Dave Pike
David Samuel Pike (March 23, 1938 – October 3, 2015) was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. He appeared on many albums by Nick Brignola, Paul Bley and Kenny Clarke, Bill Evans, and Herbie Mann. He also recorded extensively as leader, including a number of albums on MPS Records.
Also recorded as D. Pike · The Dave Pike Set
Dave Pike

DownBeat · Public domain
- Name
- Dave Pike
- Birth Name
- David Samuel Pike
- Born
- 23 March 1938
- Birthplace
- Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
- Died
- 3 October 2015
- Place of death
- Del Mar, California, U.S.
- Occupation
- Musician, songwriter
- Nationality
- United States
- Fields
- jazz
- Languages
- English
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
David Samuel Pike (March 23, 1938 – October 3, 2015) was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. He appeared on many albums by Nick Brignola, Paul Bley and Kenny Clarke, Bill Evans, and Herbie Mann. He also recorded extensively as leader, including a number of albums on MPS Records.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
Dave Pike (1938–2015) was an American composer, drummer and guitarist, among other activities. Born in Detroit, the composer died in Del Mar.
Genres include jazz. Languages used include English.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Dave Pike. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
gnd · 10315785-2 · museum · d3b8fe27-fb57-4256-b8a9-df8586929103 · wikidata · Q678577 · wikipedia · Dave Pike
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Dave Pike • Birth Name — David Samuel Pike • Born — 23 March 1938 • Birthplace — Detroit, Michigan, U.S. • Died — 3 October 2015 • Place of death — Del Mar, California, U.S. • Instrument — Vibraphone, marimba • Genre — Brazilian jazz, Latin jazz, world • Occupation — Musician, songwriter • Label — Timeless, Criss Cross, Atlantic, MPS
Biography
Biography
Pike learned drums at the age of eight and was self-taught on vibraphone. He made his recording debut with the Paul Bley Quartet in 1958. He began putting an amplifier on his vibes, when working with flautist Herbie Mann in the early 1960s. By the late 1960s, Pike's music had become more exploratory, contributing a unique voice and new contexts that pushed the envelope in times remembered for their exploratory nature. The Doors of Perception, recorded in 1966 (released in 1970 for the Atlantic Records subsidiary Vortex Records) and produced by former boss Herbie Mann, explored ballads, modal territory, musique concrète, with free and lyrical improvisation, and featured musicians including alto saxophonist Lee Konitz, bassist Chuck Israels and pianist Don Friedman. Pike moved to Europe and signed with MPS Records. With the collaboration of Volker Kriegel (guitar), J. A. Rettenbacher (acoustic and electric bass), and Peter Baumeister (drums), he formed the Dave Pike Set. The group recorded six records from 1969 to 1972 that ran the gamut from funky grooves to free, textural territory. Though short-lived, the group created a unique identity and textural palette. Kriegel's compositional and instrumental (playing acoustic, classical and electric guitar as well as sitar) contributions to the group helped set the Dave Pike Set's sound apart, organically incorporating influences from jazz, soul jazz, psychedelia, avant-garde music and world music. Dave Pike died in Del Mar, California of emphysema, aged 77.
As leader
As leader
• The Jazz Couriers, Gene Norman Presents the Jazz Couriers (Whippet, 1957) • It's Time for Dave Pike (Riverside, 1961) • Pike's Peak (Epic, 1962) – rec. 1961 • Bossa Nova Carnival (New Jazz, 1962) • Limbo Carnival (New Jazz, 1962) • Dave Pike Plays the Jazz Version of Oliver! (Moodsville, 1963) – rec. 1962 • Manhattan Latin (Decca, 1964) • Jazz for the Jet Set (Atlantic, 1966) – rec. 1965 • Got the Feelin (Relax, 1969) • Four Reasons (MPS, 1969) • Noisy Silence/Gentle Noise (MPS, 1969) • Live at the Philharmonie (MPS, 1970) • Infra-Red (MPS, 1970) • The Doors of Perception (Vortex, 1970) – live rec. 1966 • Album (MPS/BASF, 1971) • Salomao (MPS/BASF, 1972) • Times Out of Mind (Muse, 1976) • On a Gentle Note (Muse, 1978) • Let the Minstrels Play On (Muse, 1980) • Moon Bird (Muse, 1983) • Pike's Groove (Criss Cross, 1986) • Bluebird (Timeless, 1989) • Bophead (Ubiquity, 1998) • Peligroso (CuBop, 2000) • At Studio 2 (B.Free, 2016)
As sideman
As sideman
With Herbie Mann • Brazil, Bossa Nova & Blues (United Artists, 1962) • Herbie Mann Returns to the Village Gate (Atlantic, 1963) • Herbie Mann Live at Newport (Atlantic, 1963) – live • My Kinda Groove (Atlantic, 1965) – rec. 1964 • Latin Mann (Columbia, 1965) • Standing Ovation at Newport (Atlantic, 1965) – live • The Roar of the Greasepaint the Smell of the Crowd (Atlantic, 1965) • Monday Night at the Village Gate (Atlantic, 1966) – rec. 1965 • Today! (Atlantic, 1966) – rec. 1965 • The Evolution of Mann (Atlantic, 1972)[2LP] – compilations With others • Paul Bley, Solemn Meditation (GNP, 1957) • Nick Brignola, All Business (Reservoir, 1999) • Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band, All Smiles (MPS, 1968) • Slide Hampton, Mellow-dy (LRC, 1992) • Babatunde Olatunji, High Life! (Columbia, 1963) • Clark Terry, At the Montreux Jazz Festival (Polydor, 1970)
Identity
Identity
Dave Pike is recorded as guitarist, composer, vibraphonist, drummer and musician.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
2015
Dave Pike died at Del Mar.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Detroit.
Birth place
Del Mar.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q678577: Dave Pike
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
- “Dave Pike”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Institutional database
- MusicBrainz artist record for Dave Pike
Scholarly · MetaBrainz Foundation
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Colin Larkin. The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz. Guinness Publishing. 321/2. 1992. 0-85112-580-8.
- 2.Yanow, Scott. Dave Pike: Biography. AllMusic.
- 3.The Doors of Perception - Dave Pike | Songs, Reviews, Credits. AllMusic.
- 4.Dave Pike, Vibraphonist, Dies at 77. Jazztimes.com.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Institutional database
MusicBrainz artist record for Dave PikeMetaBrainz Foundation
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
42,438 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Dave PeggPerson
- Dave PeverettPerson
- Dave PiercePerson
- Dave PietroPerson
- Dave PinoPerson
- Dave PirnerPerson
- Dave PomeroyPerson
- Dave PorterPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Dave Pike?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.