Gentle Giant

Gentle Giant
Left to right: Derek Shulman, Ray Shulman, John Weathers, Gary Green and Kerry Minnear, in 1977.
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	Progressive rock, symphonic rock, jazz fusion, experimental rock, folk rock, art rock, avant-garde
Years active	1970–80
Labels	Chrysalis (UK), Vertigo (UK, US), Columbia (US), Capitol (US), One Way, Alucard Music, DRT Entertainment, Major League Productions (MLP)
Associated acts	Simon Dupree and the Big Sound, Man, Three Friends
Website	www.blazemonger.com/GG/
Past members	Gary Green Kerry Minnear Derek Shulman Phil Shulman Ray Shulman Martin Smith Malcolm Mortimore John Weathers

Gentle Giant were a British progressive rock band active between 1970 and 1980. The band was known for the complexity and sophistication of its music and for the varied musical skills of its members. All of the band members, except Malcolm Mortimore, were multi-instrumentalists. Although not commercially successful, they did achieve a cult following.

The band's onetime stated aim was to "expand the frontiers of contemporary popular music at the risk of becoming very unpopular", although this stance was to alter significantly with time.

Gentle Giant's music was considered complex even by progressive rock standards, drawing on a broad swath of music including folk, soul, jazz, and classical music. Unlike many of their progressive rock contemporaries, their "classical" influences ranged beyond the Romantic and incorporated medieval, baroque, and modernist chamber music elements. The band also had a taste for broad themes for their lyrics, drawing inspiration not only from personal experiences but from philosophy and the works of both François Rabelais and R. D. Laing. In 2015 they were recognised with the lifetime achievement award at the Progressive Music Awards.

The core of what was to become Gentle Giant comprised three brothers: Phil Shulman (born 1937), Derek Shulman (born 1947) and Ray Shulman (born 1949). The brothers were of Scottish-Jewish descent. Phil and Derek were born in Glasgow, Scotland, in The Gorbals, which was then a notorious slum. The family moved to Portsmouth, England, where Ray was born. Their father was an army musician turned jazz trumpeter, who continued his musical work in Portsmouth. He encouraged his sons to learn various instruments; and Phil, Derek, and Ray all became multi-instrumentalists. During the early 1960s, Derek and Ray became interested in playing rhythm-and-blues and formed a band together. Phil — originally acting as a manager figure in order to look after his much younger brothers — eventually became a band member himself.