Joe Lovano | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Joseph Salvatore Lovano |
Born | Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | December 29, 1952
Genres | Jazz, modal jazz |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Tenor saxophone |
Years active | 1970s–present |
Labels | Soul Note, Evidence, Enja, Blue Note |
Website | www |
Joseph Salvatore Lovano (born December 29, 1952) [1] is an American jazz saxophonist, alto clarinetist, flautist, [1] and drummer. [2] He has earned a Grammy Award and several mentions on Down Beat magazine's critics' and readers' polls. His wife, with whom he records and performs, is singer Judi Silvano. Lovano was a longtime member of drummer Paul Motian‘s trio with guitarist Bill Frisell. [3]
Lovano was born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, to Sicilian-American parents; his father was the tenor saxophonist Tony ("Big T") Lovano. [1] [4] His father's family came from Alcara Li Fusi in Sicily, and his mother's family came from Cesarò, also in Sicily. In Cleveland, Lovano's father exposed him to jazz throughout his early life, teaching him the standards, as well as how to lead a gig, pace a set, and be versatile enough to find work. Lovano started on alto saxophone at age six and switched to tenor saxophone five years later. John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, and Sonny Stitt were among his earlier influences. After graduating from Euclid High School in 1971, [5] [6] he went to Berklee College of Music, where he studied under Herb Pomeroy and Gary Burton. [1] Lovano received an honorary doctorate of music from the college in 1998.
After Berklee he worked with Jack McDuff and Lonnie Smith. He spent three years with the Woody Herman orchestra, then moved to New York City, where he played with the big band of Mel Lewis. He often plays lines that convey the rhythmic drive and punch of an entire horn section. In the mid 1980s Lovano began working in a quartet with John Scofield and in a trio with Bill Frisell and Paul Motian.
In 1990 Lovano joined Blue Note Records. [7] Many outstanding releases followed, including the highly diverse Rush Hour (tracks range from solo to big band), collaborations with saxophonists Joshua Redman (Tenor Legacy) and Greg Osby (Friendly Fire), 52nd Street Themes (with a nonet), and four albums featuring the classic pianist Hank Jones.
In the late 1990s, he formed the Saxophone Summit with Dave Liebman and Michael Brecker (later replaced by Ravi Coltrane). Streams of Expression (2006) was a tribute to both cool jazz and free jazz. Lovano and pianist Hank Jones released an album together in June 2007, entitled Kids.
In 2008 Lovano formed the quintet Us Five with Esperanza Spalding on bass, pianist James Weidman, and two drummers, Francisco Mela and Otis Brown III. Folk Art was an album of compositions by Lovano that the band hoped to interpret in the spirit of the avant-garde jazz and loft jazz of the 1960s. [8] Bird Songs (2011) was a tribute to Charlie Parker. [9] West African guitarist Lionel Loueke appeared on the album Cross Culture (Blue Note, 2013). Lovano played reed and percussion instruments he had collected since the 1970s. Peter Slavov replaced Esperanza Spalding on six tracks, all of them written by Lovano except for "Star Crossed Lovers" by Billy Strayhorn. "The idea [...] wasn't just to play at the same time, but to collectively create music within the music," Lovano wrote in the liner notes to Cross Culture. "Everyone is leading and following," and "the double drummer configuration adds this other element of creativity." [10] [11]
In recent years Lovano has released three records with trumpeter Dave Douglas in a co-led group called Sound Prints. He has also moved over to ECM records, largely adopting the mellow vibe and use of space characteristic of the label. He is a high-profile guest on the acclaimed Arctic Riff (2020) by Polish pianist Marcin Wasilewski.
Lovano has taught at the Berklee College of Music. [12] He taught Jeff Coffin after Coffin was given a NEA Jazz Studies Grant in 1991. [13]
Downbeat magazine gave its Jazz Album of the Year Award to Lovano for Quartets: Live at the Village Vanguard . [14]
Lovano has played Borgani saxophones since 1991 and exclusively since 1999. He has his own series called Borgani-Lovano, with a pearl silver body and 24K gold keys. [15]
As leader
As co-leaderWith Dave Douglas
With James Emery, Judi Silvano and Drew Gress
With Jim Hall, George Mraz, and Lewis Nash
With Hank Jones
With Benjamin Koppel
With Greg Osby
With Gonzalo Rubalcaba
With Enrico Rava
As groupSaxophone Summit (with Michael Brecker, Dave Liebman)
ScoLoHoFo (with John Scofield, Dave Holland, Al Foster)
As sideman
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Psalm is an album by the Paul Motian Band recorded in December 1981 and released on ECM June the following year—Motian's fifth album for the label and first with the quintet, featuring guitarist Bill Frisell, bassist Ed Schuller, and saxophonists Joe Lovano and Billy Drewes. Jack of Clubs is the second album by Paul Motian to be released on the Italian Soul Note label. It was released in 1985 and like his previous album features performances by Motian with guitarist Bill Frisell, tenor saxophonists Joe Lovano and Jim Pepper, and bassist Ed Schuller. Misterioso is an album by American jazz drummer-composer Paul Motian, his ninth album overall and third on the Italian Soul Note label. It was released in 1987 and features performances by Motian’s quintet with guitarist Bill Frisell, tenor saxophonists Joe Lovano and Jim Pepper, and bassist Ed Schuller. Monk in Motian is a 1988 album by American jazz drummer Paul Motian, his first to be released on the German JMT label and his 11th as a bandleader. The album features ten compositions by Thelonious Monk performed by Motian with his longtime trio, guitarist Bill Frisell and tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano. Pianist Geri Allen and tenor saxophonist Dewey Redman also appear. The album was reissued in 2002 on the Winter & Winter label. Folk Art is the twenty-first studio album by American saxophonist Joe Lovano, released on Blue Note Records in 2009. The album was well received by critics, scoring 84% from six reviews aggregated by Metacritic. Joyous Encounter is a 2005 studio album by American jazz saxophonist Joe Lovano. The album features the same personnel as Lovano's 2004 recording I'm All For You; bassist George Mraz, drummer Paul Motian, and pianist Hank Jones. On Broadway Volume 3 is the third album of Broadway show tunes by Paul Motian to be released on the German JMT label. Recorded in 1991, it was released in 1993 and features performances by Motian with guitarist Bill Frisell, bassist Charlie Haden, alto saxophonist Lee Konitz and tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano. The album was rereleased on the Winter & Winter label in 2004. Trioism is an album by jazz drummer Paul Motian that was released on the German JMT label. Recorded in 1993, it was first released in 1994 and features performances by Motian with guitarist Bill Frisell and tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano The album was rereleased on the Winter & Winter label in 2005. Sound of Love is a live album by jazz drummer Paul Motian recorded at the Village Vanguard in 1995 and on the Winter & Winter label in 1997. It features Motian in his longtime trio with guitarist Bill Frisell and tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano. I Have the Room Above Her is an album by American jazz drummer Paul Motian recorded for ECM in April 2004 released on January 24, 2005. The trio features guitarist Bill Frisell and tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano, their first release since At the Village Vanguard in 1995. Time and Time Again is an album by jazz drummer Paul Motian recorded in May 2006 released on ECM the following year. The trio features guitarist Bill Frisell and tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano. Cross Culture is the twenty-third studio album by American musician Joe Lovano and the third with his band Us Five. It was released in January 2013 under Blue Note Records to a favorable critical reception. On Metacritic, the album scored 71% on five reviews, which means "generally favorable reviews". 52nd Street Themes is a studio album by the American jazz saxophonist Joe Lovano. It was recorded in early November 1999 and released by the Blue Note label on April 25, 2000. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. It is named after the jazz standard by Thelonious Monk. Worlds is a live 1989 album by American jazz musician Joe Lovano. The album was recorded at the Amiens International Jazz Festival in France. The record was initially released in 1989 via Label Bleu in France and then re-released via Evidence Music in 1995 in the United States. Classic! Live at Newport is a live album by American jazz saxophonist Joe Lovano recorded in 2005 during the 51st Newport Jazz Festival and released on July 29, 2016 via Blue Note label. This is his 25th album to his Blue Note catalog. Salvatore Bonafede is an Italian composer and pianist. References
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