Denis Alphonso Charles[1] (December 4, 1933[2] – March 26, 1998)[3] was a jazz drummer.
Charles was born in St. Croix, Virgin Islands,[2] and first played bongos at age seven with local ensembles in the Virgin Islands. In 1945, he moved to New York, and gigged frequently around town.[2] In 1954, he began working with Cecil Taylor, and the pair collaborated until 1958.[2] Following this he played with Steve Lacy, Gil Evans, and Jimmy Giuffre. He befriended Ed Blackwell, and the two influenced each other.
He recorded with Sonny Rollins on a calypso-tinged set, and then returned to time with Lacy, with whom he played until 1964.[2] He worked with Archie Shepp and Don Cherry in 1967,[2] but heroin addiction saw him leave the record industry until 1971.[2] In the 1970s and 1980s, he played regularly on the New York jazz scene with Frank Lowe, David Murray, Charles Tyler, Billy Bang, and others,[2] and also played funk, rock, and traditional Caribbean music. He released three discs as a leader between 1989 and 1992, and died of pneumonia in his sleep in New York in 1998.[4]
Charles died four days after a five-week European tour with the Borgmann/Morris/Charles (BMC) Trio, with Wilber Morris and Thomas Borgmann. His last concert with this trio took place at the Berlin's Willy-Brandt-Haus. With the BMC Trio he recorded some albums in his last two years. A fifth CD was released after he died: The Last Concert - Dankeschön, Silkheart Records, 1999.
In 2002, Veronique Doumbe released a film documentary, Denis A. Charles: An Interrupted Conversation, about the life of Charles.[5]
With Cecil Taylor
With Steve Lacy
With Gil Evans
With Sonny Rollins
With Archie Shepp
With Peter Kuhn
With Billy Bang
With Jemeel Moondoc
With Wilber Morris and Charles Tyler
With The Jazz Doctors (Rafael Garrett, Frank Lowe, Billy Bang)
With Rob Brown
With William Parker
With John Blum (pianist)
With Raphe Malik
With Sirone
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