James Chance, pioneer of the New York No Wave scene, has died. He was 71 years old.
According to a GoFundMe Started by his brother, Chance suffered from a “debilitating illness that had been going on for years” and passed away on Tuesday surrounded by his family.
Chance was born in Milwaukee in 1953 and began performing in bands while attending college in Michigan. In the mid-'70s, he moved to New York, where he became involved in the city's free jazz and punk scenes, forming Teenage Jesus and the Jerks with Lydia Lunch in 1976.
Chance only remained in Teenage Jesus for a short period, and in 1977 he founded the jazz-funk-punk group, The Contortions, where he began to expand his signature style. Explaining in later interviews that he wanted to repair the divide between various scenes in New York, he combined his passionate, chaotic saxophone with punk vocals, funky rhythms, and an all-around fervent sound.
The Contortions garnered praise and notably appeared on Brian Eno's celebrated 1978 compilation album, Without New York (which also featured teenage Jesus). They also developed a reputation for their outrageous live shows, which even included violence and confrontation between the band and audience members.
After The Contortions disbanded in 1979, Chance founded James White and the Blacks and appeared in films such as Rosa von Praunheim. Death Magazine: or How to be a planter and the film starring Jean-Michel Basquiat Center 81.
After the early '80s, Chance's output slowed and he even went into semi-retirement for a time. But in the '90s she collaborated with Blondie for their No Exit album, and in the 2000s, he reunited with The Contortions for several live dates.
In more recent years, he performed occasionally in New York and released new material, such as the 2016 album Contortions. The meat is weak. In 2018, she appeared in The last show with Stephen Colbert play saxophone for Franz Ferdinand.
According to the GoFundMe started by his brother, Chance's family is still accepting contributions to cover funeral costs, and a “virtual memorial” for Chance will be announced at a later date.
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