Annette Peacock -

Annette Peacock (born 1941) is an American avant-garde jazz vocalist and composer from Brooklyn who first emerged in the mid-1960s as a writer for pianist Paul Bley, her then-husband. His 1968 album Mr. Joy features her title-sake composition that was subsequently covered by Swedish vocalist Karin Krog and English jazz-rockers Affinity.

As a performer, Peacock headlined two albums with Bley in 1971/72 and issued her solo debut, I’m the One, on RCA Victor in 1972. During the ensuing five-year period, her songs were covered by Al Kooper, Mick Ronson, and Jaco Pastorius. In 1978, she appeared on the album Feels Good to Me by jazz-rock supergroup Bruford. That same year, she issued her second solo album, X-Dreams, on Aura with backing by Ray Warleigh, Bill Bruford, Jim Mullen, and the band Mirage. After a second Aura release in 1979, she issued four albums on self-press Ironic Records between 1982 and 1988.

Background

Annette Peacock was born during 1941 in Brooklyn, New York. Her mother played viola in the San Diego Symphony and Philadelphia Philharmonic orchestras. Peacock wrote music by age four and grew up in California. She remained largely self-taught before early-Seventies study at Juilliard School.

At nineteen, Peacock married bassist Gary Peacock and entered the New York free-jazz circle. During the early Sixties, she studied Zen Macrobiotics with Michio Kushi and spent time at Millbrook with Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert. Peacock toured Europe with saxophonist Albert Ayler during the Gary Peacock marriage. After the marriage ended, she partnered with pianist Paul Bley.

Bley recorded Peacock’s “Cartoon” during December 1965 trio sessions for Closer. Subsequent Bley albums drew on her pieces “Both,” “Albert’s Love Theme,” “Touching,” “Blood,” “El Cordobes,” “Kid Dynamite,” and “Nothing Ever Was, Anyway.” Limelight issued Bley’s Mr. Joy during 1968 with six Peacock compositions. The title composition reveals joy in a male-anatomy toy and turns an emotional state into a named figure.

Robert Moog gave Peacock an early modular synthesizer during the late Sixties. Peacock routed her voice through the instrument and placed electronic vocal treatment inside the Bley-Peacock Synthesizer Show. The group appeared at Town Hall in November 1969 and Philharmonic Hall in December 1969 after Peacock promoted the concerts through late-night television and a Johnny Carson appearance. By the RCA sessions, Peacock had a recorded songbook and a concert-tested electronics practice. RCA then placed those materials inside her solo-album entry.

Revenge: The Bigger the Love, the Greater the Hate

The Bley-Peacock Synthesizer Show released Revenge: The Bigger the Love, the Greater the Hate during 1971 on Polydor.

The album collects eight Peacock compositions from the late-Sixties Synthesizer Show period. Peacock sings and plays electric vibes beside Paul Bley, whose synthesizer and electric-piano parts appear on the second side. The ensemble includes pianist Michael Garson and guitarist Tom Cosgrove. Reed players Perry Robinson and Mark Whitecage appear beside bassists Gary Peacock, Glen Moore, Stu Woods, and Richard Youngstein, plus drummers Barry Altschul, Laurence Cook, Rick Marotta, and Steve Haas.

“A Loss of Consciousness” smolders over a vamping piano figure while processed high singing bends into the Moog part. “I Belong to a World That’s Destroying Itself” intones environmental alarm over sour organ swells and B-3 stomp. “I’m the One” pares the later song to upright piano and reverbed singing. “Mr. Joy” bumps along on Rhodes motion while Moog figures curl around Peacock’s phrase. “Dreams” murmurs poem-speech through a suspended nocturnal drift.

A1. “A Loss of Consciousness” (6:42)
A2. “The Cynic” (3:35)
A3. “I Belong to a World That’s Destroying Itself” (4:30)
A4. “Climbing Aspirations” (1:40)
A5. “I’m the One” (4:30)

B1. “Mr. Joy” (7:07)
B2. “Daddy’s Boat (A Baby’s Lullaby)” (7:28)
B3. “Dreams” (4:11)

Concert recording occurred across April 6, June 2, and November 3, 1969, Philharmonic Hall dates in Lincoln Center. Polydor issued the album under the Bley-Peacock Synthesizer Show credit.

Milestone issued The Paul Bley Synthesizer Show during 1971 with seven Peacock compositions from Advantage Studios sessions in New York. Bley recorded the album with bassists Glen Moore, Frank Tusa, and Dick Youngstein, and drummers Steve Haas and Bobby Moses. The same year brought Improvisie, a Rotterdam concert release with Peacock, Bley, and drummer Han Bennink.

Dual Unity

Annette & Paul Bley released the live album Dual Unity during 1972 on Freedom.

The album documents two 1971 European concert sources. Peacock wrote “M.J.” and co-wrote the remaining three pieces with Bley. The Rotterdam pieces pair Peacock and Bley with drummer Han Bennink. The Paris pieces add double bassist Mario Pavone and drummer Laurence Cook.

“M.J.” circles the “Mr. Joy” theme over Peacock’s electric-bass figures and Bennink’s free percussion around early Moog tones. “Gargantuan Encounter” erupts from an in-progress free passage as Bley and Peacock trade unstable electronic figures. “Richter Scale” lurches through saturated synthesizer interference while Pavone’s arco break tears through Cook’s loose time. “Dual Unity” compresses the abrasion into a short Peacock voice piece.

A1. “M.J.” (17:22)
A2. “Gargantuan Encounter” (4:39) – Peacock–Bley

B1. “Richter Scale” (8:08) – Peacock–Bley
B2. “Dual Unity” (3:22) – Peacock–Bley

Concert recording occurred on March 26, 1971, at Club B14 in Rotterdam. A second source tape came from the November 16, 1971, Espace Cardin performance in Paris, with Freedom founder Alan Bates as producer.

I’m the One

Annette Peacock released her solo debut album, I’m the One, in January 1972 on RCA Victor.

I’m the One contains eight Peacock originals and “Love Me Tender,” a Presley–Matson cover. Peacock uses acoustic piano, electric piano, synthesizer, electric vibraphone, and electronic voice treatment across the album.

The personnel pool includes guitarist Tom Cosgrove, bassists Stu Woods and Glen Moore, drummers Rick Marotta and Laurence Cook, keyboardists Paul Bley and Mike Garson, and reed players Mark Whitecage, Michael Moss, and Perry Robinson. Apache Bley adds child piano to “Did You Hear Me Mommy,” while Barry Altschul, Airto Moreira, Dom Um Romão, and Orestes Vilató appear as percussionists.

“I’m the One” jolts through dissonant chords before a two-minute instrumental haze yields to a kit break and Moog-treated singing. “7 Days” lingers in sparse blues-ballad restraint as Peacock paces each phrase over the slow form. “Pony” saunters on an earthy bassline as double-entendre phrasing stretches across rolling rhythm.

“Blood” prowls through a dark rolling pattern while Bley’s electronic counterline bends against Peacock’s delivery. “One Way” rises from a percussion-and-Moog prelude into an organ-led, funereal blues-fanfare. “Love Me Tender” folds the cover into soft intimacy, then hardens it with exhortation. “Gesture Without Plot” shuffles through a guitar figure as Bley’s synth-and-piano replies unsettle the pattern.

A1. “I’m the One” (6:45)
A2. “7 Days” (3:54)
A3. “Pony” (6:15)
A4. “Been & Gone” (2:20)

B1. “Blood” (2:00)
B2. “One Way” (6:12)
B3. “Love Me Tender” (3:45) – Presley–Matson
B4. “Gesture Without Plot” (3:29)
B5. “Did You Hear Me Mommy?” (1:44)

Peacock recorded I’m the One at RCA Studios in New York with RCA staff producer Bob Ringe. The album was recorded live and mostly in single takes, including the synthesized voice parts. Richard Davis materialized and photographed the sleeve image, which renders Peacock’s face as a metallic-toned lithographic portrait.

Al Kooper recorded “Been & Gone” for the 1973 Columbia album Naked Songs. Mick Ronson used “I’m the One” and “7 Days” on the 1974 RCA album Slaughter on 10th Avenue. Paul Bley and Jaco Pastorius recorded “Blood” for the 1974 Improvising Artists album Jaco, followed by Bley’s 1975 version of “Dreams” on Alone, Again.

X-Dreams

Annette Peacock released her second solo studio album, X-Dreams, during 1978 on Aura.

X-Dreams contains six Peacock originals and “Don’t Be Cruel,” a Blackwell–Presley cover. Peacock assembled a twenty-two-player London session pool. The featured credits include saxophonist Ray Warleigh, keyboardist Pete Lemer, guitarists Mick Ronson and Chris Spedding, bassists Jeff Clyne and Kuma Harada, and drummer Bill Bruford. Brother James and Darryl Lee Que add percussion.

“My Mama Never Taught Me How to Cook” lurches through blues-riff give-and-take as Peacock slips from speech to wail across irregular line lengths. “Real & Defined Androgens” coils around an F/F-sharp half-step while Peacock holds a near-spoken line against rising saxophone and piano agitation. “Dear Bela” mourns through a reed choir and old-blues inflection as Peacock turns the vampire image into hurt address.

“This Feel Within” drifts through whisper-speech and sung fragments over shimmery synth and suspended lead sustains. “Too Much in the Skies” sways through a faintly Latin undercurrent as Peacock alternates breath-soft tones with deeper spoken placement. “Don’t Be Cruel” recasts the cover through smoother syncopation, seventh-chord turns, and a late Ronson solo. “Questions” waltzes through a soft phrase arc and recedes into a long-held fade.

A1. “My Mama Never Taught Me How to Cook” (5:31)
A2. “Real & Defined Androgens” (11:01)
A3. “Dear Bela” (3:03)

B1. “This Feel Within” (5:21)
B2. “Too Much in the Skies” (4:55)
B3. “Don’t Be Cruel” (4:36) – Blackwell–Presley
B4. “Questions” (2:54)

Peacock recorded X-Dreams during 1975 at Essex Studios in London. John MacKenzie Burns engineered the album during a late-Seventies run that also included X-Ray Spex (Germfree Adolescents). Milton Glaser designed the sleeve around a Bob Carlos Clarke portrait that frames Peacock at close range beneath white serif lettering and a red divider dot.

Aura issued “Don’t Be Cruel” (b/w “Dear Bela”) as a June 1978 single.

During 1978, Bill Bruford featured Peacock on Feels Good to Me. She sings her composition “Adios A La Pasada (Goodbye to the Past)” inside the Bruford album’s electric band setting with Allan Holdsworth.

The Perfect Release

Annette Peacock released her third solo studio album, The Perfect Release, during 1979 on Aura.

The Perfect Release contains seven Peacock originals with a compact London band. The lineup features guitarist Robert Ahwai, keyboardist Max Middleton, bassist John McKenzie, drummer Richard Bailey, percussionist Darryl Lee Que, and steel-drum player Lennox Langton.

“Love’s Out to Lunch” darts through steel-pan accents as bent-synth lines narrow the space around Peacock’s phrase. “American Sport” bites into blues phrasing as Peacock targets the profit line with dry spoken emphasis. “A Loss of Consciousness” swings through island syncopation and pitch-bent electronics. “Rubber Hunger” lilts through breath-soft phrasing and major-to-diminished seventh changes.

“The Succubus” slides over a spoken monologue, leaving Peacock’s phrase suspended above the backing figure. “Survival” sprawls through beat-poem speech while Ahwai’s guitar and Middleton’s keyboards trade eights beneath the long declamation. It closes with a brief “Silent Night” quote.

A1. “Love’s Out to Lunch” (2:22)
A2. “Solar Systems” (3:06)
A3. “American Sport” (3:43)
A4. “A Loss of Consciousness” (3:41)
A5. “Rubber Hunger” (4:21)

B1. “The Succubus” (3:48)
B2. “Survival” (14:51)

Peacock recorded The Perfect Release at Konk Studios and Scorpio Sound Studios in London. Chloe Cheese drew the sleeve art, where Peacock reclines across a green sofa under hand-drawn name lettering and a small door sketch.

Aura issued “Love’s Out to Lunch” (b/w “Rubber Hunger”) as a November 1979 single.

Live in Paris

Annette Peacock released the live album Live in Paris during 1981 on Metronome.

Live in Paris documents a January 1981 Bataclan concert in Paris. The set draws from X-Dreams and The Perfect Release, with “Dear Bela,” “This Feel Within,” “Solar Systems,” and “Survival” beside “The Succubus.” The credited band includes guitarist Robert Ahwai, bassist Kuma Harada, and drummer Richard Bailey.

A1. “Dear Bela”
A2. “The Succubus”
A3. “This Feel Within”

B1. “Solar Systems”
B2. “Survival”

Peacock recorded Live in Paris at the Bataclan during January 1981. Metronome issued the album in Germany with executive producer Aaron Sixx.

Ironic issued “Sky-Skating” (b/w “Taking It as It Comes”) as a January 1981 single, ahead of the label’s album-length release program.

Sky-Skating

Annette Peacock released her fourth solo studio album, Sky-Skating, during 1982 on Ironic Records.

Sky-Skating contains twelve Peacock titles composed during the previous decade. Peacock performs voice, acoustic pianos, synthesizers, electric keyboards, drum machines, percussion, and all album artwork. A.R. Fox adds the first voice part to “Sky-Skating.”

“Taking It As It Comes” whispers through sparse keys and close, abstract phrasing. “Sky-Skating” glides on a mechanical dance rhythm while ornate keyboard figures and electronic haze leave a faint jazz trace. “Rap With the Trees” murmurs through machine rhythm and discreet electronics.

“The Outness Queens Travelling Theme” recites and hums over free piano as multiple voice parts chase the phrase. “So Close Is Still Too Far” overlaps Peacock’s line into an echoing self-answer. “Nothing Outside Us” shifts between speech, hums, and sung turns across a free accompaniment. “Warmer Than Gold” moves through quick changes of tone and register. “Pride” sinks into slow, desolate sarcasm.

A1. “Take Your Shoes Off” (1:51)
A2. “Taking It as It Comes” (2:00)
A3. “Sky-Skating” (2:42)
A4. “Rap With the Trees” (4:56)
A5. “Until Untrust Unties” (1:27)
A6. “Trust” (3:25)

B1. “The Outness Queens’ Travelling Theme” (2:16)
B2. “So Close Is Still Too Far” (1:55)
B3. “Nothing Outside Us” (4:56)
B4. “Still Too Far” (1:11)
B5. “Warmer Than Gold” (3:40)
B6. “Pride” (3:27)

Peacock recorded Sky-Skating at Wellington College, Multium Studio, Pathway Studios, Jacobs Studios, and Phoenix Studios, then mixed the album across Multium, Pathway, and Jacobs. The production path matches the self-run Ironic model, where Peacock controlled the album’s recording, label, sleeve, and issue sequence.

Been in the Streets Too Long

Annette Peacock released Been in the Streets Too Long during 1983 on Ironic Records.

Been in the Streets Too Long compiles Peacock recordings from the period between I’m the One and X-Dreams. The program includes early versions of “So Hard, It Hurts!” and new pieces such as “1/2 Broken” and “No Winning, No Losing.” The credited players include electric pianist Robbie Schwimmer, saxophonists Sam Phipps and Evan Parker, guitarist David Terry, guitarists Brian Godding and Chris Spedding, bassist Steve Cook, drummers Bill Bruford and Pete La Roca, and percussionists Sol Nastasi and Roger Turner.

“Been in the Streets Too Long” strips the setting to bare piano and plain, intimate singing. “So Hard, It Hurts!” breaks into vanguard improvisation as Bruford, Godding, Spedding, and Cook surround Peacock’s line with free-band turbulence. “A Song To Separate” returns to the austere piano-and-voice placement.

“Safe Inside the Fantasy” unfurls as a Peacock and Evan Parker duet, with Parker’s line kept unusually lyrical. “Both” wanders through minimal harmonic space while Roger Turner’s percussion answers the phrase. “No Winning, No Losing” straightens into a leaner closing piece.

A1. “Been in the Streets Too Long” (5:35)
A2. “So Hard, It Hurts!” (1967) (12:02)
A3. “So Hard, It Hurts!” (1976) (2:10)
A4. “A Song to Separate” (3:28)

B1. “1/2 Broken” (5:03)
B2. “Safe Inside the Fantasy” (8:07)
B3. “Pillow-Lined Prison” (1:57)
B4. “Both” (3:31)
B5. “No Winning, No Losing” (3:35)

Peacock assembled Been in the Streets Too Long after Steve Lake urged a release that accounted for the unissued material between the RCA and Aura albums. The album draws on live-radio tapes, performance recordings, publisher demos, and Island studio material from New York, Copenhagen, and London.

During the mid-Eighties, Peacock worked in duo with percussionist Roger Turner across Europe and Scandinavia. Their association led directly into I Have No Feelings.

I Have No Feelings

Annette Peacock released her fifth solo studio album, I Have No Feelings, during 1986 on Ironic Records.

I Have No Feelings contains thirteen Peacock titles. Peacock performs voice, keyboards, bass, arrangements, programming, and production. Roger Turner adds percussion and Paiste cymbals, which place the album inside the duo phase of the Ironic sequence.

“Nothing Ever Was, Anyway” twists sparse dissonance around acrobatic singing. “Butterflies” holds an austere, stately line. “I’m Not Perfect” lightens the severe sequence with casual speech-song. “I Have No Feelings” sets a familiar song line against claustrophobic piano harmony. “The Cynic” threads spare dissonance under convoluted phrasing. “The Carousel” settles into serene meditation.

“You’ve Left Me” deepens the album’s austere manner with a slow, severe line. “Sincereless” tightens the minimal accompaniment around a crooked sung path. “This Almost Spring” floats through an enchanted hush. “The Feeling’s Free” loosens into childlike bent-note turns. “A Personal Revolution” turns private address into political sarcasm. “Not Enough” finishes that public address with terse spoken bite.

A1. “Nothing Ever Was, Anyway” (1:53)
A2. “Butterflies” (1:45)
A3. “I’m Not Perfect” (2:34)
A4. “I Have No Feelings” (3:51)
A5. “The Cynic” (3:08)
A6. “The Carousel” (4:45)

B1. “You’ve Left Me” (2:07)
B2. “Sincereless” (2:28)
B3. “Freefall” (0:57)
B4. “This Almost Spring” (2:08)
B5. “The Feeling’s Free” (3:54)
B6. “A Personal Revolution” (2:11)
B7. “Not Enough” (2:03)

Peacock recorded I Have No Feelings at Eel Pie Studios in London after Pete Townshend offered studio time. Alfreda Benge painted the sleeve portrait, where Peacock appears under a wide-brimmed hat against a blue field of stylized clouds. Benge had a parallel visual record through Robert Wyatt sleeves.

During 1987, Andrew Poppy featured Peacock’s voice on “Goodbye Mr. G.” from the ZTT album 45 Is.

Abstract-Contact

Annette Peacock released her sixth solo studio album, Abstract-Contact, during 1988 on Ironic Records.

Abstract-Contact contains ten Peacock titles on the original LP. Peacock performs voice and keyboards with bassist Ed “Slam” Poole and drummer Simon “Diamond” Price. The trio format closes the Ironic studio sequence after one-person and duo-format albums.

“Lost In Your Speed” floats a melisma over limping syncopation. “Elect Yourself” rides a hard riff while Peacock declaims across sex, power, government, and religion. “We Are Adnate” extends the dance-rhythm drive until fragile electronics and a thin piano phrase enter the final stretch. “Disparate X’s” softens the trio setting into solemn contralto phrasing. “Happy With My Hand” bounces through blunt self-directed text with a rougher small-group edge. “Down In Blue” turns back toward loose piano-led phrasing.

A1. “Abstract-Contact” (0:12)
A2. “Lost in Your Speed” (5:35)
A3. “Elect Yourself” (13:34)
A4. “Memory Is:” (0:56)

B1. “Living Is A” (0:30)
B2. “We Are Adnate” (7:21)
B3. “Disparate X’s” (5:01)
B4. “If Time Weren’t” (1:11)
B5. “Happy With My Hand” (4:47)
B6. “Down in Blue” (3:05)

Peacock recorded Abstract-Contact at Temple Music Studios with Poole and Price. The Ironic sleeve combines a black-and-white reclining portrait with sketch-border artwork by Peacock and Avalon Belshaw.

Discography: