Tributes are pouring in for soul legend Terry Callier, who has has been found dead at his home in Chicago.
Terry Callier's youth and early career bare all the hallmarks of a soul lineage. Singing in church, the young artist formed a doo wop group before managing to gain an audition with locally based R&B powerhouse Chess Records.
Soon, though, the singer began absorbing other influences. Singing in the city's coffee houses, Terry Callier also began soaking up elements of jazz – in particular, the spiritual tones of John Coltrane's 1964 classic 'A Love Supreme'.
The results were staggering. Little heard in their own time, the songs on 'The New Folk Sound Of Terry Callier' remain superb, thrilling, forward thinking documents. Put simply: if Michael Kiwanuka doesn't have this in his collection then we'd be surprised.
The Acid Jazz era gave Terry Callier's career a new lease of life, with DJs playing his songs to a fresh audience. Returning to the limelight, the singer was able to complete a number of new projects including 2003's remix album 'Total Recall'.
News broke over the weekend of Terry Callier's death, with Stereogum reporting that the singer was found dead at his Chicago home. A Northern Soul classic, here's 'Ordinary Joe'.
