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| Sonny Sharrock | |
|---|---|
| Name | Sonny Sharrock |
| Background | non_vocal_instrumentalist |
| Birth name | Warren Harding Sharrock |
| Birth date | May 27, 1940 |
| Birth place | Ossining, New York, United States |
| Death date | May 25, 1994 |
| Death place | New York City, New York, United States |
| Origin | New York City, New York |
| Genre | Free jazz, avant-garde jazz, noise rock |
| Occupation | Musician, composer, guitarist |
| Instrument | Guitar |
| Years active | 1960s–1994 |
| Label | ESP-Disk, BYG Actuel, SST, Enemy, DIW |
| Associated acts | Pharoah Sanders, Miles Davis, Herbie Mann, Peter Brötzmann, Last Exit, Henry Rollins |
Sonny Sharrock was an American guitarist and composer noted for pioneering free jazz guitar and linking avant-garde jazz with noise rock. He played with leading figures of the 1960s and 1970s avant-garde, released singular solo albums, and toured internationally with experimental ensembles. His work influenced subsequent generations across New York City’s downtown scene, Tokyo improvisers, and alternative rock musicians.
Born Warren Harding Sharrock in Ossining, New York, he grew up in the greater New York City area and attended local schools before moving into professional music. Early exposure to rhythm and blues broadcasts and visits to clubs in Harlem, Greenwich Village, and on Broadway (Manhattan) shaped his interests. He began playing guitar in his teens, absorbing styles from recordings by Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, and Muddy Waters, later seeking out improvisers such as Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, and Albert Ayler.
Sharrock first recorded in the 1960s on sessions with Herbie Mann and contributed guitar to albums associated with the avant-garde wing of ESP-Disk and BYG Actuel artists. He appeared on recordings alongside Pharoah Sanders, and his name became linked with the free jazz movement centered in New York City and on European tours through Paris and Berlin. In the 1970s he recorded the landmark album featuring extended electric guitar improvisations and later formed the power trio Last Exit in the mid-1980s with Peter Brötzmann, Bill Laswell, and Ronald Shannon Jackson’s alumni, touring with groups that bridged jazz and punk scenes such as those frequented by Henry Rollins and labels like SST Records. Sharrock’s later career included releases on Enemy Records and Japanese label DIW and collaborations with downtown figures at venues like The Knitting Factory.
Sharrock’s playing blended the attack of Jimi Hendrix and the phrasing of free improvisers like Albert Ayler and Pharoah Sanders, while drawing on blues figures such as Howlin' Wolf and B.B. King. Critics compared his single-note scream techniques and chordal textures to electric rock pioneers such as Jeff Beck and experimentalists like Eddie Hazel. He used feedback, extended techniques, and at times unconventional tunings to produce timbres nearer to noise rock and industrial music than to traditional jazz guitar, aligning him with artists who performed at festivals like the Monterey Jazz Festival and European avant-garde events in Leeds and Rotterdam.
Sharrock’s discography includes appearances with Pharoah Sanders and recording credits on sessions led by Bill Laswell, Peter Brötzmann, and Don Cherry. His solo albums such as those released on ESP-Disk and SST Records—and collaborative projects with ensembles including Last Exit—are frequently cited by musicians across scenes that include noise rock bands and avant-garde jazz collectives. Key recordings involved studio dates in Tokyo and Amsterdam, tours with European improvisers associated with festivals in Montreal and Glasgow, and sessions for producers linked to Impulse! Records and BYG Actuel producers. Guest appearances and live documents include work with vocalists and instrumentalists from New York City’s downtown community and international avant-garde figures who recorded for DIW and Enemy Records.
Sharrock’s later years saw involvement in multimedia collaborations that connected his music to filmmakers, video artists, and performance spaces in SoHo and Lower Manhattan. He contributed to soundtracks and experimental film projects screened at venues such as Anthology Film Archives and festivals in Cannes-adjacent programs and independent showcases in Tokyo and London. Performances at venues like The Knitting Factory and international festivals documented his late-career resurgence, including European tours that paired him with younger improvisers from the Berlin and Oslo scenes.
Sharrock lived in New York City and maintained ties to musicians across the American and European avant-garde until his death in 1994. His legacy is preserved through reissues on labels such as DIW and SST Records, tribute performances by ensembles at venues like Le Poisson Rouge and academic study at institutions including The New School and Bard College. Guitarists and experimental musicians credit his approach as formative for scenes in Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles, and internationally among Tokyo and European improvisers; his influence is cited in writings about free jazz, noise rock, and the downtown New York avant-garde. Category:American jazz guitarists