She played piano from an early age but did not
have formal training. Her marriage to bassist Gary Peacock gave
her immediate access to several avant/free jazz greats, the company
of Albert Ayler being particularly influential. Around 1962,
Gary began playing with Paul Bley.  Through his connection
to Bley, he joined Albert Ayler's group in '64, Annette traveling
with them on their European tour. The awakening of a romantic
relationship between Annette and Paul Bley provided the impetus
for her compositions becoming a major part of Paul's repertoire.
With the acquisition of two Moog synthesizers she began her performing
career as a player and a singer in a group with Paul, called
The Synthesizer Show, using her Moog not only as a keyboard
instrument but also to treat her abstract jazz vocalizations.
Use of the synthesizer outside of the studio was unheard of at
this time due to its complexity. After two albums representative
of this period (Improvisie and Dual Unity), a third
was released circa 1970 under the aegis of Bley/Peacock Synthesizer
Show titled Revenge, an album of songs written and sung
by Annette, including the first version of the song "I'm
The One." Her first solo album, I'm the One, released
in 1972 . Her relation to Paul bley now over, she attended Julliard.
Moving to Britain in the mid-'70's, she became a fixture in the
avant jazz and rock circles there, recording many sessions with
such luminaries as Bill Bruford, Chris Spedding, Mick Ronson,
etc. The release of her critically acclaimed 1978 album X-Dreams,
followed the year after by The Perfect Release. Six more
albums followed, the latter four released on her own Ironic Records
label, culminating in 1987's Abstract Contact. an acrobat's
heart from ECM in 2000. |
