The Lounge Lizards
| The Lounge Lizards | |
|---|---|
| Origin | New York City |
| Genres | Jazz, punk jazz |
The Lounge Lizards are a jazz group formed in 1978 by saxophone player John Lurie.
Drawing on punk rock and no wave as much as jazz, The Lounge Lizards have since become respected for their creative and distinctive sound.
Contents |
[edit] History
Lounge Lizards were founded on June 4, 1979 with John Lurie, his brother Evan (piano and organ), Arto Lindsay (guitar), Steve Piccolo (bass guitar), and Anton Fier (drums). They were initially a punk or fake jazz group but soon evolved into something quite special. Taking music from all corners of the globe and synthesizing it into something truly organic and unique. The New York Times' Robert Palmer wrote (October 7, 1986): "The present-day Lounge Lizards are not faking anything. They have staked their claim to a musical territory that lies somewhere west of Charles Mingus and east of Bernard Hermann and made it their own."
In 1984 the new group consists of Erik Sanko, Curtis Fowlkes, Marc Ribot, Evan Lurie, Roy Nathanson, Dougie Bowne, E.J Rodriguez. This edition of the Lounge Lizards recorded three albums in two years, and demonstrated John Lurie's increasingly sophisticated and multi-layered compositions that often stray rather far from conventional jazz: He was able to integrate elements of various world musics (he often favors tango-inspired passages in his songs), which retain a distinctive flavor, but avoid gimmickry. One critic notes traces of "Erik Satie and Kurt Weill" [1].
John Lurie formed a new version of the Lounge Lizards in the early 1990s; prominent members included Steven Bernstein (trumpet), Michael Blake (saxophone), Oren Bloedow (bass guitar), David Tronzo (guitar), Calvin Weston (drums) and Billy Martin (percussion).
Recent years have found the Lounge Lizards less active; John Lurie has been increasingly occupied with painting, while Evan Lurie has worked on The Backyardigans, a children's show that highlights multiple musical genres.
[edit] Past members
- John Lurie - alto/soprano saxophone
- Evan Lurie - piano, organ
- Arto Lindsay - guitar
- Steve Piccolo - bass
- Anton Fier - drums
- Dana Vlcek - guitar
- Danny Rosen - guitar
- Peter Zummo - trombone
- Dougie Bowne - drums
- Roy Nathanson - saxophone
- Curtis Fowlkes - trombone
- Marc Ribot - guitar, trumpet, Eb horn
- Erik Sanko - bass
- E.J. Rodriguez - percussion
- Brandon Ross - guitar
- Al MacDowell - bass
- Calvin Weston - drums
- Michael Blake[disambiguation needed
] - saxophone - Steven Bernstein - trumpet
- Billy Martin - percussion
- Jane Scarpantoni - cello
- Bryan Carrott - marimba/vibes
- Michele Navazio - guitar
- Oren Bloedow - bass
- David Tronzo - guitar
- Ben Perowsky - percussion
- Tony Scherr - bass
- Doug Wieselman - guitar, clarinet
- Mauro Refosco - percussion
- John Medeski - organ
- Kenny Wollesen - drums
- Danny Blume - guitar
- Clark Gayton - trombone
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
| Title | Release date |
|---|---|
| Lounge Lizards | 1981 |
| No Pain for Cakes | 1987 |
| Voice of Chunk | 1989 |
| Queen of all Ears | 1998 |
[edit] Live albums
| Title | Release date |
|---|---|
| Live from the Drunken Boat | 1983 |
| Live 79-81 | 1985 |
| Big Heart: Live in Tokyo | 1986 |
| Live in Berlin, Vol. 1 | 1993 |
| Live in Berlin, Vol. 2 | 1993 |
