Leroy Jenkins
Leroy Jenkins (born March 11, 1932 in Chicago , Illinois , † February 24, 2007 in New York City , New York) was an American composer and free jazz musician (violin, viola).
Career
After graduating from Florida A&M University , Jenkins first worked as a music teacher in schools in his hometown. However, in the early years of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) he came into contact with the central figures of this musician initiative, in particular Muhal Richard Abrams and Anthony Braxton . With the latter and Wadada Leo Smith , he founded the Creative Construction Company in 1968 . From 1970 he lived in New York City , where he soon made a name for himself in the avant-garde scene with his instruments, which were unusual at the time in free jazz, and where Carla Bley took part in the recording of Escalator over the Hill . At the beginning of the 1970s he founded the Revolutionary Ensemble with the double bass player Sirone and the drummer Jerome Cooper, which set the tone for the evolving free improvisation music ; Titles such as Vietnam and The People's Republic conveyed the political aspirations of the musicians, who created an exciting music that formed a bridge between jazz and new music. With the intention of approaching the sound of the human voice with the violin, Jenkins succeeded in “redefining his instrument” by exploring “what it can be beyond its classical European context”. He also played with Archie Shepp , Alice Coltrane and Roland Kirk .
From the late 1970s he experimented a lot with small formations, for example a trio with Anthony Davis and Andrew Cyrille . He gave solo concerts as documented on his albums Solo Concert (1977) and Solo (1998). The album Urban Blues followed in 1984 with the Ensemble Sting . In 1987 he was on a European tour with Cecil Taylor .
Jenkins was one of the exceptional phenomena on the Afro-American scene. His clustering , blues-based playing style has been inspiring in Europe since the early seventies and was euphorically received at festivals. In 2003 there was a brief revival of the Revolutionary Ensemble ( And Now ... ) with Sirone and Jerome Cooper. In 2007 he died in Brooklyn of complications from lung cancer.
composer
Jenkins was also successful as a composer: his piece For Players Only was premiered in 1975 . After the opera Editorial he created for the musical theater together with Ann T. Greene The Mother of Three Sons , Fresh Faust and The Negros Burial Ground and Homer Jackson The Three Willies . He also composed works for symphony orchestras and electric ensembles. Jenkins also worked as an educator.
Discographic notes
- Revolutionary Ensemble ( ESP-Disk , 1971) with Sirone & Jerome Cooper
- Livelong Ambtions ( Black Saint , 1977) with Muhal Richard Abrams
- Mixed Quintet (Black Saint) with John Clark , James Newton , JD Parran , Marty Ehrlich
- Live! (Black saint, 1992) with Brandon Ross , Reggie Nicholson
- Themes and Improvisations of the Blues (CRI, 1992) with Don Byron , Henry Threadgill , Lindsey Horner , Thurman Barker
- Solo (Lovely Music, 1998) solo
Secondary literature
- Christian Broecking, Every tone a rescue station . Verbrecher, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-935843-85-0 .
Remarks
- ↑ Michael Rieger, Free Jazz / Evolution. Jazz Podium 12/1 2007/08
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Jenkins, Leroy |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American composer and free jazz musician (violin, viola) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 11, 1932 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Chicago , Illinois |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 24, 2007 |
| Place of death | New York City , New York |