Paul Motian

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Joe Lovano, Paul Motian and Bill Frisell in Rome

Stephen Paul Motian[1] (25 March 1931 – 22 November 2011)[2][3] was an American jazz drummer, percussionist and composer of Armenian extraction.

He first came to prominence in the late 1950s in the piano trio of Bill Evans, and later led several groups. Motian played an important role in freeing the drummer from strict time-keeping duties.

Biography

Motian was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and raised in Providence, Rhode Island. After playing guitar in his childhood, Motian began playing the drums at age 12, eventually touring New England in a swing band. During the Korean War he joined the Navy.

Motian became a professional musician in 1954, and briefly played with pianist Thelonious Monk. He became well known as the drummer in pianist Bill Evans's trio (1959–64), initially alongside bassist Scott LaFaro and later Chuck Israels.[4][5]

Subsequently he played with pianists Paul Bley (1963-4) and Keith Jarrett (1967–76). Other musicians with whom Motian performed and/or recorded in the early period of his career included Lennie Tristano, Warne Marsh,Lee Konitz,[6] Joe Castro, Arlo Guthrie (Motian performed briefly with Guthrie in 1968-69, and performed with the singer at Woodstock), Carla Bley, Charlie Haden, and Don Cherry. Motian subsequently worked with musicians such as Marilyn Crispell, Bill Frisell, Leni Stern, Joe Lovano, Alan Pasqua, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Bill McHenry, Stephane Oliva, Frank Kimbrough, and many more.

Motian was an important composer and group leader, recording initially for ECM Records in the 1970s and early 1980s and subsequently for Soul Note Records, JMT Records, and Winter & Winter Records, before returning to ECM in 2005.[4] From the early 1980s he led a trio featuring guitarist Bill Frisell and saxophonist Joe Lovano, occasionally joined by bassists Ed Schuller, Charlie Haden or Marc Johnson, and other musicians, including Jim Pepper, Lee Konitz, Dewey Redman and Geri Allen. In addition to playing Motian's compositions, the group has recorded tributes to Thelonious Monk and Bill Evans, and a series of Paul Motian on Broadway albums, featuring original interpretations of jazz standards.

Despite his important associations with pianists, Motian's work as a leader since the 1970s rarely included a pianist in his ensembles and relied heavily on guitarists. Motian's first instrument was the guitar, and he appears to have retained an affinity for the instrument: in addition to his groups with Frisell, his first two solo albums on ECM featured Sam Brown, and his Electric Bebop Band featured two and occasionally three electric guitars. The group was founded in the early 1990s, and featured a variety of young guitar and saxophone players, in addition to electric bass and Motian's drums, including saxophonists Joshua Redman, Chris Potter, Chris Cheek, and Tony Malaby, and guitarists Kurt Rosenwinkel, Brad Shepik, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Steve Cardenas, Ben Monder, and Jakob Bro.

Discography

As leader

As sideman

With Michael Adkins

With Samuel Blaser

With Paul Bley

With Marilyn Crispell

With Bill Evans

With Pierre Favre

With Bill Frisell

With Charlie Haden

  • Liberation Music Orchestra (1969)
  • Ballad of the Fallen (1980)
  • Dream Keeper (1989)
  • Etudes (1986) with Geri Allen & Charlie Haden
  • Segments (1987) with Geri Allen & Charlie Haden
  • Live at the Village Vanguard with Geri Allen & Charlie Haden
  • The Montreal Tapes with Geri Allen & Charlie Haden
  • The Montreal Tapes with Paul Bley & Charlie Haden
  • The Montreal Tapes with Gonzalo Rubalcaba & Charlie Haden
  • The Montreal Tapes with Liberation Music Orchestra

With Keith Jarrett

With Frank Kimbrough

  • Play (2006)

With Russ Lossing

With Joe Lovano

With Bill McHenry

With Augusto Pirodda

  • No Comment (Jazzwerkstatt, 2011)

With Enrico Rava

With Steve Swallow, Gil Goldstein and Pietro Tonolo

With Jacob Sacks, Eivind Opsvik and Mat Maneri

References

SOURCE: Wikpedia - Creative Commons license

External links


Persondata
NAME Motian, Paul
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION
DATE OF BIRTH 25 March 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH
DATE OF DEATH 22 November 2011
PLACE OF DEATH
  1. ↑ His surname is Armenian, and is often mispronounced "Moe-tee-un;" however, Paul Motian pronounces it "MO-shun."[1]
  2. ↑ "Paul Motian Dies at 80". JazzTimes. http://jazztimes.com/sections/news/articles/28981-paul-motian-dies-at-80. Retrieved 22 November 2011. 
  3. ↑ Paul Motian, Jazz Drummer, Is Dead at 80, The New York Times, November 22, 2011
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Huey, Steve. [[[:Template:Allmusic]] "Paul Motian: Biography"]. Allmusic. Template:Allmusic. Retrieved 23 November 2011. 
  5. ↑ Berendt, Joachim-Ernst (1976). The Jazz Book. Paladin. p. 298. 
  6. ↑ Ind, Peter (2005). Jazz Visions:Lennie Tristano and his legacy. Equinox. p. 74. ISBN 9781845532819. 
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