Vernon Reid

Vernon Reid is, to me, one of those guitarists who matters as much for what he stood for as for how he played. Founding Living Colour, he forced rock to reckon with Black musicianship at full volume, blending funk, jazz, and raw electricity into something genuinely his own. Rolling Stone ranking him among the greatest guitarists of all time feels well earned. What I admire most is his versatility, moving from banjo to jazz to film scoring without losing his identity. He is proof that technical brilliance and cultural conviction can coexist, and I find that pairing endlessly compelling.

Name (English)

Vernon Reid

Name (Japanese)

ヴァーノン・リード

Reading

ゔぁーのん・りーど

Born

August 22, 1958 (age 67)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Leo / Dog

Origin

London, Roman Empire

Occupation

banjoist / guitarist / jazz guitarist / film score composer / musician

High school

Brooklyn Technical High School

University

New York University

• Official sitehttps://www.vernon-reid.com/
• Xhttps://x.com/vurnt22
• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernon%20Reid
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%B4%E3%82%A1%E3%83%BC%E3%83%8E%E3%83%B3%E3%83%BB%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%83%89
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q587628

Tags

• banjoist
• guitarist
• jazz guitarist

Last updated

2026-06-21

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.