Spaceman Patterson

{{Short description|American guitarist and producer (born 1954)}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Spaceman Patterson

| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist

| alias = William "Billy" Patterson

| birth_date = August 18, 1954

| birth_place = New Brunswick, New Jersey

| origin = New York City

| genre = {{flatlist|

}}

| instrument = Guitar

| years_active = 1976–present

| website = https://www.spacemanpatterson.space

}}

William "Spaceman" Patterson is a guitarist and producer, who has collaborated with Miles Davis, James Brown and Frank Ocean.{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/1297-who-the-hell-is-spaceman-a-cosmic-convo-with-frank-oceans-mystery-guitarist/|title=Who the Hell Is Spaceman? A Cosmic Convo with Frank Ocean's Mystery Guitarist |website=Pitchfork |date=20 September 2016 |access-date=2018-11-11}}{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/68405-frank-ocean-has-hours-of-unreleased-blonde-and-endless-recordings/|title=Frank Ocean Has Hours of Unreleased Blonde and Endless Recordings |website=Pitchfork |date=20 September 2016 |access-date=2018-11-11}}{{cite news|title=Billy "Spaceman" Patterson|url=http://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/billyspacemanpatterson|access-date=August 3, 2014}}

History

File:Melvin Van Peebles with Laxative at the Zebulon, June 2011.png]]

Spaceman Patterson was one of the musicians in Miles Davis' touring line-up in the 1980s.{{cite book|last1=Mandel|first1=Howard|title=Miles, Ornette, Cecil: Jazz Beyond Jazz|date=2007|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0415967143|page=304|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UNeTAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA97|access-date=3 August 2014}}{{cite book|last1=Willis|first1=John|last2=Hodges|first2=Ben|title=Theatre World 2002-2003|date=2005|publisher=Applause Theatre & Cinema Books|isbn=978-1557836359|page=372|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LjnN7pSkDbgC&pg=PA91|access-date=3 August 2014}} In 1992, Patterson provided music for Ntozake Shange's The Love Space Demands, an adaptation of some of her poetry.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/22/nyregion/theater-poems-on-the-politics-of-seduction.html|title=THEATER; Poems on the Politics of Seduction|last1=Klein|first1=Alvin|date=March 22, 1992 |newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=August 2, 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/theater/fnap/shange.html|title=The Love Space Demands|date=March 29, 1992|access-date=August 2, 2014|publisher=The Kennedy Center}} In 1995, Patterson produced Melvin Van Peebles' 1995 album Ghetto Gothic.{{cite book|last1=Kubernik|first1=Harvey|title=Hollywood Shack Job: Rock Music in Film and on Your Screen|date=2006|publisher=University of New Mexico Press|isbn=978-0826335425|page=415|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wp-Xc4lMnRUC&pg=PA66|access-date=3 August 2014}} In 2003, he was musical director for the play Dream on Monkey Mountain presented at the Harlem School of the Arts.{{cite news|last1=Weber|first1=Bruce|title=THEATER REVIEW; An Old Man Fights for His Kingly Tribal Dream|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/14/theater/theater-review-an-old-man-fights-for-his-kingly-tribal-dream.html|access-date=3 August 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 14, 2003}}

In 2008, Patterson was enlisted to produce a hip hop album for Bill Cosby.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.motherjones.com/riff/2008/04/music-bill-cosby-hip-hop-producer|title=Music: Bill Cosby, Hip-Hop Producer?|last1=Ben|first1=Party|date=16 April 2008|access-date=2 August 2014|magazine=Mother Jones}}{{cite news|url=http://www.thedailynewsonline.com/entertainment/article_b282e766-3eaf-556d-8024-9a9acb5afc8b.html|title=SOUND BITES: Rihanna's CD is decent, but uneven|last1=Fekadu|first1=Mesfin|date=3 December 2009|access-date=2 August 2014|publisher=Associated Press}}{{cite news|last1=Ragogna|first1=Mike|title=State Of Emergency: A Conversation With Bill Cosby and the Cosnarati|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ragogna/emstate-of-emergencyem-a_b_507825.html|access-date=2 August 2014|newspaper=Huffington Post|date=22 March 2010}}{{cite news|last1=Allah|first1=Dasun|title=The Man Holding The Mirror: Why Hip-Hop Needs To Listen To Bill Cosby [Video]|publisher=HipHopWired|date=20 May 2010}} Known at that time for his comedic work and not for performing hip hop, Cosby's album came as a surprise to some. Patterson told the Associated Press that when Cosby contacted him about making the album, "people started speculating, is he going to rap about Jell-O Pudding Pops or what?"{{cite news|title=Bill Cosby to Release Hip-Hop Album|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/bill-cosby-to-release-hip-hop-album/|access-date=2 August 2014|newspaper=Fox News|date=15 April 2008}} The resulting release, titled The Cosnarati: State Of Emergency, came out on November 14, 2009, on World Alert Music.

In 2016, Spaceman Patterson played guitar on multiple Frank Ocean recordings, including the albums Endless and Blonde. As of 2018, at least 20 hours of outtakes from Patterson's Frank Ocean sessions have not been released.{{Cite news|url=https://www.thefader.com/2016/09/20/frank-ocean-guitarist-spaceman-unreleased-music|title=Frank Ocean Guitarist Spaceman Says The Singer Has A Lot Of Unreleased Music|work=The FADER|access-date=2018-11-11}}

Discography

Per each album's liner notes.{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/william-spaceman-patterson-mn0002356778|title=William "Spaceman" Patterson {{!}} Credits |website=AllMusic|access-date=2018-11-11}}