Joe Lovano
| Joe Lovano | |
|---|---|
 Photo by Ed Newman |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Joseph Salvatore Lovano |
| Born | December 29, 1952 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Genres | Post bop |
| Instruments | Tenor saxophone Alto saxophone C melody saxophone Clarinet Flute |
| Associated acts | Saxophone Summit SF Jazz Collective McCoy Tyner Quartet Shades of Jazz |
| Notable instruments | |
| Tenor saxophone | |
Joseph Salvatore "Joe" Lovano (born December 29, 1952) is a post bop jazz saxophonist, alto clarinetist, flautist, and drummer. Since the late 1980s, Lovano has been one of the world's premiere tenor saxophone players[says who?], earning a Grammy award and several nods on Down Beat magazine's critics' and readers' polls. He is married to jazz singer Judi Silvano.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Lovano was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Sicilian-American parents. His father's family came from the town of Alcara Li Fusi in Sicily, and his mother's family came from Cesarò, also in Sicily. In Cleveland, Ohio, Lovano was exposed throughout his early life to jazz by his father, Tony "Big T" Lovano. John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, and Sonny Stitt were among his earlier influences. He developed further at Berklee College of Music where he studied under Herb Pomeroy and Gary Burton, then served a big band apprenticeship with Woody Herman's Thundering Herd and the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra.
Cleveland tenorman "Big T" Lovano was his son's first inspiration, teaching him all the standards, how to lead a gig, pace a set, and be versatile enough to always find work. Joe started on alto at age six and switched to tenor five years later. He attended Berklee college of music before working with Jack McDuff and Dr. Lonnie Smith. After three years with Woody Herman's orchestra, Lovano moved to New York and began playing regularly with Mel Lewis’ Big Band. This influence is still present in his solos. He often plays lines that convey the rhythmic drive and punch of an entire horn section.[1]
In the early ‘80s he began working in John Scofield’s quartet and a bass-less trio with Paul Motian and Bill Frisell. Steeped in the tradition of Ornette Coleman, Motian’s recordings show off Lovano’s avant-garde abilities. Lovano has enduring musical partnerships with John Scofield and Paul Motian, having participated in some of their more noteworthy projects over the years. In 1993, at the suggestion of musicologist Gunther Schuller, fellow Clevelander and bebop guitarist Bill DeArango recorded the album "Anything Went" with Lovano. "He was a major mentor for all of us round here," said Lovano. In 1999, having developed dementia, DeArango was taken into a nursing home, where Lovano visited him on December 26, 2005. Two hours after Lovano left, DeArango died. "He knew we were there," said Lovano. "His heartbeat raced. He knew we were there."[1]
He is currently a jazz artist on the international level. His live work, specifically Quartets: Live at the Village Vanguard, garnered a Down Beat "Jazz Album of the Year" award. Other releases include Trio Fascination and 52nd Street Themes. In the late 1990s, he formed the Saxophone Summit with Dave Liebman and Michael Brecker (now deceased, replaced with Ravi Coltrane). He played the tenor saxophone on the critically acclaimed 2007 McCoy Tyner album Quartet. In 2006 Lovano released Streams Of Expression, a tribute to cool jazz and free jazz. He did this with the help of Gunther Schuller who contributed his "Birth Of The Cool Suite". Joe Lovano and Hank Jones released an album together in June 2007 entitled Kids. Lovano also currently leads his quartet with Berklee Faculty and students Esperanza Spalding, James Weidman, and Otis Brown.
He has been the teacher of Jeff Coffin after the latter received an NEA Jazz Studies Grant in 1991.[2] He currently holds the Gary Burton Chair in Jazz Performance at Berklee College of Music.[3]
Joe Lovano has been playing Borgani saxophones since 1991 and exclusively since 1999. He has his own series called Borgani-Lovano, which uses Pearl-Silver Alloy with Gold 24K keys.[4]
He appears in Noah Buschel's film The Missing Person, with Academy Award Nominees Amy Ryan and Michael Shannon.
[edit] Discography
[edit] As leader
- Tones, Shapes & Colors (Soul Note, 1985)
- Hometown Sessions (JSL, 1986)
- Solid Steps (Jazz Club, 1986)
- Village Rhythm (Soul Note, 1988)
- Worlds (Evidence, 1989)
- Landmarks (Blue Note, 1990)
- Sounds of Joy (Enja, 1991)
- From the Soul (Blue Note, 1991)
- Universal Language (Blue Note, 1992)
- Tenor Legacy (Blue Note, 1993)
- Quartets: Live at the Village Vanguard (Blue Note, 1994)
- Rush Hour (Blue Note, 1994)
- Ten Tales (Sunnyside, 1994)
- Celebrating Sinatra (Blue Note, 1996)
- Tenor Time (Something Else, 1997)
- Flying Colors (Blue Note, 1997) with Gonzalo Rubalcaba
- Trio Fascination: Edition One (Blue Note, 1998)
- Friendly Fire (Blue Note, 1999) with Greg Osby
- 52nd Street Themes (Blue Note, 2000)
- Flights of Fancy: Trio Fascination Edition Two (Blue Note, 2001)
- Viva Caruso (2002)
- On This Day ... at the Vanguard (2003)
- I'm All for You (2004)
- Joyous Encounters (2005)
- "Streams of Expression" (2006)
- Symphonica (2008)
- Folk Art (2009)
- Bird Songs (2011) with Us Five
[edit] As sideman
With John Abercrombie
- Open Land (ECM, 1998)
With Charlie Haden
- The Montreal Tapes: Liberation Music Orchestra (Verve, 1989 [1999])
With Steve Kuhn
- Mostly Coltrane (ECM, 2008)
With Paul Motian
- Psalm with Ed Schuller and Billy Drewes (ECM, 1982)
- The Story of Maryam with Ed Schuller and Jim Pepper (Soul Note, 1984)
- Jack of Clubs with Ed Schuller and Jim Pepper (Soul Note, 1985)
- It Should've Happened a Long Time Ago (ECM, 1985)
- Misterioso with Ed Schuller and Jim Pepper (Soul Note, 1986)
- One Time Out (Soul Note, 1987)
- Monk in Motian (JMT, 1988) trio + guests
- On Broadway Volume 1 (JMT, 1989)
- Bill Evans (JMT, 1990)
- On Broadway Volume 2 (JMT, 1990)
- Motian in Tokyo (JMT, 1991)
- On Broadway Volume 3 (JMT, 1993)
- Trioism (JMT, 1993) trio + guest
- At the Village Vanguard (JMT, 1995) trio
- Sound of Love (JMT, 1995) trio (live)
- I Have the Room Above Her (ECM, 2004) trio
- Time and Time Again (ECM, 2006) trio
With McCoy Tyner
- Quartet (2007)
With John Scofield
- Oh! (2003)
With Yōsuke Yamashita
- Kurdish Dance (Verve, 1993)
- Dazzling Days (Verve, 1993)
With others
- Unknown Voyage (1985) with Furio Di Castri
- Think Before You Think (1989) with Bill Stewart, Marc Cohen and Dave Holland
- Snide Remarks (1995) with Bill Stewart, Eddie Henderson, Bill Carrothers and Larry Grenadier
- Grand Slam (2000) with Jim Hall, George Mraz, and Lewis Nash
- Fourth World (2001) with James Emery, Judi Silvano, and Drew Gress
- Gathering of Spirits (2004) with Michael Brecker and Dave Liebman
- Kids: Live at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola (2007) with Hank Jones
- Silverslide with Dan Silverman
- Masada Quintet: Stolas: The Book of Angels Volume 12 (2009) with John Zorn, Dave Douglas, Uri Caine, Greg Cohen and Joey Baron
[edit] References
- ^ a b http://joelovano.bluemusicgroup.com/
- ^ http://www.jeffcoffin.com/education.html
- ^ Small, Mark. "Joe Lovano '72 Will Be First to Occupy Gary Burton Chair in Jazz Performance". Berklee Today. http://www.berklee.edu/bt/131/bb_joelovano.html. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
- ^ http://www.joelovano.com/resources.php
