Leroy Jenkins (jazz musician)
Leroy Jenkins ( born March 11, 1932 in Chicago, Illinois, † February 24, 2007 in New York City, New York ) was an American composer and free jazz musicians (violin, viola ).
Career
Jenkins worked for a degree at Florida A & M University, first as a music teacher in schools of his native city. But he came back in the early years of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians ( AACM ) in contact with the central figures of these musicians initiative, especially Muhal Richard Abrams and Anthony Braxton. With the latter, and Wadada Leo Smith in 1968, he founded the Creative Construction Company. From 1970 he lived in New York City, where he was soon able to make a name in the avant-garde scene with his time in free jazz unusual instruments and became involved by Carla Bley in the recording of Escalator over the Hill. The early 1970s he founded with bassist and drummer Jerome Cooper Sirone the Revolutionary Ensemble, which was for the free improvisation music evolving stylistically; Titles such as Vietnam and the People's Republic transported the political claim of the musicians who created an exciting music, which formed a bridge between jazz and new music. Jenkins managed with the intention to get close with the violin to the sound of the human voice, " a redefinition of his instrument " by exploring "what they may be beyond their classical- European context ". He also played with Archie Shepp, Alice Coltrane and Roland Kirk.
From the late 1970s he experimented a lot with small formations, such as a trio with Anthony Davis and Andrew Cyrille. He gave solo concerts as on his albums Solo Concert ( 1977) and Solo ( 1998) are documented. With the ensemble Sting followed in 1984, the album Urban Blues. In 1987, he was with Cecil Taylor on tour in Europe.
Jenkins was one of the exceptional figures in African-American scene. His cluster Direction, blue sound enthusiastic style of play since the early seventies in Europe and was taken euphoric at festivals. In 2003 there was a brief revival of the Revolutionary Ensemble ( And Now ... ) with Sirone and Jerome Cooper. In 2007, he died in Brooklyn at the consequences of lung cancer.
Composer
Jenkins was also a successful composer: in 1975 the premiere of his piece For Players Only took place. After the opera Editorial he created for the musical theater together with Ann T. Greene The Mother of Three Sons, Fresh Faust and The Negros Burial Ground, as well as with Homer Jackson The Three Willies. He also composed works for symphony orchestra and Electric Ensemble. In addition, Jenkins worked as a teacher.
Disco Graphical Notes
- Revolutionary Ensemble ( ESP-Disk, 1971) with Sirone & Jerome Cooper
- Live Long Ambtions ( Black Saint, 1977) with Muhal Richard Abrams
- Mixed Quintet ( Black Saint ) John Clark, James Newton, JD Parran, Marty Ehrlich
- Live! (Black saint, 1992) with Brandon Ross, Reggie Nicholson
- Solo ( Lovely Music, 1998) solo
Secondary literature
- Christian Broecking, Every tone a rescue center. Criminals, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-935843-85-0