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Bruce Ackley Biography

bruce-ackley
  • Born: in Detroit, MI
  • Years Active: 1970s-1990s
  • Member of: Rova Special Sextet
  • Genre: Jazz

Born in 1948 in Detroit, MI, saxophonist Bruce Ackley has recorded with a variety of creative musical experimenters such as Henry Kaiser, Eugene Chadbourne, and John Zorn. Ackley first studied architecture and fine arts (1966-1969) before changing his focus to music. He began playing, and formed his first trio by the end of 1970. Ackley then moved to San Francisco, where he was a jazz and new music disc jockey on community radio (KPOO) from 1973-1975. Also around this time, he helped begin an alternative art space called the Blue Dolphin, and became active in an improvising wind trio, Sound Clinic. He is a founding member of Rova, a collectively improvising saxophone quartet that has pushed boundaries since its 1977 inception. Rova has released over 20 of their own albums and appeared on many others. Ackley released his first album as a leader with Joey Baron and Greg Cohen on Zorn's Avant label in 1998. By the close of the '90s, Ackley was still active in Rova and led the jazz trio Actual Size. ~ Joslyn Layne, Rovi

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