Andrew Cyrille is perhaps the preeminent free-jazz percussionist of the 1980s and '90s. Few free-jazz drummers play with a tenth of
Cyrille's grace and authority. His energy is unflagging, his power absolute, tempered only by an ever-present sense of propriety.
Cyrille is at his best in an utterly free context, as on his encounters with the ambidextrous pianist
Borah Bergman, where his serrated rhythms and variable textures are given maximum latitude.
Cyrille began playing drums in a drum and bugle corps at the age of 11. At 15, he played in a trio with guitarist
Eric Gale. For a period in his teens,
Cyrille studied chemistry before enrolling in Juilliard School of Music in 1958. In the late '50s and early '60s, he worked with such mainstream jazzers as
Mary Lou Williams,
Roland Hanna,
Roland Kirk,
Coleman Hawkins, and
Junior Mance. He recorded with Hawkins, as well as tenor saxophonist
Bill Barron, for the Savoy label.
Cyrille succeeded
Sunny Murray as
Cecil Taylor's drummer in 1964. He stayed with the pianist until 1975, during which time he played on many of
Taylor's classic albums. During that period he played with a good many other top players, including
Marion Brown,
Grachan Moncur III and Jimmy Giuffre. He also served for a time as artist in residence at Antioch College and recorded a solo percussion album, 1969's
What About?, on BYG.
Cyrille,
Rashied Ali, and
Milford Graves collaborated on a series of mid-'70s concerts entitled "Dialogue of the Drums." Beginning in 1975 and lasting into the '80s,
Cyrille led his own group, called Maono, which included the tenor saxophonist
David S. Ware, trumpeter Ted Daniel, pianist Sonelius Smith, and at various times bassists
Lisle Atkinson and Nick DiGeronimo. During this time
Cyrille also played with the Group, a band that included the violinist
Billy Bang, bassist
Sirone, altoist Brown, and trumpeter
Ahmed Abdullah. With
Graves, Don Moye, and
Kenny Clarke,
Cyrille recorded the all-percussion album Pieces of Time for Soul Note in 1983. When not leading his own bands, he also worked ubiquitously as a sideman with, among others,
John Carter,
Muhal Richard Abrams, and Jimmy Lyons.
Cyrille continued as a leading player into the late '90s, recording fairly prolifically for Black Saint/Soul Note, FMP, and DIW.
That activity continued well into the 21st century. In 2000, he released the trio date C/D/E in collaboration with bassist
Mark Dresser and saxophonist
Marty Ehrlich. In 2002 he played duo concerts with
Anthony Braxton, which were released in two volumes on Intact as Duo Palindrome 2002. Two years later he was part of
The Mary Lou Williams Collective with pianist
Geri Allen, bassist
Buster Williams, and fellow drummer
Billy Hart for the album
Zodiac Suite: Revisited. That same year, he issued Blue Flame in duet with saxophonist
Greg Osby and the trio date Witch's Scream with
John Tchicai and
Reggie Workman; both were issued by TUM. Between 2008 and 2011 he issued two recordings with pianist
David Haney on CIMP, and three trio offerings with Danish pianist Søren Kjærgaard and bassist
Ben Street for ILK. With
Eric Revis and
Kris Davis he released 2013's
City Of Asylum for Clean Feed before revisting the
Street-Kjærgaard trio with Syvmileskridt.
Cyrille, ever the picture of musical diversity, played in a trio with saxophonist
Bill McHenry and bassist
Henry Grimes for 2014's Fish Story on Fresh Sound New Talent, and the following year with saxophonist
Mikko Innanen and bassist
William Parker on the double-length offering Song for a New Decade for TUM. In 2016 he debuted the
Andrew Cyrille Quartet on ECM with
Street, guitarist
Bill Frisell, and pianist
Richard Teitelbaum for the critically acclaimed
Declaration of Musical Independence.
Cyrille returned to CIMP in May of 2018 with another pair of recordings with
Haney: the duo offering Clandestine and a trio set that included bassist Dominic Duval entitled Conspiracy a Go Go. Later that tear,
Cyrille released his sophomore leader date for ECM. Titled
Lebroba, the drummer's collaborators included
Frisell and trumpeter
Wadada Leo Smith. ~ Chris Kelsey