Dave Pike


David Samuel Pike was a jazz vibraphone and marimba player. He appears 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 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, J. A. Rettenbacher, and Peter Baumeister, 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 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

With Paul Bley
With the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band
With Herbie Mann
With Bill Evans
With the Jazz Couriers