Sandy Bull

Prior to the period when Ry Cooder, Leo Kottke, Richard Thompson, and others began captivating audiences through their genre-shifting skills, Sandy Bull moved fluidly among classical and jazz, ethnic music, and rock & roll, exhibiting both elegance and energy. On his initial pair of albums, renowned jazz drummer Billy Higgins provided accompaniment while Bull crafted some of the earliest extended instrumental guitar compositions that wove together folk, jazz, and Indian and Arabic-influenced dronish modes. Though not "rock" by any stretch of the imagination, these pieces clearly foreshadowed the direction later taken by rock musicians who started weaving eclectic and Middle Eastern sensibilities into their work. Following his debut, Bull broadened his instrumental range beyond the acoustic guitar and banjo to encompass oud, bass, and electric guitar. Subsequent to his second album, however, his output grew less cohesive and less compelling. During the 1970s he withdrew entirely from music because of drug problems, yet resumed recording in the late '80s. On April 11, 2001, Sandy Bull succumbed to lung cancer at his residence just outside of Nashville.