing arrangements. He produced his first classic album in 1959, Harold Land's The Fox - one of the few albums recorded that captured the majesty of this fine saxophonist.
In 1964, David joined Capitol Records as a producer and A&R man. Here he began to produce the series of records that would establish his name as a top-flight successful producer. Axelrod's first major success was with Lou Rawls. The singer up to this point had had middling success, but once he joined with David commencing with the Live album, gold albums and top 10 singles followed in a string, including "Love Is A Hurting Thing", "Your Good Thing Is About To End" and "Dead End Street" - which David wrote and produced.
His other key working relationship at Capitol was with Julian "Cannonball" Adderley who David will often describe as his best friend. As well as a series of great albums Ì often sourced as samples today, the working relationship spawned one of the biggest jazz hits of the '60s, the funky little groove of "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy." It climbed to the top 5 in the US pop charts. It was at about this time that David started to create the records that helped define the music of today; two lush, choral albums with the Electric Prunes, and his first two solo releases, Songs Of Innocence (1968) and Songs Of Experience (1969), both homages to the works of William Blake. These albums have a unique sound created in unison with the best quality musicians that LA could provide, including drummer Earl Palmer, bassist Carol Kaye (who played the bassline on the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations") and the late, great guitarist, Howard Roberts. The combination of drums, bass and strings, forged into a booming spacey sound that in its clarity sounds totally contemporary. It is this music that has fired up a thousand Akai samplers. 1970 saw David record his opus to environmentalism, Earth Rot, leave Capitol and set up his own production company. It also saw the tragic death of his teenage son Scott.
David withdrew from production for a while, and the 70s saw him record an impressive array of solo albums such as Messiah, The Auction and Heavy Axe. He also returned to working with Adderley, producing Cannonball's albums up to the saxophonist's death in 1975. The latter part of the decade saw him release a couple of albums for MCA including Strange Ladies. This record included the track "Tony Poem", replayed for use by Lauryn Hill on "Every Ghetto, Every City" from the Miseducation of Lauryn Hill LP. The 80s were a quiet time for David, but the 90s saw him back on the creative mettle with the release of his Requiem - a harrowing evocation of the Holocaust. It was an effective revamping of his trademark string sound, allied with eerie vocals. Around this time he also recorded an album of country cover versions - pure Axelrod style, and little short of amazing. With his rediscovery by a new generation, his profile has been raised with the re-release of the integral parts of his back catalogue through the compilation Anthology 1967 to '70 and a remix of UNKLE's "Rabbit In The Headlights".
This interest has culminated in the creation of his new album, simply titled David Axelrod for the Mo' Wax label. Using rhythm tracks that were originally recorded in 1968 for a proposed 3rd Electric Prunes album - Axelrod is virtually sampling himself, and is reclaiming for his own that which so many others have used. To this David has added new arrangements and has created a body of work that is both contemporary but redolent of the legendary Axelrod sound. The music was recorded using the same nucleus of musicians that recorded the classic albums of his past, and using the legendary studio 'B' at Capitol Records where he made his name - the rhythm section includes Carol Kaye, Joe Sample, Earl Palmer, and Ernie Watts on the horns. The recording includes the spine tingling "Loved Boy" - a song that David had written as a remembrance to his son Scott. For this David insisted on using the vocals of Lou Rawls - who was with him when he was told of Scott's death. It is their first collaboration in 30 years and is a major addition to the Axelrod canon. That David is so highly regarded in the hip-hop community is made clear by his ability to attract such a renowned rapper as Ras Kass to the project. Ras - like David a native Angelino - is part of the crowd that congregates around Dr. Dre, and has released two critically acclaimed albums on the Priority Label. David admires his poetic ability, which is allowed to run rampant on the CDs opener, "The Little Children".
The expansive orchestral sounds that make up the majority of the album have been titled after many of the people who have meant a lot to David over the years, from Harold Land ("For Land's Sake"), to hip-hop photographer Brian Cross ("Big B Plus"), and from the president of Fantasy Records ("Fantasy For Ralph") to DJ Shadow ("The Shadow Knows"). Moving in to his late '60s, David Axelrod still has the verve, energy and creativity of a man less than half his age. Unshakable in his vision, unfailing in his aim, this album is over thirty years in the making - an already classic album, from a classic artist.
"Axelrod's music: a signature sound of reverberating drums, twisted strings, and mournful singing, has a scale, a beauty, and a groove that you'll seldom find anywhere else."- NME
David Axelrod's contributions to music are immeasurable, from recording jazz classics in the 50s, 60s and 70s, to having his music form the backbone of recordings by Lauryn Hill, Dr. Dre, DJ Shadow and the Beatnuts, amongst others. He is steeped in musical history, from winding up an old Victrola gramophone for his brother to drum along with, to recording his latest album for Mo' Wax. He has produced both jazz giants and Hollywood film stars, and released an album preaching environmental awareness years before most had even heard of the ozone layer. The album that he wrote, arranged and recorded for the Electric Prunes provided the music that got both the Verve and Radiohead in the right frame of mind to go on stage. He has created music that is both visionary and deeply rooted in a soul and jazz tradition.
David was born into a family of working class radicals in Los Angeles. His father was a campaigner for union rights in an America that was none too kind to left wing agitation, and to this day, David is a proud liberal. After a stint as a boxer, he found himself caught up in a vibrant jazz scene that was no doubt boosted by the ready availability of studio work from the booming film and television industry. David was soon in demand as a producer and from there it was a short step to using his knowledge of music for writing arrangements. He produced his first classic album in 1959, Harold Land's The Fox - one of the few albums recorded that captured the majesty of this fine saxophonist.
In 1964, David joined Capitol Records as a producer and A&R man. Here he began to produce the series of records that would establish his name as a top-flight successful producer. Axelrod's first major success was with Lou Rawls. The singer up to this point had had middling success, but once he joined with David commencing with the Live album, gold albums and top 10 singles followed in a string, including "Love Is A Hurting Thing", "Your Good Thing Is About To End" and "Dead End Street" - which David wrote and produced.
His other key working relationship at Capitol was with Julian "Cannonball" Adderley who David will often describe as his best friend. As well as a series of great albums Ì often sourced as samples today, the working relationship spawned one of the biggest jazz hits of the '60s, the funky little groove of "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy." It climbed to the top 5 in the US pop charts. It was at about this time that David started to create the records that helped define the music of today; two lush, choral albums with the Electric Prunes, and his first two solo releases, Songs Of Innocence (1968) and Songs Of Experience (1969), both homages to the works of William Blake. These albums have a unique sound created in unison with the best quality musicians that LA could provide, including drummer Earl Palmer, bassist Carol Kaye (who played the bassline on the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations") and the late, great guitarist, Howard Roberts. The combination of drums, bass and strings, forged into a booming spacey sound that in its clarity sounds totally contemporary. It is this music that has fired up a thousand Akai samplers. 1970 saw David record his opus to environmentalism, Earth Rot, leave Capitol and set up his own production company. It also saw the tragic death of his teenage son Scott.
David withdrew from production for a while, and the 70s saw him record an impressive array of solo albums such as Messiah, The Auction and Heavy Axe. He also returned to working with Adderley, producing Cannonball's albums up to the saxophonist's death in 1975. The latter part of the decade saw him release a couple of albums for MCA including Strange Ladies. This record included the track "Tony Poem", replayed for use by Lauryn Hill on "Every Ghetto, Every City" from the Miseducation of Lauryn Hill LP. The 80s were a quiet time for David, but the 90s saw him back on the creative mettle with the release of his Requiem - a harrowing evocation of the Holocaust. It was an effective revamping of his trademark string sound, allied with eerie vocals. Around this time he also recorded an album of country cover versions - pure Axelrod style, and little short of amazing. With his rediscovery by a new generation, his profile has been raised with the re-release of the integral parts of his back catalogue through the compilation Anthology 1967 to '70 and a remix of UNKLE's "Rabbit In The Headlights".
This interest has culminated in the creation of his new album, simply titled David Axelrod for the Mo' Wax label. Using rhythm tracks that were originally recorded in 1968 for a proposed 3rd Electric Prunes album - Axelrod is virtually sampling himself, and is reclaiming for his own that which so many others have used. To this David has added new arrangements and has created a body of work that is both contemporary but redolent of the legendary Axelrod sound. The music was recorded using the same nucleus of musicians that recorded the classic albums of his past, and using the legendary studio 'B' at Capitol Records where he made his name - the rhythm section includes Carol Kaye, Joe Sample, Earl Palmer, and Ernie Watts on the horns. The recording includes the spine tingling "Loved Boy" - a song that David had written as a remembrance to his son Scott. For this David insisted on using the vocals of Lou Rawls - who was with him when he was told of Scott's death. It is their first collaboration in 30 years and is a major addition to the Axelrod canon. That David is so highly regarded in the hip-hop community is made clear by his ability to attract such a renowned rapper as Ras Kass to the project. Ras - like David a native Angelino - is part of the crowd that congregates around Dr. Dre, and has released two critically acclaimed albums on the Priority Label. David admires his poetic ability, which is allowed to run rampant on the CDs opener, "The Little Children".
The expansive orchestral sounds that make up the majority of the album have been titled after many of the people who have meant a lot to David over the years, from Harold Land ("For Land's Sake"), to hip-hop photographer Brian Cross ("Big B Plus"), and from the president of Fantasy Records ("Fantasy For Ralph") to DJ Shadow ("The Shadow Knows"). Moving in to his late '60s, David Axelrod still has the verve, energy and creativity of a man less than half his age. Unshakable in his vision, unfailing in his aim, this album is over thirty years in the making - an already classic album, from a classic artist.