Terry Jennings

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Terry Jennings (born July 19, 1940 in Eagle Rock (Los Angeles) , † December 11, 1981 in San Pablo (California) ) was an American composer and interpreter of minimal music ( soprano saxophone , clarinet ). He was one of the pioneers of this style of music; his best known works are Winter Trees and Winter Sun (1975).

Live and act

Jennings received piano lessons from his parents from the age of four and played the works of John Cage for prepared piano at the age of twelve . In high school he was the clarinet soloist in the school orchestra. Then he became interested in jazz and also played saxophones. In 1953 he met La Monte Young , with whom he played jazz in Los Angeles ; he also made La Monte Young, who also taught him the basics of composition, on John Cage. From 1954 he received saxophone lessons from William Green at the Los Angeles Conservatory. He studied composition with Robert Erickson at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and with Leonard Stein at the California Institute of the Arts . He moved to New York City in the early 1960s and became part of the Fluxus movement . In 1960 his composition Piece for Two Saxophones was performed by Yoko Ono in the loft . Even before La Monte Young, he wrote the first minimalist pieces that were based on long-lasting tones and influenced La Monte Young's style (e.g. in Trio for Strings ). As a composer and performing musician, he has worked with various dance theater ensembles, together with Charlemagne Palestine and as an interpreter in La Monte Young's Theater of Eternal Music . Although he did not publish his compositions, he also influenced composers of the subsequent minimalist generation such as Harold Budd , Peter Garland and Howard Skempton . In the 1970s he dealt with neo-romanticisms, for example in his composition The Seasons (1975). It wasn't until 1992 that one of his compositions, Terry's G Dorian Blues , was released on an album.

Discographic notes

literature

  • Peter Garland / La Monte Young (2001): Jennings, Terry . In: Stanley Sadie & John Tyrrell (Eds.) The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians . London: Macmillan
  • Ben Patterson (1968) "Terry Jennings: Making of a Musician, 1968". Village Voice (January 11th)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See Edward Strickland Minimalism: Origins. Indiana University Press 2000
  2. ↑ Jon Gibson : In Good Company ( Liner Notes )
  3. ↑ Your improvisation Short & Sweet from 1974 is documented on the album: Charlemagne Palestine, Terry Jennings, Tony Conrad , Robert Feldman , Rhys Chatham Sharing a Sonority (Golden 4)
  4. ↑ On Jon Gibson's album In Good Company ; La Monte Young participates in the recording as a pianist.
  5. ↑ The album contains five compositions by Jennings (in addition to Winter Trees and Winter Sun Piano Piece 1958 , Piano Piece 1960 and For Christine Jennings ) and John Cages Electronic Music For Piano
personal data
SURNAME Jennings, Terry
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American composer and musician
DATE OF BIRTH July 19, 1940
PLACE OF BIRTH Eagle Rock (Los Angeles)
DATE OF DEATH December 11, 1981
Place of death San Pablo (California)