Galt MacDermot
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Galt MacDermot (born December 18, 1928 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian pianist, composer and writer of musical theatre. Educated at Upper Canada College and Bishop's University (Sherbrooke, QC) he was trained in music in South Africa and made a study of African music his specialty, although he is best known as co-author of the groundbreaking 1960s rock musical Hair, which ran for nearly 2000 performances in both London and New York, won a Grammy Award in 1969, and was made into a film in 1979.
MacDermot is also popular amongst collectors of jazz, funk and film soundtracks, for the scores he created to minor productions such as Woman is Sweeter and Rhinoceros. Working with high-calibre jazz musicians such as Bernard Purdie, Jimmy Lewis and Idris Muhammad, Macdermot created tight, rhythmical soundtrack pieces which effectively prefigured the funk material of James Brown. Consequently, MacDermot's work from this period has been sampled by hip-hop musicians including Busta Rhymes (who borrowed "Space" for "Woo hah! Got you all in check!") and Handsome Boy Modelling School (who sampled "Coffee Cold"). Also, on August 8th, 2006, Oh No released an album made entirely of Galt MacDermot samples on Stones Throw Records entitled Exodus into Unheard Rhythms.
[edit] Shows
- My Fur Lady (1957)
- Hair (1967)
- Isabel's a Jezebel (1970)
- Two Gentlemen of Verona (1972)
- Dude (1973)
- Via Galactica (1973)
- The Human Comedy (1984)
[edit] Partial discography
- Hair
- Hair Pieces - on Verve Forecast (1967)
- Corporation
- Shapes of Rhythm/Woman is Sweeter
- Up From the Basement Volumes 1 & 2
- Purdie as a Picture
[edit] External links
- Galt MacDermot's website (biography)
- Galt MacDermot at the Internet Movie Database
- Galt MacDermot at the Internet Broadway Database
- Galt MacDermot Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | MacDermot, Galt |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Canadian pianist and composer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 18, 1928 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Montreal, Quebec |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
