Mike Fonfara
| Michael Fonfara | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 11, 1946 Stevensville, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Rock, Blues, Canadian blues |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, Pianist |
| Instruments | Keyboards, Piano |
| Years active | 1963–present |
| Associated acts | Blackstone Downchild Blues Band The Electric Flag Jon and Lee & The Checkmates The Lincolns Lou Reed Rhinoceros Rough Trade Tycoon |
Michael Fonfara (born August 11, 1946) is a Canadian keyboard player who is most notable for his work as a member of The Electric Flag and Rhinoceros in the 1960s, Rough Trade and Lou Reed's backing band in the 1970s and The Downchild Blues Band, from 1990 to the present. He studied classical piano at the Toronto Conservatory of Music. He is a multiple Maple Blues Award winner as Piano/Keyboardist of the year and a Juno Award winner with the Downchild Blues Band. His distinguished musical career was so honoured by the Maple Blues Awards as early as 2000 and a Juno Award in 2014.
Fonfara's career as a professional musician commenced in 1963, when he started playing in the Toronto band, Lee Jackson & The Checkmates in 1963, which evolved into Jon and Lee & The Checkmates soon afterwards. Members of Jon and Lee & The Checkmates ultimately formed the nucleus of the later bands Rhinoceros and Blackstone, plus contributed significantly to the work of Lou Reed in the 1970s.
When John and Lee & The Checkmates broke up in September 1967, Fonfara worked briefly with David Clayton-Thomas and then, during the months of November and December, 1967, toured and recorded with The Electric Flag, featuring Buddy Miles and Michael Bloomfield. Fonfara replaced keyboardist and founding Electric Flag member Barry Goldberg. He was then selected by producer Paul Rothchild as a member of the Elektra Records' hand-picked, "supergroup", Rhinoceros, in December 1967. Fonfara was the co-writer of the band's major hit, "Apricot Brandy", and recorded three albums with the group.
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