Annette Peacock

Peacock unfairly remains an oft-unsung figure, flirting with the jazz, rock, and experimental music countercultures of the late 1960s and 70s but never truly embracing any of them wholeheartedly.

A self-taught composer, vocalist, and pianist, she would splice and adapt key strands of each genre's DNA sequence in order to create a raw hybrid that fused the chaos of free jazz with the control of a funk groove while allowing a bit of rock swagger to splash across the top, tapping into the primal emotive powers of each simultaneously. Over the years, her career has seen collaborations with noted jazz musicians including saxophonist Albert Ayler, bassist Gary Peacock (her first husband), pianist Paul Bley (her second), and percussionists Airto Moriera and Han Bennink, among others. She’s whispered sensually and wailed ferociously to backing by rock stalwarts like guitarists Mick Ronson, Brian Godding, and Chris Spedding as well as Yes/King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford, using a combination of sung and spoken deliveries that predated popular rap styles by more than ten years.