Asideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform live with a solo artist, or with a group in which they are not a regular band member.[1] The term is usually used to describe musicians that play with jazz or rock artists, whether solo or a group.[2]
Sidemen and sidewomen are often well-versed in multiple styles of music, and can be hired at any level of the music industry, from playing in acover band to backing up established artists on major tours.[3]
While many artists can work as sidemen orsession musicians, others will only fill one role. The generally accepted difference is that a sideman performs live while a session musician is hired to perform in a recording studio.[4]
Aspiring musicians often start out as sidemen, playing rhythm guitar,comping on keyboards, playing drums in therhythm section, or singing backing vocals for a well-known bandleader or singer.[5] Once sidemen have become experienced with live performance and recording with established artists, some move on to develop their own sound, a recognized name, and fans of their own, or go on to form their own groups, at which point they become bandleaders and recruit their own sidemen and sidewomen.[6]Some examples of this are:
Some sidemen become famous for their musical specialties, and become highly sought-after bypop, rock,blues,jazz andcountry music bands. Examples of some of these include multi-instrumentalists.David Lindley is a multi-instrumentalist who has worked with such diverse musicians asCurtis Mayfield,Dolly Parton,Jackson Browne, andHani Naser.[9]
Waddy Wachtel's guitar licks and experience have placed him as a bandleader while on tour withStevie Nicks, andChuck Leavell, who has toured withThe Allman Brothers Band, but more often, is onstage withThe Rolling Stones on keyboards.[10][11][12]
Often sidemen go on to form their own groups and/or solo careers; for instance,John Lennon,Paul McCartney,George Harrison, andPete Best acted as sidemen toTony Sheridan before becoming famous asThe Beatles, with the addition ofRingo Starr.[13]Jimmy Page left his first attempts working in bands to hone his skills as a session player, where he metJohn Paul Jones; he later recruitedRobert Plant andJohn Bonham to formLed Zeppelin.[14]Bob Dylan's first recorded song was as a harmonica sideman onHarry Belafonte's cover of "Midnight Special".[15][16]
Other musicians may take time from their own bands to tour or record as a sideman for other artists, such as punk bassistMike Watt withJ Mascis and the Fog orIggy and the Stooges.[17]
