Roy Nathanson

Roy Nathanson ( born 1955 in New York City ) is an American jazz musician (saxophone, vocals, composition) and actor. He is co-founder and principal composer of the Jazz Passengers.

Life and work

Nathanson learned as a child, first clarinet. During his studies he met at performances of the Big Apple Circus Band for the first time the trombonist Curtis Fowlkes, with whom he has worked regularly since then. Both belonged 1984-1989 to John Lurie's band The Lounge Lizards. In 1987 she founded the Jazz Passengers with other musicians of the downtown scene. In addition, Nathanson worked with John Zorn, DK Dyson, Seigen Ono, Carol Emanuel and Anthony Coleman. In the 1990s he also worked with Charles Earland and David Cale. He also led his own quartet and wrote film music. With Steve Lacy and Ned Rothenberg, he led a saxophone quartet. He also belonged to Marc Ribot's Rootless Cosmopolitans and accompanied Susi Hyldgaard.

As an actor he appeared in films by Chantal Akerman, Jim Jarmusch and Elaine May, but also in the downtown theater projects in New York. In Peter Lilienthal's Children's Film Wasserman - he has a central role in The Singing dog. In 2009 he published his book of poems subway moon ( buddy's knife jazzedition ).

Disco Graphical Notes

• Camp Stories ( 1996)
• Lobster & Friend (1993, Knitting Factory Works: with A. Coleman )
• I Could've Been a Drum (1997, Tzadik )
• Sotto Voce (2006, AUM Fidelity)
• Subway Moon (2009)

Lexigraphic entries

• Martin Kunzler Jazz Encyclopedia Vol 2 Reinbek 2002