Violinist (born in Mobile Alabama on September 20, 1947), best known for his time in the String Trio of New York, is an original member of Kahil El'Zabar's Ritual Trio. After studying classical violin as a child, and giving up the instrument, Bang returned from Vietnam, and began studying with free violinist Leroy Jenkins. As a result, he can conjure up a wide range of styles from elegant swing to the grittiest gut-scrapings... Says Chicago Reader critic Monica Kendrick, "It doesn't matter where you first hear violinist Billy Bang's tone -- for me it was a Marilyn Crispell record -- it'll never quite leave you."
During his fairly long career, Bang has played with a large number of music notables, including Roy Campbell, William Parker, Andrew Cyrille, and Sun Ra. You can hear him on the Ritual Trio's Another Kind of Groove (1987, Sound Aspects), and on a recording -- disastrous as it may be -- A Tribute to Stuff Smith (Soul Note) recorded with pianist Sun Ra just before the bandleader's death.
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