Michael White (violinist)
Michael Walter White (born May 24, 1933 in Houston , Texas , † December 6, 2016 ) was an American violinist of fusion and avant-garde jazz . He is considered the first jazz violinist who brought his instrument into an avant-garde environment.
Live and act
White, who grew up in Oakland, California , began playing the violin when he was nine. He became known as a member of the John Handy quintet in 1965 through an appearance at the Monterey Jazz Festival . However, White has played with Eric Dolphy , John Coltrane or Sun Ra before . White stayed with Handy until 1968, recording three records with it. Then he founded the rock jazz group "The Fourth Way" with Mike Nock , Ron McClure and Eddie Marshall , which existed until 1971. White then released seven albums under his own name on Impulse and Elektra and worked with Jerry Hahn , Pharoah Sanders , Sonny Simmons , Joe Henderson , McCoy Tyner and George Duke .
After 1979 his traces were lost until, surprisingly, he went on tour again in 1994 with the original Handy Quintet. In 1997, after almost 20 years of absence from the studio, White recorded the duo album "Motion Picture" with Bill Frisell . Most recently he played in a quintet with his wife Leisei Chen (voc), Michael Howell (gt), Cecil McBee (b) and Kenneth Nash (perc) (CD “Voices”, 2006).
White taught at the Cornish University for the Arts in Seattle .
Discographic notes
- 1969: The Fourth Way (Capitol)
- 1970: Werewolf (The Fourth Way; Capitol)
- 1970: The Sun and Moon Have Come Together (The Fourth Way; Capitol)
- 1971: Spirit Dance (Impulse!), With Norman Williams, Clifford Coulter, Bob King, Kenneth Jenkins, Clarence Becton , Kenneth Nash , Marti McCall
- 1972: Pneuma (impulses!)
- 1973: The Land of Spirit and Light (Impulse!)
- 1974: Father Music, Mother Dance (impulses!)
- 1974: Go with the Flow (impulses!)
- 1978: The X Factor (Elektra)
- 1979: White Night (Elektra)
- 1997: Motion Picture (with Bill Frisell; intuition)
- 2004: Voices (IZNIZ)
literature
- Ian Carr , Digby Fairweather , Brian Priestley : Rough Guide Jazz. The ultimate guide to jazz music. 1700 artists and bands from the beginning until today. Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 1999, ISBN 3-476-01584-X .
- Martin Kunzler : Jazz Lexicon. Volume 2: M – Z (= rororo-Sachbuch. Vol. 16513). 2nd Edition. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 2004, ISBN 3-499-16513-9 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Death report on Instagram
- ^ Andrew Gilbert: SF Jazz sets tribute for beloved Oakland sax man (2017) in Mercury.News
- ^ Review at All About Jazz
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | White, Michael |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | White, Michael Walter (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American fusion and modern jazz violinist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 24, 1933 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Houston , Texas |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 6, 2016 |