David Axelrod

Born
April 17, 1936
in Los Angeles, CA 
Active Decades
19001020304050607080902000 
 
by John Bush
A Grammy award-winning producer for Capitol Records who helmed dozens of great jazz, funk, and soul records during the 1960s and '70s (by everyone from Stan Kenton to Lou Rawls to The Electric Prunes to Cannonball Adderley), David Axelrod also forged a distinctive musical style while recording several of the most eccentric albums of the '70s. His sound, as immediately recognizable as it is sparse, combined cavernous, heavily mic'ed drums with baroque orchestration (just a step away from overblown) and ahead-of-his-time themes ranging from the environment to heightened mental awareness.



Born in Los Angeles in 1936, Axelrod learned about arrangement and production largely on his own. He began working as a staff producer for the cool jazz labels Specialty and Contemporary, and led a pair of 1959 LPs -- Free For All by Frank Rosolino and The Fox by Harold Land -- that developed an earthy response to the trademarked light, airy sound of West Coast jazz.

Read More

If you like this artist, you may also enjoy...
Carl Davis, Gil Evans, Quincy Jones
Guns N' Roses Threatens Dr. Pepper With Legal Action

Guns N'Roses is threatening Dr. Pepper with legal action following what the group is calling "a complete fiasco" of a
more...