A Chicago pianist who joined Miles Davis, then shaped decades of music with his own restless experiments.
For a quick sense of his range, try 'Watermelon Man' from the '60s and something from 'Head Hunters'. They show how he never stayed in one lane.
He was in Miles Davis's quintet on albums like 'E.S.P.' in the '60s, but his own 'Watermelon Man' from 'Empyrean Isles' became a signature. Later, 'Head Hunters' in the '70s pushed funk and electronics, drawing purist flak but reaching new listeners. He's kept collaborating, like on 'Edith and the Kingpin' with Tina Turner.
He started in Chicago, then played with Miles Davis from 1962. By the '70s, he'd shifted toward funk on albums like 'Head Hunters', and later worked with artists from Stevie Wonder to P!NK.
Keep it compact: a lyric you come back to, a live memory, or the part of the catalog you would point someone toward first.
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