Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band

Don Van Vliet (born Don Glen Vliet on January 15, 1941 in Glendale, California), is a musician and painter, best known under the pseudonym Captain Beefheart.

Van Vliet's output is rooted in blues music and rock music, but

Don Van Vliet (born Don Glen Vliet on January 15, 1941 in Glendale, California), is a musician and painter, best known under the pseudonym Captain Beefheart.

Van Vliet's output is rooted in blues music and rock music, but his idiosyncratic, diverse approach largely defies classification. Much of his work was conducted with a rotating assembly of musicians called the Magic Band. He was mainly a singer and in possession of an astonishing four-and-a-half octave vocal range, but Van Vliet was also a capable harmonica player, and occasionally played noisy, untrained, free jazz influenced saxophone.