Lew Tabackin

Lew Tabackin ( born March 26, 1940 in Philadelphia ) is an American jazz musician (tenor saxophonist, flutist and together with his wife Toshiko Akiyoshi Big Band Leader).

Life and work

Tabackin already played in high school tenor saxophone and flute, studied from 1958 at the Conservatory in Philadelphia flute and composition (with Vincent Persichetti ), where he graduated in 1962. After an interlude from 1962 to 1965 in the U.S. Army, he played with the jazz guitarist Tal Farlow and Don Friedman. He also played in the big bands of Cab Calloway, Joe Henderson, Thad Jones / Mel Lewis, Maynard Ferguson, among others In the late 1960s, he led a trio in Philadelphia and played in smaller groups with Elvin Jones, Donald Byrd, Attila Zoller and Roland Hanna. He also played in the "Tonight Show," a TV talk show with Dick Cavett, and was in Europe in 1968/69 a soloist with the Danish Radio Orchestra and the " Hamburg Jazz Workshop " of the NDR. In 1969 he married the composer and pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi, with which he played since 1968 in a quartet, 1970/71 toured in Japan and after the move in 1972 to Los Angeles a long-standing partnership in our own big bands began ( " Toshiko Akiyoshi - Lew Tabackin big band " until 1982. after moving to New York, they formed the " Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra feat. Lew Tabackin " ), in which he also starred as one of the main soloists. In Los Angeles he also played with Shelly Manne and own trios, among other things with Billy Higgins, John Heard and Charlie Haden, drummer Joey Baron and later with bassist Michael Moore. In 1974 he published a first album under his own name (" Lew Tabackin "). In the 1980s he lived back in New York, won several Down Beat polls as a flutist, and took on an acclaimed album with Phil Woods. In the 1990s, published albums of his own bands at the Concord label.

Auswahldiskographie

As a leader

• Desert Lady ( Concord, 1989) with Hank Jones, Dave Holland, Victor Lewis
• I'll Be Seeing You ( Concord, 1992) with Benny Green, Peter Washington, Lewis Nash
• What A Little Moonlight Can Do ( Concord, 1994) ditto
• Pyramid (Koch, 1988-94 ) with the Dutch Metropole Orkest under Rob Pronk
• Tenority ( Concord, 1996) with Randy Brecker, Don Friedman

As a sideman

• Toshiko Akiyoshi The / Lew Tabackin Big Band: Insights (RCA recorded 1976, released 1986)
• Toshiko Akiyoshi / Lew Tabackin: Wishing Peace ( Bellaphon, 1989)
• Toshiko Akiyoshi The / Lew Tabackin Big Band ( Novus, 1974-1976 )

• Donald Byrd: Electric Byrd ( Blue Note, 1970)
• George Gruntz: The MPS Years ( MPS, 1971-80 )
• Bennie Wallace: The Art of the Saxophone ( Denon, 1987)
• Phil Woods / Lew Tabackin: Phil Woods / Lew Tabackin ( Evidence, 1980)

Swell

• Announcement - 70th Birthday Celebrations
• Leonard Feather: Toshiko Akiyoshi liner notes to / Lew Tabackin: Insights (RCA, 1986)