Larry Porter

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Lawrence "Larry" Stephen Porter (born September 1, 1951 in Cleveland , Ohio ) is an American jazz musician and composer.

Live and act

Porter took piano lessons from the age of six. He began his studies at the "Eastman School of Music" in Rochester , New York and continued it at Berklee College of Music , where he founded the group "Children at Play" in 1971 with Tom van der Geld . Between 1973 and 1976 he settled in Germany and worked with Bobby Jones , Volker Kriegel , Kai Winding , Mel Lewis , Günter Lenz and “Head, Heart & Hands” , among others . Together with Frank St. Peter and Alex Bally he led the group Music Community , in which Lee Harper , Leszek Zadlo , Rudi Fuesers and Hermann Breuer also played and with which he took part in numerous jazz festivals in Europe. On a study trip through India and Afghanistan he learned to play the sarod and from Mohammad Omar the rubab . He then worked in New York City until 1980 in the jazz sector as well as with Indian musicians or as a companion for Merce Cunningham and other dancers.

From 1981 he lived in Munich and worked with Bobby Stern , Frank St. Peter , Airto Moreira , Albert Mangelsdorff , Heinz Sauer and Sal Nistico . After a stay in Spain, where he gave seminars with Thad Jones , he led a quartet with Allan Praskin from 1984 , which also released albums such as “First Date” (1984) and “Acoustic Music” (1985). He also appeared in a trio with Detlev Beier and Thomas Cremer . From 1986 to 1988 he continued to accompany Chet Baker on several tours , between 1988 and 1992 he was with the band of Art Farmer , 1991/92 with Archie Shepp as well as with Marty Cook and Monty Waters . From 1994 to 2000 he worked in New York again. Since then Porter has lived and worked in Berlin , where he appears in a trio with Johannes Fink and Oliver Steidle (CD "Circle is unbroken") and in a quartet with Wilson de Oliveira , but also in the "Christian Grabandt Quintet".

Porter also played with Hannibal Marvin Peterson , Embryo , Benny Bailey , Leo Wright , Al Cohn , Jim Pepper , Sheila Jordan , Jay Clayton , Rachel Gould and Evgenia Kharitonova.

Porter also played an album of traditional Afghan music ("The Magical Rebab of Larry Porter"). He also composed a string quartet (1989) and ballet music (1991). In 2004 he wrote the “Kind of Jazz Suite” for the horn players of the Berliner Philharmoniker .

Prizes and awards

In 1990 he was awarded a first prize for choral composition in Cologne for his composition “Vergänlichkeit” (“transience”) after Hermann Hesse , which he created for choir and jazz trio . In 1992 he received the Jazz Prize of the City of Munich.

Lexigraphic entries

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Porter, Larry
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Porter, Lawrence Stephen (full name); Porter, Larry Stephen (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz pianist and composer
DATE OF BIRTH September 1, 1951
PLACE OF BIRTH Cleveland , Ohio