Mundell Lowe

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Mundell Lowe (born April 21, 1922) is an American jazz guitarist.

Lowe was born in Laurel, Mississippi on 21 April 1922. In the 1930s he played country music and Dixieland jazz.^[1] He later played with big bands and orchestras, and on television in New York City. In the 1960s, Lowe composed music for films and television in New York City and Los Angeles.^[1] He has performed and/or recorded with Billie Holiday, Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Helen Humes, Roy Buchanan, Charles Mingus, Stan Getz, Doc Severinsen, Kai Winding, Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae, Benny Carter, Herb Ellis, Tal Farlow, Barry Manilow, André Previn, Ray Brown, Kiri Te Kanawa, Tete Montoliu, Harry Belafonte and others. Lowe is a regular featured performer at the annual W. C. Handy Music Festival and a member of the W. C. Handy Jazz All-Stars.

During the late 1970s and early 1980s Mr. Lowe was also a well-respected teacher at Dick Grove Music Workshop, later the Grove School of Music, in Studio City, California, one of the top professional level music schools in the world. He taught guitar as well as film scoring.

In 1998, he was inducted into the Mississippi Music Hall of Fame, and in 1999, Millsaps College in Jackson, conferred an honorary Doctorate of Arts on Mr. Lowe in recognition of his lifetime of outstanding musical accomplishments.

On July 17, 2009, Mundell Lowe returned home to Laurel, the city he ran away from in 1938. In recognition of a lifetime of musical achievement he was given a key to the city and honored by the Mayor, Melvin Mack, who proclaimed July 18, 2009, Mundell Lowe Day in Laurel. Mundell Lowe, Lloyd Wells, and Jim Ferguson presented a matinee show and an evening show at The Laurel Little Theatre to large enthusiastic audiences. Mississippi artists, Bill Clark (who produced the show), The Cee Jay's, Bob Saxton, and Staci Stringer also honored him through musical presentations.

Discography

As leader

• 1955: The Mundell Lowe Quartet (Riverside/OJC)
• 1957: A Grand Night For Swinging (Riverside/OJC)
• 1957: Blues For Tomorrow (Sampler with Lowe, Eat Coast All Stars, Sonny Rollins, Bobby Jaspar, OJC)
• 1959: Mundell Lowe & His All Stars: TV Action Jazz (Fresh Sound Rec.) with Donald Byrd, Jimmy Cleveland, Herbie Mann, Tony Scott, Eddie Costa
• 1959: Mundell Lowe & His All Stars: Gershwin's 'Porgy & Bess' with George Duvivier, Don Elliot, Art Farmer, Osie Johnson, Tony Scott, Ben Webster, Ed Shaughnessy (RCA Camden, 1959)
• 1977: Souvenirs (Jazz Alliance, 1977–92)
• 1978: The Incomparable (Dobre Records)
• 1989: Sweet ‘n’ Lovely (Fresh Sound Records) with Tete Montoliu
• 2000: Mundell’s Moods (Nagel-Heyer)

As co-leader

• 1996: The Return of the Great Guitars (with Charlie Byrd and Herb Ellis) - (Concord)

As sideman

With André Previn

• Uptown (1990)
• Old Friends (1992)
• Kiri Sidetracks: The Jazz Album (1992)

With Benny Carter

• Further Definitions (Impulse!, 1961–66)
• Live And Well in Japan (OJC, 1977)

With Charlie Parker

• The Legendary Rockland Palace Concert, Volume 1 (Jazz Classics, 1952)

With Lalo Schifrin

• New Fantasy (Verve, 1964)

With Shirley Scott

• For Members Only (Impulse!, 1963)

With Sarah Vaughan

• After Hours (Roulette, 1961) with George Duvivier

With Ben Webster

• The Soul Of Ben Webster (Verve, 1957–58)

References

External links

• Classic Jazz Guitar.com: biography of Mundell Lowe
• Biography of Mundell Lowe
• Mundell Lowe at the Internet Movie Database