John Mayer (composer)
John Mayer (born October 28, 1930 in Calcutta , † March 9, 2004 in Great Britain ) was an Indo-British composer and violinist who is now internationally associated with some early works of ethno-jazz .
Live and act
Mayer, who grew up in India as the son of an impoverished government official, worked there as a street musician , after receiving instrumental lessons from Phillipe Sandre at the Calcutta School of Music and studying classical Indian and Western music at an early age , he moved to the suggestion of his teacher Melhi Metha 1952 to London ; there he first played in the London Philharmonic Orchestra and studied composition at the Royal Academy of Music with Mátyás Seiber . Yehudi Menuhin performed his violin sonata with the London Philharmonic Orchestra . “Mayer's music was a synthesis of Indian music and occidental compositional techniques, as evidenced by his orchestral work Raga Jaijavanti, composed in 1958. ” In the same year, his Dance Suite was performed by Charles Groves with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra . He had previously performed with Raga Music for Solo Clarinet . Until the mid-1960s he was a member of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra . After composing for the producer Dennis Preston in 1964, Ahmet Ertegün suggested Mayer's own jazz albums . To perform his compositions, he combined an Indian-influenced quintet with the quintet by Joe Harriott . Between 1965 and 1967 several albums were created with this double quintet; other albums were recorded without Harriott. Then he was a member of the band Cosmic Eye , with whom he recorded the album Dream Sequence in 1972 . In 1967 his Shanta Quartet for Sitar and Strings was recorded; James Galway performed his flute concerto Mandala ki Raga Sandeet in 1990 , after having presented the album Galway Plays Mayer to RCA in 1982 . Even Rohan de Saram interpreted works by him.
Mayer, who taught at the Birmingham Conservatory, also orchestrated for Keith Emerson . In 1995 he reformed his indo-jazz fusion .
Discographic notes
- John Harriot / John Mayer Indo-Jazz Suite (1965) with Chris Taylor , Diwan Motihar , Keshav Sathe , Chandrahas Paigankar , Eddie Blair , Pat Smythe , Rick Laird , Alan Ganley
- John Harriot / John Mayer Indo-Jazz Fusions I & II (1966, 1967) with Kenny Wheeler and Shake Keane , Chris Taylor, Pat Smythe, Coleridge Goode , Alan Ganley, Diwan Motihar, Chandrahas Paigankar, Keshav Sathe
- Etudes / Radha Krishna (1969/1971) with John Mayer, Chris Taylor, Ian Hamer , Tony Coe , Pat Smythe, Coleridge Goode, John Marshall , Diwan Motihar, Viram Jasani, Keshav Sathe, Clem Alford , The Lansdowne String Trio, etc. a.
- Indo-Jazz Fusions: Asian Airs (1996) with James McDowall, Anna Brooks , Dave Smith, Steve Tromans, Chris Featonby, Andrew Bratt, Jonathan Mayer, Ranjit Singh, Peter Moore
- Inja (2000)
- Shiva Nataraj - King of Dance (2001)
Web links
- Indo jazz fusions
- obituary
- John Mayer at Allmusic (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Martin Pfleiderer Between Exotism and World Music. For the reception of Asian and African music in jazz of the 60s and 70s . Karben 1998, p. 149
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mayer, John |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Indian musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 28, 1930 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Calcutta |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 9, 2004 |
| Place of death | United Kingdom |