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Zeta
Instrument
Signature violin
Bio
The 1970s were a time when much of the bold musical experiments that officially began in the 60s gained new levels of artistic and technical sophistication. It was a time when a handful of players, fueled by the visceral power of rock, the freedom of jazz, and a theoretical discipline of classical music made inroads with a new kind of dialogue known to many as jazz-rock, and later as fusion.
Among these few players, Jean-Luc Ponty is the undisputed master of violin in this arena. Through his bold experimentation with electronics and synthesis, he liberated the image and capabilities of the violin from a purely acoustic, largely classical or folk setting. Therefore, he is widely regarded as an innovator who has applied his own unique visionary spin that has expanded the vocabulary of modern music.
Jean-Luc Ponty was born into a family of classical musicians on September 29, 1942 in Avranches, France. His father taught violin, his mother piano, and from the age of five, they both gave their son lessons on each instrument. At age eleven, Jean-Luc chose to focus on violin, and at fifteen was sent to study this instrument in Paris. A year later he was admitted to the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique and graduated with that institution's highest award, premier prix, at seventeen. He was immediately hired by one of the major symphony orchestras, the Concerts Lamoureux, with which he played for three years.
While he was still at the conservatory in Paris, Ponty picked up a side gig playing clarinet for a college jazz band that played parties. The bandleader taught him the basic rules of jazz, and Ponty later switched to tenor sax because he quickly developed an interest for the more modern jazz of the time, like Miles Davis and John Coltrane. This interest became a passion which made him switch from tenor sax to his instrument, violin. That was an important step for the classically trained violinist.
Every Sunday he performed with the symphony orchestra which required three rehearsals a week, and was also frequently playing in jazz clubs until 3:00 a.m. Consequently, he started showing up late for symphony rehearsals. The time had come for Jean-Luc to make a choice, so he took a chance with jazz. At first, violin was a handicap, because it was not viewed as an instrument for modern jazz. While many critics have tried to link Ponty with Grappelli as a major influence, it was Stuff Smith's punchy style of playing that Ponty was drawn to. However, Ponty's phrasing was more influenced by jazz trumpeters, saxophonists and pianists of the be-bop era, and he developed a style of playing that discarded vibrato for a straighter sound.
Ponty's notoriety grew fast, and by 1964, at 22 years old, he had released a debut solo album on the Philips label called Jazz Long Playing, a title drawn from a playful use of his initials. In 1966, a live album called Violin Summit on Verve Records brought together Stuff Smith, Stephane Grappelli, Svend Asmussen and Jean-Luc Ponty in Basel, Switzerland. In 1967, John Lewis of the Modern Jazz Quartet invited Ponty and the other violinists to recreate the same event for the Monterey Jazz Festival in California. But Ponty and Svend Asmussen were the only ones to make it there. Ponty's appearance led to a recording deal with the World Pacific label for three albums. Back in Europe, he recorded a number of albums that were met with increasing critical success. Those recordings brought him to the attention of many artists who wanted Ponty's signature violin work in their own projects, among them were Elton John, Frank Zappa, and John McLaughlin. In 1968, Ponty and Zappa collaborated on an album called King Kong, after which Zappa asked Ponty to join the "Mothers of Invention" with whom he toured for seven months. John McLaughlin then asked Jean-Luc to join forces with him for the second "Mahavishnu Orchestra", which Ponty did for one year.
By then, Ponty was living in Los Angeles with his wife and two daughters with hopes of starting a new life full of expectation for the American dream. That dream materialized in 1975 when Ponty signed a major deal with Atlantic Records, then headed by the legendary Nesuhi Ertegun, who gave the violinist complete freedom to produce his own albums.
Ponty's earlier recordings Aurora and Imaginary Voyage not only established him as a virtuoso violinist with a unique style, but also as one of the figureheads of the jazz-rock movement in the United States. Between 1975 and 1985, he toured all over the world and recorded 12 albums with Atlantic Records, all of which made it into the top five of Billboard's jazz charts. Besides touring and recording with his own group, Ponty also performed some of his compositions with the New Music Ensemble of Pittsburg, the Radio City Orchestra in New York, as well as with symphony orchestras in Montreal, Toronto, Tokyo and Oklahoma City.
In 1978, his album Cosmic Messenger set the tone for Ponty's new direction, which culminated in 1982 with the release of his Mystical Adventures album, which was #1 on the Billboard jazz charts and also achieved success on the pop charts.
Thanks to a developing fascination with sequenced keyboards and looped parts, Ponty changed gears with the 1983 release, Individual Choice. A video of the title track featuring time-lapse images was produced by Louis Schwazberg. Along with Herbie Hancock, Ponty became one of the first jazz musicians to have a music video.
In 1986, Ponty left Atlantic Records to record two albums for Columbia Records, The Gift of Time (1987) and Storytelling (1989). During his world tour in 1988, while in Paris, a journalist made him discover a thriving community of expatriate West African musicians. Jean-Luc was impressed and inspired by their music. In 1990, he took a flight to Paris, called a small group of West African musicians into the studio to "jam" and became acquainted with their native styles of music. This experience led to the recording of Tchokola in 1991, on the Epic Records label. Ponty even brought his West African musicians on an eight week tour of the U.S. and Canada.
In 1993, Ponty came back to his own musical style while keeping some of the African musicians in the rhythm section for No Absolute Time. At this time, he also came back to the Atlantic label.
Since No Absolute Time, Ponty joined guitarist Al DiMeola and bassist Stanley Clarke to form the highly acclaimed acoustic trio, "Rite of Strings". The group recorded an album and enjoyed a highly successful tour of the U.S., Canada, South America and Europe from June to November, 1995.
Le Voyage, an anthology of his productions on Atlantic Records, was released as a double CD with a very informative booklet in January 1996, by Rhino Records. It is a compilation of some of Ponty's greatest recordings from 1975 to 1985.
Following the release of Le Voyage, Ponty regrouped his American Band for a string of summer concerts in the USA. One of these performances was recorded in Detroit, Michigan and released by Atlantic Records in February 1997 under the title Live at Chene Park. This album, Ponty's first live recording in 20 years, contains stirring and exciting material from 1985 to 1993. Evidence of his undiminished stature is readily heard in the roaring and enthusiastic response from 6,000 fans.
In early 1997, Ponty returned to his group of Western and African musicians, pursuing this new visionary fusion that he started in 1991. Since then, he and his band have been touring from the Hawaiian Islands to Eastern Europe. Together they triumphed at jazz festivals in New York, Montreal, Toronto, as well as in France and Germany.
News
Virtuoso violinist Jean-Luc Ponty has relesed his first new solo studio album in seven years, LIFE ENIGMA, on August 21, 2001. The pioneering jazz and rock musician is issuing LIFE ENIGMA on his own label through his JLP Productions Inc. company. He composed, engineered and produced LIFE ENIGMA.
Ponty says LIFE ENIGMA is a return to the musical style he perfected during his decade-long stint with Atlantic Records, including his two most commercially popular albums, 1977's ENIGMATIC OCEAN and 1978's COSMIC MESSENGER.
"I did consciously decide to utilize a similar style on LIFE ENIGMA, but it's also influenced by the world music I recorded with West African musicians in the 1990's, " he explains.
The 10 songs on LIFE ENIGMA are: "Two Thousand-One Years Ago," "Signals From Planet Earth," "The Infinite human Caravan," "Lonely Among All," "Firmament," "Pizzy Cat," "Life Enigma," "Even the Sun will Die," "Love at Last Sight" and "And Life Goes On." These Ponty compositions encompass a variety of textures, often within the same song. His mastery of explosively bright and richly warm violin lines anchors the memorable melodies.
Many songs on LIFE ENIGMA are complete solo performances on which Ponty played several instruments. Other tracks feature new and longtime Ponty band members including keyboardist William Lecomte, bassist Guy Akwa Nsangue', drummer Thierry Arpino and percussionist Moustapha Cisse'. This album, which Ponty calls the best-sounding release of his stellar career, is the first he's recorded using 24-bit digital technology. Most of LIFE ENIGMA was recorded at Ponty's home studio with some rhythm tracks recorded in outside studios in Paris.
A world tour is planned to promote LIFE ENIGMA and it is scheduled to begin in October 2001.
More information is available at this page.
Check out Jean-Luc's website, www.Ponty.com/concert_dates.html for a complete listing of JLP's Concert Dates!
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Discography
Life Enigma
2001
New Release
Recorded at Ponty's home studio using for the first time, 24-bit digital technology, with some rhythm tracks recorded in outside studios in Paris, on his own label JLP Productions Inc. Many songs are complete solo performances on which Ponty plays several instruments. Other tracks feature new and longtime Ponty band members including keyboardist William Lecomte, bassist Guy Akwa Nsangue', drummer Thierry Arpino and percussionist Moustapha Cisse'.
Live at Chene Park
1997
Recorded on June 29, 1996 in Detroit, Michigan in front of 6,000 fans with Jamie Glaser (guitar), Chris Rhyne (keyboards), Baron Browne (bass) and Michael Barsimanto (drums) - very exciting live versions of JLP's material from 1985 to 1993.
Le Voyage
1996
This compilation album includes 32 tracks compiled from JLP's 12 album recordings on Atlantic Records from 1975 to 1985, plus one track from 1993's No Absolute Time.
No Absolute Time
1993
Recorded between December 1992 and March 1993 in Paris and Los Angeles with American and West African musicians: Wally Minko (keyboards), Martin Atangana (rhythm guitar), Guy N'Sangué (bass), Moktar Samba (drums & percussion) Abdou M'Boup and Sydney Thiam (percussion), plus Kevin Eubanks (guitar) on one track. A blend of JLP's lyrical compositions with West African rhythms on some of the pieces.
Tchokola
1991
Recorded in 1991 in Paris, mixed in Los Angeles, 10 tracks based on melodies and rhyhms from West and Central Africa with singers and instrumentalists from the countries of Senegal, Cameroon and Guinea such as Guy N'Sangué (bass) Moustapha Cissé and Abdou M'Boup (percussions) Brice Wassy (drums) Willy N'For, Angélique Kidjo, Myriam Betty and Esther Dobong'Na-Essiène (vocals) Kemo Kouyaté (cora, balafon) Yves N'Djock (guitar).
Storytelling
1989
Recorded in 1989 in Los Angeles with regular members of JLP's touring group: Jamie Glaser (guitar), Wally Minko (keyboards), Baron Browne (bass) and Rayford Griffin (drums & electronic percussion), additional percussion by Kurt Wortman, guest appearances by Grover Washington (soprano sax) and Patrice Rushen (piano & synthesizers) each on one track, plus Clara Ponty (JLP's daughter) on grand piano for a one acoustic duet with JLP.
The Gift of Time
1987
Recorded in 1987 in Los Angeles with Baron Browne (bass), Rayford Griffin (drums), additional guitar parts by Pat Thomi. JLP plays all keyboards parts on the Synclavier and uses for the first time the MIDI controller with the Zeta 5-string electronic violin.
Fables
1985
Recorded in 1985 in Los Angeles with Scott Henderson (guitar), Baron Browne (bass), Rayford Griffin (drums). JLP played all the keyboards parts using the Synclavier Digital Music System for the first time.
Open Mind
1984
Recorded in 1984 in Los Angeles, JLP recorded for the first time a five-string Zeta electronic prototype violin, plus synthesizers and rhythm computer. Chick Corea (grand piano and synthesizer), George Benson (guitar), Casey Scheuerell (drums, tabla) and Rayford Griffin (drums), each appear on one track as guest artists.
Individual Choice
1983
Recorded in 1983 in Los Angeles, this is JLP's first recording where he plays all the violin, synthesizer and rhythm computer parts, except for one piece which was recorded with Allan Holdsworth (guitars) Randy Jackson (bass) and Rayford Griffin (drums). Both George Duke (synthesizer) and Allan Holdsworth contribute their solos to two other pieces. The title track was used for a revolutionary promotional video made of time lapse photography by Louis Schwartzberg.
Mystical Adventures
1982
Recorded in 1981 in Los Angeles with regular group members Jamie Glaser (guitars) Chris Rhyne (keyboards) Randy Jackson (bass) and Rayford Griffin (drums), with the addition of Paulinho Da Costa (percussion) on three tracks, this album reached number 1 on the jazz charts of the American trade magazine Billboard. First recording with drummer Rayford Griffin.
Civilized Evil
1980
Recorded in 1980 in Los Angeles with Joaquin Lievano (guitars) Chris Rhyne (keyboards) Randy Jackson (bass) Mark Craney (drums). Tracks include Forms of Life, Once a Blue Planet, etc.
A Taste For Passion
1979
Recorded in 1979 in Los Angeles with Jamie Glaser (electric guitar) Joaquin Lievano (acoustic and electric guitars) Allan Zavod (keyboards) Ralphe Armstrong (bass) Casey Scheuerell (drums, percussion). First recording where JLP is using a five-string blue Barcus-Berry violin.
Cosmic Messenger
1978
Recorded in 1978 in Los Angeles with Joaquin Lievano and Peter Manau (guitars) Allan Zavod (keyboards) Ralphe Armstrong (bass) and Casey Scheuerell (drums & percussion). Innovative use of echo delays by JLP on Cosmic Messenger, I Only Feel Good With You, Ethereal Mood.
Enigmatic Ocean
1977
Recorded in 1977 in Los Angeles with Allan Holdsworth and Daryl Stuermer (guitars) Allan Zavod (keyboards) Ralphe Armstrong (bass) and Steve Smith (drums).
Imaginary Voyage
1976
Recorded in 1976 with Daryl Stuermer (guitars) Allan Zavod (keybaords) Tom Fowler (bass) and Mark Craney (drums). Legendary recording with JLP's fisrt 20 minute suite (title track) and his second U.S. radio "hit" New Country.
Aurora
1976
Released in early 1976, this album was recorded in December 1975 with Jean-Luc's first American touring group: Daryl Stuermer (guitars) Patrice Rushen (keyboards) Tom Fowler (bass) and Norman Fearrington (drums). The track Renaissance recorded with acoustic instruments was JLP's first radio "hit" in the U.S.A.
Upon The Wings of Music
1975
First album produced by JLP in America for Atlantic. It was recorded in 1975 between tours with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. It features Patrice Rushen (keyboards), Ralphe Armstrong (bass), Ndugu Leon Chancler (drums), Dan Sawyer and Ray Parker Junior (guitars).
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29 July, 2010
