Mike Melvoin
Michael " Mike" Melvoin ( born May 10, 1937 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin; † February 22, 2012 in Burbank, California ) was an American jazz pianist, arranger and composer.
Life and work
Melvoin began playing the piano at age three. He studied English at Dartmouth College, where he graduated from in 1959, but decided then to pursue a career as a jazz musician. After moving to Los Angeles in 1961, he worked with Frank Rosolino, Leroy Vinnegar, Gerald Wilson, Paul Horn, Terry Gibbs, Joe Williams, Peggy Lee and Tom Waits. Mostly, he worked as a studio musician; so he looked at photographs of Milt Jackson, Gábor Szabó, Stan Getz, Frank Sinatra, Natalie Cole, Helen Reddy, John Lennon ( Stand By Me), Barbra Streisand, Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, Tom Waits and the Pet Sounds Sessions 1966 the Beach Boys with. As an arranger, he worked for The Ventures. He was also the first active musician who served as national chairman of the Recording Academy. He also played in clubs in Los Angeles, accompanied the singer Bill Henderson and contributed to recordings by Herb Ellis and Plas Johnson on Concord Jazz with.
His children Wendy and Susannah are also professional musicians. His son Jonathan died in 1996.
Disco Graphical Notes
Recordings under his own name
- Keys to Your Mind ( Liberty Records, 1966)
- Between the Two ( Liberty, 1968)
- The Plastic Cow Goes Moooooog ( Dot Records, 1969)
- Unknown Title ( Discwasher, 1979)
- Redeye ( Voss Records, 1988)
- The Capitol Sessions ( with Bill Henderson and Charlie Haden ) ( Naim, 1999)
- Oh Baby ( City Lights, 2002)
- It's Always You ( with Phil Woods ) ( City Lights, 2003)
- Playing the Word ( City Lights, 2006)
- You Know ( City Lights, 2006)
Recordings as a sideman
With Milt Jackson
- Memphis Jackson ( Impulse!, 1969)
Gábor Szabó
- Light My Fire ( Impulse!, 1967) with Bob Thiele
- Wind, Sky and Diamonds ( Impulse!, 1967)
- 1969 ( Skye, 1969)
With Tom Waits