Biography
Heavily shaped by the exploratory spirit of free jazz pioneers such as Ornette Coleman, Albert Ayler, and Archie Shepp, among others, the Gold Sparkle Band—commonly abbreviated as GSB—has operated as an acoustic avant-garde jazz quartet since its inception in 1994. The ensemble has frequently adopted the same piano-less configuration of alto saxophone, trumpet, bass, and drums that defined Coleman’s groundbreaking group from the late 1950s and early 1960s, a lineup that featured Don Cherry on trumpet, Charlie Haden on acoustic bass, and either Billy Higgins or Ed Blackwell behind the drums. GSB came together in Atlanta, Georgia, that same year when trumpeter Roger Ruzow aligned with alto saxophonist and clarinetist Charles Waters plus drummer Andrew Barker, the latter deeply affected by Blackwell’s approach. Bass duties have shifted across the group’s history, with Chris Riggenbach handling the instrument in 1997 and Adam Roberts taking the role in the early 2000s.
Waters and Ruzow already shared a close connection when the original members convened in 1994; they had been roommates and had first crossed paths in the music department at Appalachian State University in North Carolina before relocating to Atlanta. Throughout the 1990s the majority of the band’s recordings appeared on its own Nu Records imprint, among them the debut releases Downsizing and 23, both issued in 1998. In 1997 the musicians tracked Hallelujah! for the Third Eye label, although the project was issued under the name Nuzion Big Band and highlighted an expanded version of the GSB personnel. Beginning in 1999 the quartet began working with Squealer Music, a modest Virginia-based company that brought out the 1999 session Nu*Soul Zodiac in 2000 and, two years later, released Fugues and Flowers, a set drawn from live dates on the 2000 tour.
Waters and Ruzow already shared a close connection when the original members convened in 1994; they had been roommates and had first crossed paths in the music department at Appalachian State University in North Carolina before relocating to Atlanta. Throughout the 1990s the majority of the band’s recordings appeared on its own Nu Records imprint, among them the debut releases Downsizing and 23, both issued in 1998. In 1997 the musicians tracked Hallelujah! for the Third Eye label, although the project was issued under the name Nuzion Big Band and highlighted an expanded version of the GSB personnel. Beginning in 1999 the quartet began working with Squealer Music, a modest Virginia-based company that brought out the 1999 session Nu*Soul Zodiac in 2000 and, two years later, released Fugues and Flowers, a set drawn from live dates on the 2000 tour.
Albums