John Lewis (Pianist)

John Aaron Lewis ( May 3, 1920 in La Grange, Illinois, † March 29, 2001 in New York City ) was an American jazz musician ( pianist and composer ).

Life and work

Lewis began at the age of six years playing the piano. He studied at the University of New Mexico Music and Anthropology ( Master's degree ). He also wrote arrangements (including for Teddy Wilson). In 1942 he learned in the army drummer Kenny Clarke know. This led him to his military service (until 1945) in the Dizzy Gillespie band, where he took the place of Thelonious Monk. He also played with Charlie Parker ( Charlie Parker Memorial, Vol 1 1947/48 ). In 1948, he wrote arrangements for the so-called Capitol Orchestra Miles Davis, with whom he performed well, and was involved in the recording of Birth of the Cool it. During this time he was also with the band of Illinois Jacquet go, then with Lester Young. Between 1951 and 1952 he played with the quartet of Milt Jackson, from the then existing until 1974 and 1993 respectively Modern Jazz Quartet was born. For this quartet, which was very successful in Europe since 1957, Lewis arranged as musical director of the entire material.

Mid-seventies, John Lewis came mostly on solo, but also played with other pianists, especially with Marian McPartland and especially with Hank Jones, with whom he has performed in Japan, and several times at the festival in Nice in 1976. Not only his Japanese solo LPs Statements and Sketches For Development (1977 ) and Point Of View found a lot of attention, but also the resulting 1981 with Hank Jones duo album An Evening With Two Grand Pianos, which was awarded the German Record Critics' Award.

Lewis was active until shortly before his death as a musician. His compositions combined in a unique way Classical music with jazz. Joachim E. Berendt According to him very early on balance the relationship between composition and improvisation masterfully: " Only since him and through him it is obvious that a jazz recording is a whole, that they must be self-contained and not simply a consequence. handsome Soli " One of his preferred forms was the joint; but he also worked with contrapuntal improvisations and especially with the principle of the concerto grosso, which meant to him that there is not a declared solo and an accompanying instrument, but only in the composition are embedded soli and tutti change. Lewis also wrote music for ballet and film scores. Here are the particularly Films No Sun In Venice, Odds Against Tomorrow ( German Few chances for tomorrow) to name, A Milanese Story and Cities For People (1975). In 1963 his musical Natural Affection. His jazz compositions Django and Two Bass Hit are considered jazz standards. Lewis wrote in 1956 and Third Stream compositions and was on the founding of the important for the performance of such compositions, Jazz and Classical Music Society mid-1950s involved as well as the Orchestra of the U.S. between 1962 and 1966. Even in his last concert in Germany, in 1992 at the "Jazz summit Stuttgart ", he performed with his Modern Jazz Quartet and the classical chamber orchestra " Arcata " on a Third stream context.

Lewis was also influential as a jazz educator. So he organized from the late 1950s, the summer schools of the Lennox School of Music. In 1977 he became a professor at the City College of New York, after he had previously taught at Harvard.

Lewis was an honorary doctorate from the University of New Mexico, the New England Conservatory and Columbia College in Chicago. In 2001 he received the Jazz Masters Fellowship of the state NEA Foundation.

Discography

  • With Bill Perkins Grand Encounter: 2 East 3 West ( Pacific Jazz 1956)
  • With Sacha Distel Afternoon In Paris (Atlantic 1957)
  • European Windows (RCA Victor 1958, with Ronnie Ross, Gerry wine head and the Stuttgart Symphony Orchestra )
  • The John Lewis Piano (Atlantic 1958)
  • Odds Against Tomorrow ( United Artists 1959)
  • Improvised Meditations & Excursions (Atlantic 1959)
  • The Golden Striker ( Atlantic 1960)
  • John Lewis Presents Jazz Abstractions (Atlantic 1961)
  • Original Sin (Atlantic 1961)
  • The Wonderful World Of Jazz (Atlantic 1961, with Eric Dolphy, Paul Gonsalves, Jimmy Giuffre and others)
  • ( with Svend Asmussen ) European Encounter ( Atlantic 1962)
  • A Milanese Story ( movie soundtrack, Atlantic 1962, with Bobby Jaspar, René Thomas, Giovanni Tommaso, etc.)
  • Animal Dance (Atlantic 1962, with Albert Mangelsdorff, KT Geier, Silvius Glojnarić or the Zagreb Jazz Quartet )
  • Essence (Atlantic 1964)
  • P.O.V. (Columbia 1975)
  • John Lewis Solo / Duo With Hank Jones (Sony 1976)
  • I Remember Bebop (CBS 1977)
  • Mirjana (Ahead 1978 with Christian Escoudé )
  • ( with Hank Jones): An Evening With Two Grand Pianos ( Little David 1979)
  • ( with Nancy Harrow): The John Lewis album For Nancy Harrow ( Finesse 1981)
  • Kansas City Breaks (DRG 1982)
  • J. S. Bach Preludes And Fugues From The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1 (Philips 1984)
  • The Bridge Game ( Philips 1984)
  • The Bridge Game Vol 2 (Philips 1985)
  • The Chess Game (Philips 1986)
  • With the American Jazz Orchestra Central City Sketches ( Music Masters 1987)
  • Delaunay 's Delemma ( EmArcy, 1988)
  • Midnight In Paris ( EmArcy, 1989)
  • Private Concert ( EmArcy 1991)
  • Evolution ( Atlantic 2000)
  • Evolution II (Atlantic 2001)

Lexigraphic entries

  • Carlo Bohländer inter alia: Reclams jazz leader. Stuttgart, Reclam, 1991
  • Ian Carr et al Jazz Rough Guide Stuttgart 1999; ISBN 3-476-01584- X
  • Wolf Kampmann Reclams Jazz Encyclopedia Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-15-010528-5
  • Martin Kunzler, Jazz Encyclopedia Vol 1 Reinbek 2002 ISBN 3-499-16512-0
La Grange (Illinois) Deutscher Schallplattenpreis Orchestra U. S. A. NEA Jazz Masters National Endowment for the Arts Leonard Feather Integrated Authority File
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