James Newton

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James Weldon Newton (born May 1, 1953 in Los Angeles , California ) is an American jazz flutist , conductor, composer and professor, currently in the Department of Ethnomusicology at the University of California, Los Angeles , Los Angeles. He is one of the outstanding flutists in jazz.

Live and act

Newton spent five years of his childhood in Germany , where his father was stationed as a professional soldier . After taking his first steps in rock idiom, he learned to flute in high school. In addition to the classical lessons there, he also took jazz lessons. He had the same flute teacher as Eric Dolphy , namely Buddy Collette . In the mid-1970s he played in the group of drummer Stanley Crouch . Since 1978 Newton lived in New York, where he played with musicians such as Cecil Taylor and Lester Bowie and founded a trio with the pianist and composer Anthony Davis and Abdul Wadud on the cello. In addition to chamber music jazz, the three also played third-stream compositions by Newton and Davis. With Davis he also founded a quartet that was also successful in Europe. In addition, he recorded several records as an unaccompanied soloist and released concept albums, for example with music by Duke Ellington .

Since the late 1980s, Newton has often worked with musicians from other cultures (e.g. Jon Jang , Gao Hong or Kadri Gopalnath ) and has studied Indian and Chinese music. He was also one of the first editions of the Charles Mingus Dynasty Band and was involved in projects by clarinetist John Carter , saxophonist David Murray , violinist Leroy Jenkins and drummer Andrew Cyrille . For about 10 years Newton has been increasingly active in classical music, conducting chamber music ensembles and symphony orchestras in the USA and Europe. He also writes (mainly chamber music) compositions in the post-serial idiom as well as ballet music .

effect

He was nominated as a top flutist 23 times in a row by Down Beat magazine. Newton has received grants from the Guggenheim - and the Rockefeller Foundation . Records like Luella won the Montreux Grande Prix Du Disque and the Down Beat International Critics Jazz Album of the Year.

In 2002 Newton sued the Beastie Boys : Major parts of his composition Choir had been sampled for their hit Pass the Mic . His lawsuit in federal court was dismissed because the label ECM (which acted as the publisher for the recording) had assigned the rights without his knowledge for a one-time fee of a thousand dollars.

Selection discography

  • Echo Canyon (solo). Celestial Harmonies
  • Luella. Gramavision
  • Romance and Revolution. Blue Note Records
  • The African Flower. Blue note
  • Suite for Frida Kahlo. Audio Quest
  • Buddy Collette Quintet feat. James Newton: Flute Talk . Soul note
  • Flute Force 4 (flute quartet with Henry Threadgill , Eustache Pedro, Magdaluyo Melecio). Black Saint
  • Southern Brothers (with Kadri Gopalnath & Puvalur Srinivasan). WaterLily
  • San Francisco Contemporary Music Players / James Newton: ... As the Sound of Many Waters. New World Records

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Newton, James
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Newton, James Weldon (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz flutist and composer
DATE OF BIRTH May 1, 1953
PLACE OF BIRTH Los Angeles , California