Joe Chambers

A celebrated jazz drummer, Joe Chambers is also a composer and commanding multi-instrumentalist who plays vibraphone, marimba, and piano. Chambers was a <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Blue+Note%22">Blue Note</a> house drummer during the 1960s, playing on dozens of the decade's most progressive albums, including <a href="spotify:artist:3uO6HG2JwyP744sg4PMmg5">Bobby Hutcherson</a>'s first ten albums. Further, most of the records he played on included his tunes. He joined <a href="spotify:artist:6jrlNnS5B830kpi40j3S6g">Max Roach</a>'s <a href="spotify:artist:5hhwHehj92aym9pTw2EoWM">M'Boom</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1W8TbFzNS15VwsempfY12H">Charles Mingus</a> in the early seventies. Chambers' acclaimed leader debut, The Almoravid, appeared in 1974. In 1978, he released Double Exposure in duo with organist <a href="spotify:artist:6Y6kAZs0W9NNsxNbpImPvq">Larry Young</a>. He released the quintet outing Phantom of the City in 1992. Chambers made his <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Blue+Note%22">Blue Note</a> debut with 1998's Mirrors before moving over to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Savant%22">Savant</a> and releasing 2002's progressive jazz-funk outing Urban Grooves, The Outlaw in 2006, and 2012's Joe Chambers Moving Pictures Orchestra. He returned to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Blue+Note%22">Blue Note</a> in 2021, leading a trio on Samba de Maracatu and leading a sextet on 2023's Dance Kobina.

Chambers was born in Stoneacre, Virginia but raised primarily in Chester, Pennsylvania. His earliest musical aspirations focused heavily on composing, even while learning to play drums. After high school, he studied composition at the Philadelphia Conservatory and American University in Washington, D.C. His earliest professional gigs were with R&B artist <a href="spotify:artist:6KfBWaX13etjtEZ4d9aTWW">Bobby Lewis</a> when he was 18. While in D.C., he started playing with the <a href="spotify:artist:0PXq6SQcBwXj6H6yiagrGr">JFK Quintet</a>, which also featured saxophonist <a href="spotify:artist:69DRelIsM7NsZVUWesVHT9">Andrew White</a> and bassist <a href="spotify:artist:48MnvAc0rqfEfQ8hYgHIf9">Walter Booker</a>. There, he caught the attention of trumpeter <a href="spotify:artist:0fTHKjepK5HWOrb2rkS5Em">Freddie Hubbard</a>, who urged him to move to New York City.

Chambers relocated in 1963 and earned work with <a href="spotify:artist:1b3F5FI7TX4IWTNA4P1kWp">Hugh Masekela</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6rxxu32JCGDpKKMPHxnSJp">Eric Dolphy</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4RncsrNJ1GDGsFBIxI76L6">Jimmy Giuffre</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:4ORSNkNYSzva169PBZCzvy">Andrew Hill</a>. In 1964, <a href="spotify:artist:0fTHKjepK5HWOrb2rkS5Em">Hubbard</a> hired him for Breaking Point, which was where <a href="spotify:artist:3uO6HG2JwyP744sg4PMmg5">Bobby Hutcherson</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0ZqhrTXYPA9DZR527ZnFdO">Wayne Shorter</a> heard him. Chambers' kit technique showcased a light touch and driving approach that underscored excellent timekeeping and a superb command of dynamics. Unlike other drummers in the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Blue+Note%22">Blue Note</a> stable, he wasn't flashy, but was an eager and generous collaborator. Chambers played on 1965's Dialogue, <a href="spotify:artist:3uO6HG2JwyP744sg4PMmg5">Hutcherson</a>'s leader debut, and contributed two compositions including the title track. That same year, he also appeared on <a href="spotify:artist:7C2DSqaNkh0w77O5Jz1FKh">Archie Shepp</a>'s legendary Fire Music for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Impulse%21%22">Impulse!</a> The drummer worked with both men throughout the decade. Chambers composed the entire second side of <a href="spotify:artist:3uO6HG2JwyP744sg4PMmg5">Hutcherson</a>'s 1966 outing Contours and also played on now-classic albums including <a href="spotify:artist:3BG0nwVh3Gc7cuT4XdsLtt">Joe Henderson</a>'s Mode for Joe and <a href="spotify:artist:0ZqhrTXYPA9DZR527ZnFdO">Wayne Shorter</a>'s All-Seeing Eye and Adam's Apple.

Between 1967 and 1969, Chambers played on seminal <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Blue+Note%22">Blue Note</a> outings that included <a href="spotify:artist:3uO6HG2JwyP744sg4PMmg5">Hutcherson</a>'s Happenings, Oblique, Medina, and Total Eclipse, <a href="spotify:artist:4ORSNkNYSzva169PBZCzvy">Andrew Hill</a>'s Compulsion, <a href="spotify:artist:0DNuWm5ZBKuCIXLNmrzuk5">Sam Rivers</a>' Contours, <a href="spotify:artist:2EsmKkHsXK0WMNGOtIhbxr">McCoy Tyner</a>'s Tender Moments, and <a href="spotify:artist:3ZUZYvTkSr7kJQyAXVpqaL">Donald Byrd</a>'s Fancy Free. He also played on <a href="spotify:artist:5olDKSsFhhmwh8UCWwKtpq">Chick Corea</a>'s leader debut, Tones for Joan's Bones, for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Vortex%22">Vortex</a>/<a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Atlantic%22">Atlantic</a>, several titles by <a href="spotify:artist:7C2DSqaNkh0w77O5Jz1FKh">Shepp</a>, and took part in the rehearsal and recording sessions for <a href="spotify:artist:0kbYTNQb4Pb1rPbbaF0pT4">Miles Davis</a>' In a Silent Way. Interestingly, Chambers was offered his own leader date for the label but was so enthusiastic about the collaborative work he was doing that he turned it down.

In 1970, he played on Now, his final studio outing with <a href="spotify:artist:3uO6HG2JwyP744sg4PMmg5">Hutcherson</a>, though they continued touring together for another year. He joined <a href="spotify:artist:6jrlNnS5B830kpi40j3S6g">Max Roach</a>'s touring and recording percussion workshop ensemble <a href="spotify:artist:5hhwHehj92aym9pTw2EoWM">M'Boom</a> as an original member. Chambers also played on <a href="spotify:artist:162DCkd8aDKwvjBb74Gu8b">Weather Report</a> bassist <a href="spotify:artist:0ztzt6g8n0NBcnwMGwMlxD">Miroslav Vitous</a>' solo outing Infinite Search. The following year, he worked with <a href="spotify:artist:162DCkd8aDKwvjBb74Gu8b">WR</a> keyboardist <a href="spotify:artist:3DkK9XA1CI1i7U7ovpAo1G">Joe Zawinul</a> on his self-titled <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Columbia%22">Columbia</a> debut and returned to <a href="spotify:artist:0ztzt6g8n0NBcnwMGwMlxD">Vitous</a>' group for Mountain in the Clouds. In fact, Chambers played with a great many of jazz's most prominent elder statesmen in the early 1970s, including <a href="spotify:artist:1VEzN9lxvG6KPR3QQGsebR">Sonny Rollins</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1W8TbFzNS15VwsempfY12H">Charles Mingus</a>.

In 1973, Chambers signed to Muse and issued his leader debut, The Almoravid, the following year. He penned four of the set's six tracks and hired an assortment of sidemen playing acoustic and electric instruments, including bassists <a href="spotify:artist:4ubqlM8o4mDUo33CnxRFqM">Cecil McBee</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6Xktfsmu8Tlg3071prbJej">Richard Davis</a>, trumpeter <a href="spotify:artist:0yvEf1tqWWPiZu4ZbjyKGs">Woody Shaw</a>, conguero <a href="spotify:artist:2RoFymB5k9pWkAtFIaMl7I">Ray Mantilla</a>, and pianist <a href="spotify:artist:7DCTgrI6aDK3nBRZm5RUKT">Cedar Walton</a>. The Almoravid won respectable reviews (and has since become a jazz classic) and allowed Chambers to tour outside the country with his own groups. He brought <a href="spotify:artist:2RoFymB5k9pWkAtFIaMl7I">Mantilla</a> back for 1976's octet outing New World. That same year, he worked with <a href="spotify:artist:3DkK9XA1CI1i7U7ovpAo1G">Zawinul</a> again on Concerto Retitled. In 1978, he cut the historic duo offering Double Exposure with organist <a href="spotify:artist:6Y6kAZs0W9NNsxNbpImPvq">Larry Young</a>. The end the decade saw Chambers quite busy working with <a href="spotify:artist:5hhwHehj92aym9pTw2EoWM">M'Boom</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7C2DSqaNkh0w77O5Jz1FKh">Shepp</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2RoFymB5k9pWkAtFIaMl7I">Mantilla</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4YNvbaOaqp5pzC5US5t48k">Lee Konitz</a>, and others. In 1979, he released Chamber Music for the Japanese <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Baystate%22">Baystate</a> label. With pianist <a href="spotify:artist:6dUZplQfg5blo0h9HiJ94d">Tommy Flanagan</a> and bassist <a href="spotify:artist:3mBoT9nTZ12JQPfrOrwD3p">Reggie Workman</a>, Chambers formed the touring and recording group Super Jazz Trio and issued three albums for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Baystate%22">Baystate</a> between 1978 and 1980. In 1979, he released his bracing solo piano debut, Punjab, for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Denon+Records%22">Denon Records</a>.

In 1981, Chambers released the gorgeous New York Concerto, assisted by bassist <a href="spotify:artist:6HBVTGmPHytchERPb8YGPr">Eddie Gomez</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2RoFymB5k9pWkAtFIaMl7I">Mantilla</a>, saxophonist <a href="spotify:artist:5cBKYADHFTngJVZG8qCFTY">Sonny Fortune</a>, pianist <a href="spotify:artist:3LvX4UVIfEjsQVqrbBToQ3">Kenny Barron</a>, and guitarist <a href="spotify:artist:0qwadVRlSR2YrwuzL7veTU">Yoshiaki Masuo</a>. In February 1982, <a href="spotify:artist:3rxeQlsv0Sc2nyYaZ5W71T">Chet Baker</a>, Chambers, <a href="spotify:artist:0pSoLnWrkv4lvm0CBl526G">Buster Williams</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:4lgtxmgr3T7wS56YRuDmrY">David Friedman</a> recorded Peace, the trumpeter's last truly great outing. Over the next several years, Chambers recorded and toured with <a href="spotify:artist:2vT4xpcRUnhG8CHAt2YOJO">Steve Grossman</a>, played in <a href="spotify:artist:5X5Sa8Ls8vxO7OLJAXzdCP">Ray Mantilla's Space Station</a> for Hands of Fire, <a href="spotify:artist:5hhwHehj92aym9pTw2EoWM">M'Boom</a> on Collage, and with the Super Jazz Trio. In 1986, he played on Bill Lee's score for his son Spike Lee's debut feature film, She's Gotta Have It. Further, he joined <a href="spotify:artist:00SOiqZ0YGY2JhjSPxZMZg">David Murray</a>'s trio for The Hill.

Chambers began a lengthy career as an educator in 1990. First, he taught at the New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City. In 1992, he appeared on <a href="spotify:artist:6jrlNnS5B830kpi40j3S6g">Roach</a>'s To the Max!, which showcased new tunes from <a href="spotify:artist:5hhwHehj92aym9pTw2EoWM">M'Boom</a>, his orchestra, and smaller ensembles. As an instructor as well as an artist, Chambers sought out new settings to experiment in. He played with flutist <a href="spotify:artist:0ffBb2SCAQzfwrs1PoYSiW">Jeremy Steig</a> on Jigsaw, with saxophonist <a href="spotify:artist:1Hf3HEGQwOXbSewPAJEW4D">Rickey Woodard</a> on The Tokyo Express, and with <a href="spotify:artist:4o6o1IupUWY3IWmoBIfIwT">the Jazz Tribe</a>, a collective composed of saxophonists <a href="spotify:artist:2vT4xpcRUnhG8CHAt2YOJO">Grossman</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:13uMuAAeBobEw1i4wRQ7HQ">Bobby Watson</a>, bassist <a href="spotify:artist:19CDHEKuNmsiY9VFfdFfgB">Charles Fambrough</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2RoFymB5k9pWkAtFIaMl7I">Mantilla</a>, pianist <a href="spotify:artist:3QKktX309XIKJEYkoLJ3TB">Walter Bishop Jr.</a>, and trumpeter <a href="spotify:artist:2kpf8XAAeTMMrEWjSxNpnx">Jack Walrath</a>. They released a lone, self-titled album for Italy's <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Red+Records%22">Red Records</a>. Chambers returned to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Blue+Note%22">Blue Note</a> to appear on <a href="spotify:artist:6cnrqEXNTOdahJ83kLCX1I">Bob Belden</a>'s Puccini's Turandot, playing drums, vibes, marimba, and chimes. The other drummers in the large all-star ensemble included <a href="spotify:artist:4VIPZJwfn4EGbJxYVHJ0WX">Paul Motian</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1TW90GjShgkjySrxBxcwQe">Tony Williams</a>. That same year, Chambers' drums were sampled on rapper <a href="spotify:artist:20qISvAhX20dpIbOOzGK3q">Nas</a>' global breakout hit "N.Y. State of Mind."

In 1995, Chambers issued Isla Verde for Japan's <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Paddle+Wheel%22">Paddle Wheel</a> label, leading a trio with bassist <a href="spotify:artist:6HBVTGmPHytchERPb8YGPr">Gomez</a> and pianist Ronnie Matthews. In 1998, Chambers released Mirrors, his <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Blue+Note%22">Blue Note</a> leader debut, more than 30 years after the label's initial offer. Produced by Brian Bacchus, the set featured seven original compositions and two covers played by a quintet that included trumpeter <a href="spotify:artist:4LMsUGCTzMsLYcL90zb8sF">Eddie Henderson</a>, saxophonist <a href="spotify:artist:4vDfWi1S8RneRAgCPOIThL">Vincent Herring</a>, bassist Ira Coleman, and pianist <a href="spotify:artist:6Zq5ky484xYTgxE6dQ8yHh">Mulgrew Miller</a>. Mirrors made the jazz charts.

The 21st century began with Chambers moving to teach at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. He continued to play and record. In 2002, he issued Urban Grooves for New York's tiny indie <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22441+Records%22">441 Records</a>. The set offered a funky, Afro-Latin futurist approach to jazz standards, played by a quintet that included saxophonist <a href="spotify:artist:5ArqvMflDEhxdqW8sBBQUQ">Gary Bartz</a>, bassist <a href="spotify:artist:7mcseJPsc7KCQrITzrOrWg">Rufus Reid</a>, drummer/percussionist <a href="spotify:artist:6U28NQEcAzzjAaXyNUCpVF">Bobby Sanabria</a>, and pianist/keyboardist <a href="spotify:artist:6aIBBSprVv4xXTT6vzONXU">Eric Reed</a>.

In 2006, Chambers worked with <a href="spotify:artist:6cnrqEXNTOdahJ83kLCX1I">Belden</a> again on Three Days of Rain, a varied outing that featured tenorist <a href="spotify:artist:36YE6h8aN09ZKG4EhneDSf">Joe Lovano</a>, guitarist <a href="spotify:artist:76tm2V8rEDL7XDbvvykepR">Ronnie Jordan</a>, and pianists <a href="spotify:artist:7g3iwvP459BN53F7CDxemI">Jason Moran</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0msRQHdakME2qVJ7dx76eA">Marc Copland</a>. Later that year, Chambers released Outlaw, his debut for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Savant%22">Savant</a>. The set was comprised of three original compositions, standards, and tunes by <a href="spotify:artist:4F7Q5NV6h5TSwCainz8S5A">Duke Ellington</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2fMvylhnE23sAlyePKK8er">Kenny Dorham</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5ZATfKurLqflrBhv2FLht5">Horace Silver</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:08t8fsEfRI7HSt2MlW2OTX">Stanley Cowell</a>. In addition to Chambers arranging an impeccably articulated session and playing no less than six instruments, the album was notable for hosting the second recorded appearance by saxophonist, composer, and future bandleader <a href="spotify:artist:0SPbho0MYZZGtCWNLr4SPV">Logan Richardson</a>. Also in 2008, Chambers was selected as the first Thomas S. Kenan Distinguished Professor of Jazz at University of North Carolina.

In 2010, Chambers paid tribute to <a href="spotify:artist:5ZATfKurLqflrBhv2FLht5">Silver</a> with the nine-track Horace to Max for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Savant%22">Savant</a>. He led a quintet executing a program of the pianist's compositions that featured bassist <a href="spotify:artist:6bc7L0muoQvrJmrehvygRT">Dwayne Burno</a>, saxophonist <a href="spotify:artist:4obfH4xleG9EzLN4NTNEfu">Eric Alexander</a>, pianist <a href="spotify:artist:2LiJegzrWFHatDw2kFLsc7">Xavier Davis</a> (<a href="spotify:artist:0OStvzVRU3mUgqWrzWXYfe">Helen Sung</a> guested on one track), and drummer/percussionist Steve Berrios. The set charted, and Chambers took his band on a tour of jazz festivals across the United States, Europe, and Japan. Two years later, he retired from teaching and released Joe Chambers Moving Pictures Orchestra. The set featured Chambers arranging for, playing in, and conducting a 17-piece big band performing an original, long-form, four-movement composition commissioned by Jazz at Lincoln Center; it was recorded live at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola. In 2016, he returned to a more conventional setting on Landscapes, leading a trio with bassist Ira Coleman and pianist <a href="spotify:artist:4Icwo2dqTLtAzqIK6MIRuh">Rick Germanson</a>.

Chambers returned to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Blue+Note%22">Blue Note</a> to lead 2021's Samba de Maracatu. He played vibes, marimba, drums, and many Brazilian percussion instruments while leading a trio that included bassist Steve Haines and pianist/synthesist Brad Merritt. The nine-track set included original compositions, standards, and pieces by <a href="spotify:artist:0ZqhrTXYPA9DZR527ZnFdO">Shorter</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3uO6HG2JwyP744sg4PMmg5">Hutcherson</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:5ZATfKurLqflrBhv2FLht5">Silver</a>. It also included "New York State of Mind Rain," which joined Chambers and <a href="spotify:artist:6Y6kAZs0W9NNsxNbpImPvq">Larry Young</a>'s 1978 tune "Mind Rain" to <a href="spotify:artist:20qISvAhX20dpIbOOzGK3q">Nas</a>' "N.Y. State of Mind" that had famously sampled it. The rap on it was performed by MC Parrain. February 2023 saw the release of Dance Kobina for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Blue+Note%22">Blue Note</a>. Recorded in New York and Montreal, its title track was composed by pianist and co-producer Andrés Vial. Chambers and also enlisted bassist Coleman, Congolese percussionist Elli Miller Maboungou, alto saxophonist Caoilainn Power, and vibraphonist <a href="spotify:artist:1BbnszxdPMpzsqZywgbvOD">Michael Davidson</a> for the date. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi