Mike Melvoin
Michael "Mike" Melvoin (born May 10, 1937 in Oshkosh , Wisconsin , † February 22, 2012 in Burbank , California ) was an American jazz pianist , arranger and composer .
Live and act
Mike Melvoin started playing the piano at the age of three. He first studied English at Dartmouth College , where he graduated in 1959, but then decided to pursue a career as a jazz musician. After moving to Los Angeles in 1961, he worked with Frank Rosolino , Leroy Vinnegar , Gerald Wilson , Paul Horn , Terry Gibbs , Joe Williams , Peggy Lee and Tom Waits . Mostly he worked as a studio musician; He worked on recordings by Milt Jackson , Gábor Szabó , Stan Getz , Frank Sinatra , Natalie Cole , Helen Reddy , John Lennon ( Stand By Me ), Barbra Streisand , Quincy Jones , Michael Jackson , Tom Waits, Lalo Schifrin and the Pet Sounds -Sessions 1966 with the Beach Boys . He worked as an arranger for The Ventures . He was also the first active musician to serve as the National Chairman of the Recording Academy . He also played in clubs in Los Angeles, accompanied the singer Bill Henderson and took part in the recordings of Herb Ellis and Plas Johnson at Concord Jazz .
Melvoin was married to Constance Lula Ives (* December 31, 1936 - May 7, 2020) and had three children with her; her son Jonathan (* 1961; † 1996) was keyboardist in the US band The Smashing Pumpkins and the twins Susannah and Wendy (* 1964) are members of the band The Revolution , which was founded by Prince in the 1980s .
Discographic notes
Recordings under your own name
- Keys to Your Mind ( Liberty Records , 1966)
- Between the Two (Liberty, 1968)
- The Plastic Cow Goes Moooooog ( Dot Records , 1969)
- Unknown Title (Discwasher, 1979)
- Redeye (Voss Records, 1988)
- The Capitol Sessions (with Bill Henderson and Charlie Haden ) (Naim, 1999)
- Oh Baby (City Light, 2002)
- It's Always You (with Phil Woods ) (City Light, 2003)
- Like Jazz (with David Basse) (City Light, 2003)
- Playing the Word (City Light, 2006)
- You Know (City Light, 2006)
Recordings as an accompanist
With Milt Jackson
- Memphis Jackson ( Impulse ! , 1969)
With Gábor Szabó
- Light My Fire (Impulse !, 1967) with Bob Thiele
- Wind, Sky and Diamonds (Impulse !, 1967)
- 1969 (Skye, 1969)
With Tom Waits
- Nighthawks at the Diner (Asylum, 1975)
Filmography
- 1979: Ashanti
- 1979: What, you don't want to? (The Main Event)
- 1981: Heroes of the Road (King of the Mountain)
- 1987: Chicago Blues (The Big Town)
- 1989: Blind Fear (Blind Fear)
Lexical entries
- Leonard Feather , Ira Gitler : The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford University Press, New York 1999, ISBN 0-19-532000-X .
Web links
- Official website
- Mike Melvoin in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Mike Melvoin at Discogs (English)
- Mike Melvoin at Allmusic (English)
Individual evidence
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Melvoin, Mike |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Melvoin, Michael (real name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz pianist, arranger and composer |
DATE OF BIRTH | May 10, 1937 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Oshkosh , Wisconsin |
DATE OF DEATH | February 22, 2012 |
Place of death | Burbank , California |