Melvin Gibbs


Melvin Gibbs is an American bass guitarist who has appeared on close to 200 albums in diverse genres of music. Among others, Gibbs is known for working in jazz with drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson and guitarist Sonny Sharrock, and in rock music with Rollins Band and Arto Lindsay. He is a member of the band Harriet Tubman, with whom he was included in the New York Times list of best performances of 2017, and Body Meπa, recognized in Bandcamp Daily's best experimental music of 2024.

Career

Melvin Gibbs was born on May 25, 1958. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Gibbs attended Medgar Evers College and the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. He first came to public notice as a member of the group Defunkt, which was a mainstay of the early 1980s downtown New York scene. Throughout the 1980s, he played in drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson's Decoding Society, with guitarist Vernon Reid, and with guitarist Sonny Sharrock and saxophonist John Zorn. With Jackson and guitarist Bill Frisell, Gibbs was a member of the group Power Tools. Gibbs co-led the band Eye and I with D.K. Dyson who also co-founded the Black Rock Coalition of which he is an original member.
Gibbs took on the role of record producer while with the Rollins Band in the 1990s. He worked in that capacity, producing records for other artists on Rage Records.
He was a member of the avant-metal Rollins Band from 1993 to about 1998 and again in 2006 when the group briefly reformed. As a member of the Rollins Band, he performed at Woodstock '94 in 1994 and was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1995. Gibbs has also recorded with hip-hop duo Dead Prez, Brazilian musicians Caetano Veloso and Marisa Monte, Latin jazz musician Eddie Palmieri, Nigerian musician Femi Kuti, and guitarist Marc Ribot. Gibbs has produced albums by turntablist DJ Logic and guitarist Arto Lindsay, who has referred to Gibbs as his "closest collaborator".
Gibbs formed the Punk-Funk All-Stars with James Blood Ulmer, Defunkt leader Joseph Bowie, Vernon Reid and Ronald Shannon Jackson. In 1998, Gibbs, guitarist Brandon Ross, and drummer J.T. Lewis formed the trio Harriet Tubman.
Ancients Speak, the first album by Melvin Gibbs' Elevated Entity, was released on March 17, 2009, by Livewired Music. In 2009, he joined the group SociaLybrium with Bernie Worrell of Parliament-Funkadelic, DeWayne "Blackbyrd" McKnight, and J.T. Lewis. The group's album For You/For Us/For All was released by Livewired in December 2009.
Gibbs' other projects include Melvin Runs the Hoodoo Down with guitarist Pete Cosey and keyboard player John Medeski; the Geechee Seminoles with percussionist David Pleasant; Zig Zag Power Trio with guitarist Vernon Reid and drummer Will Calhoun; God Particle with cosmologist/saxophonist Stephon Alexander, David Pleasant, and other musicians; and Melvin Gibbs Magnum.

Discography

As leader

YearArtistTitleLabel
2009Melvin Gibbs' Elevated EntityAncients SpeakLiveWired
2011Melvin GibbsPhree-dem downloads
2021Melvin Gibbs4 + 1 equals 5 for May 25
2022Melvin GibbsAnamibia Sessions Vol. 1: The WaveEditions Mego

As co-leader

YearArtistTitleLabelPersonnel
1987Power ToolsStrange MeetingAntilles New DirectionsGibbs, Ronald Shannon Jackson, Bill Frisell
1998Harriet TubmanI Am a ManSlaveNo Mo'/Knitting FactoryGibbs, Brandon Ross, J.T. Lewis
2000Harriet TubmanPrototypeAvantGibbs, Ross, Lewis
2004Sharp / Gibbs / CarterRaw MeetIntaktGibbs, Elliott Sharp, Lance Carter
2010SocialybriumFor You – For Us – For AllLiveWiredGibbs, Bernie Worrell, DeWayne McKnight, Lewis
2011Harriet TubmanAscensionSunnysideGibbs, Ross, Lewis
2013Sharp / Gibbs / NiggliCrossing the WatersIntaktGibbs, Sharp,
2017Harriet TubmanAramintaSunnysideGibbs, Ross, Lewis
2018Zig Zag Power TrioWoodstock SessionsWoodstock SessionsGibbs, Vernon Reid, Will Calhoun
2018Harriet TubmanThe Terror End of BeautySunnysideGibbs, Ross, Lewis
2021Body MeπaThe Work Is SlowHausu MountainGibbs, Greg Fox, Sasha Frere-Jones, Grey Mcmurray
2024Body MeπaPrayer in DubHausu MountainGibbs, Fox, Frere-Jones, Mcmurray

Singles

  • 2011: "E-volution" single
  • 2011: Lucent Steps: Ascension Remix single
  • 2013: "Still Dreamin'" single
  • 2020: "Holy Ground: 38th and Chicago – initial thoughts" single
  • 2021: "It's Been a Long Time Coming" single
  • 2021: FlyBoy's Bardo EZ Pass single

As sideman

With Defunkt
  • 1980: Defunkt
  • 1994: Live & Reunified
  • 2005: Defunkt/Thermonuclear Sweat
With Rollins Band
With Jean-Paul Bourelly
  • 1994: Saints & Sinners
  • 1997: Fade to Cacophony: Live
  • 2002: Trance Atlantic
With DJ Logic
  • 1999: Project Logic
  • 2001: The Anomaly
  • 2006: Zen of Logic
With Ronald Shannon Jackson
With Arto Lindsay
  • 1995: Aggregates 1-26
  • 1996: Mundo Civilizado
  • 1996: Subtle Body
  • 1998: Noon Chill
  • 1999: Prize
  • 2000: Ecomixes
  • 2002: Invoke
  • 2004: Salt
  • 2014: Encyclopedia of Arto
  • 2017: Cuidado Madame
With Marisa Monte
  • 1991: Mais
  • 1996: Barulhinho Bom
With Sonny Sharrock
With Moreno Veloso
  • 2001: Music Typewriter
  • 2014: Coisa Boa
With Vitamin C
With John Zorn
With others