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Paul Motian

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Paul Motian

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Biography

A masterfully subtle drummer and a superb colorist, Paul Motian was also an advanced improviser and a bandleader with a taste for challenging post-bop. Born Stephen Paul Motian in Philadelphia on March 25, 1931, he grew up in Providence and began playing the drums at age 12, eventually touring New England in a swing band. He moved to New York in 1955 and played with numerous musicians -- including Thelonious Monk, Lennie Tristano, Coleman Hawkins, Tony Scott, and George Russell -- before settling into a regular role as part of Bill Evans' most famous trio (with bassist Scott LaFaro), appearing on his classics Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby.

In 1963, Motian left Evans' group to join up with Paul Bley for a year or so, and began a long association with Keith Jarrett in 1966, appearing with the pianist's American-based quartet through 1977. In addition, Motian freelanced for artists like Mose Allison, Charles Lloyd, Carla Bley, and Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Ensemble, and turned down the chance to be John Coltrane's second drummer.

In 1972, Motian recorded his first session as a leader, Conception Vessel, for ECM; he followed in 1974 with Tribute. He formed a regular working group in 1977 (which featured tenor Joe Lovano) and recorded several more dates for ECM, then revamped the ensemble to include guitarist Bill Frisell in 1980. Additional dates for ECM and Soul Note followed, and in 1988 Motian moved to JMT, where he recorded a long string of fine albums beginning with Monk in Motian. During the '90s, he also led an ensemble called the Electric Bebop Band, which featured saxophonist Joshua Redman, guitarists Kurt Rosenwinkel and Brad Shepik, and bassist Stomu Takeishi. In 1998, Motian signed on with the Winter & Winter label, where he began recording another steady stream of albums, including 2000 + One in 1999, Europe in 2001, and Holiday for Strings in 2002.

In 2005, Motian moved to the ECM label, releasing I Have the Room Above Her that same year, followed by Garden of Eden in 2006 and Time and Time Again in 2007. In 2009, he released his fifth in his series of standards albums with On Broadway, Vol. 5 and returned in 2010 with the trio album Lost in a Dream on ECM. The following year, Motian released several albums including Consort in Motion, his exploration of Renaissance and Baroque composers on Kind of Blue, the concert album Live at Birdland on ECM, and Windmills of Your Mind featuring guitarist Bill Frisell on Winter & Winter. A hugely influential drummer, bandleader, composer, and a journeyman live performer, Motian died from complications of myelodysplastic syndrome, a bone marrow disorder, early in the morning on November 22, 2011 in New York City. He was 80 years old. The album Further Explorations featuring pianist Chick Corea and bassist Eddie Gomez appeared posthumously on Concord in January, 2012. ~ Steve Huey, Rovi
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Paul Motian

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Paul Motian

Joe Lovano, Paul Motian and Bill Frisell in Rome
Background information
Birth name Paul Motian
Born (1931-03-25)25 March 1931
Origin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died 22 November 2011(2011-11-22) (aged 80)
Genres Jazz
Occupations Drummer, composer
Instruments Drums, percussion
Associated acts Bill Frisell, Joe Lovano, Bill Evans

Stephen Paul Motian[1] (25 March 1931 – 22 November 2011)[2][3] was an American jazz drummer, percussionist and composer of Armenian extraction.

He first came to prominence in the late 1950s in the piano trio of Bill Evans, and later led several groups. Motian played an important role in freeing jazz drummers from strict time-keeping duties.

Contents

Biography

Motian was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and raised in Providence, Rhode Island. After playing guitar in his childhood, Motian began playing the drums at age 12, eventually touring New England in a swing band. During the Korean War he joined the Navy.

Motian became a professional musician in 1954, and briefly played with pianist Thelonious Monk. He became well known as the drummer in pianist Bill Evans's trio (1959–64), initially alongside bassist Scott LaFaro and later with Chuck Israels.[4][5]

Subsequently, he played with pianists Paul Bley (1963-64) and Keith Jarrett (1967–76). Other musicians with whom Motian performed and/or recorded in the early period of his career included Lennie Tristano, Warne Marsh, Lee Konitz,[6] Joe Castro, Arlo Guthrie (Motian performed briefly with Guthrie in 1968-69, and performed with the singer at Woodstock), Carla Bley, Charlie Haden, and Don Cherry. Motian subsequently worked with musicians such as Marilyn Crispell, Bill Frisell, Leni Stern, Joe Lovano, Alan Pasqua, Bill McHenry, Stephane Oliva, Frank Kimbrough, and many more.

Later in his career, Motian became an important composer and group leader,[7] recording initially for ECM Records in the 1970s and early 1980s and subsequently for Soul Note, JMT, and Winter & Winter, before returning to ECM in 2005.[4] From the early 1980s he led a trio featuring guitarist Bill Frisell and saxophonist Joe Lovano, occasionally joined by bassists Ed Schuller, Charlie Haden or Marc Johnson, and other musicians, including Jim Pepper, Lee Konitz, Dewey Redman and Geri Allen. In addition to playing Motian's compositions, the group recorded tributes to Thelonious Monk and Bill Evans, and a series of Paul Motian on Broadway albums, featuring original interpretations of jazz standards.

Despite his important associations with pianists, Motian's work as a leader since the 1970s rarely included a pianist in his ensembles and relied heavily on guitarists. Motian's first instrument was the guitar, and he apparently retained an affinity for the instrument: in addition to his groups with Frisell, his first two solo albums on ECM featured Sam Brown, and his Electric Bebop Band featured two and occasionally three electric guitars. The group was founded in the early 1990s, and featured a variety of young guitar and saxophone players, in addition to electric bass and Motian's drums, including saxophonists Joshua Redman, Chris Potter, Chris Cheek, and Tony Malaby, and guitarists Kurt Rosenwinkel, Brad Shepik, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Steve Cardenas, Ben Monder, and Jakob Bro.

In 2011, Motian's playing was featured on six new recordings; Live at Birdland with Lee Konitz, Brad Mehldau and Charlie Haden, Samuel Blaser's Consort in Motion, No Comment by Augusto Pirodda with Gary Peacock, plus Further Explorations with Chick Corea and Eddie Gomez. Bill McHenry's Ghosts of the Sun was released - by coincidence - on the day of Motian's death.

Motian's final album as bandleader was The Windmills of Your Mind, featuring Bill Frisell, bassist Thomas Morgan and vocalist Petra Haden. Posthumous releases so far are Sunrise by the Masabumi Kikuchi Trio, released in March 2012 by ECM.

Motian died on November 22, 2011 at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital of complications from myelodysplasic syndrome.[8]

Discography

As leader

Compilations

  • Selected Recordings (ECM, 2004)
  • Paul Motian (CAM Jazz, 2010)

As sideman

With Michael Adkins

With Geri Allen and Charlie Haden

  • In the Year of the Dragon (JMT, 1989)
  • Segments (DIW, 1989)
  • Live at the Village Vanguard (DIW, 1991)

With Tim Berne, plus Ed Schuller (and sometimes C. Herb Robertson)

With Samuel Blaser

  • Consort in Motion (Kind of Blue, 2011)

With Paul Bley

With Jakob Bro, plus Bill Frisell, Lee Konitz and Ben Street

  • Balladeering (Loveland, 2009)

With Chick Corea and Eddie Gomez

With Marilyn Crispell

With Bill Evans

With Pierre Favre

With Anat Fort, plus Perry Robinson and Ed Schuller

  • A Long Story (ECM, 2004)

With Bill Frisell

With Charlie Haden

With Keith Jarrett

With Masabumi Kikuchi

  • Sunrise (ECM, 2012)

With Frank Kimbrough

  • Play (Palmetto, 2006)

With Lee Konitz, Brad Mehldau, Charlie Haden

  • Live at Birdland (ECM, 2011)

With Lee Konitz & Steve Swallow

  • Three Guys (Enja, 1999)

With Russ Lossing

  • Dreamer (Double Time, 2000)
  • As It Grows (HatHut, 2004)

With Joe Lovano

With Bill McHenry

  • Bill McHenry Quartet Featuring Paul Motian (Fresh Sound, 2002)
  • Roses (Sunny Side, 2007)
  • Ghosts of the Sun (Sunny Side, 2011)

With Simon Nabatov, Ed Schuller, Arto Tuncboyaci

  • Circle the Line (GM Recordings, 1986)

With Stephan Oliva and Bruno Chevillon

  • Fantasm - The Music of Paul Motian (BMG France/RCA Victor, 2000)
  • Intérieur nuit (Night Bird, 2002)

With Eivind Opsvik, Jacob Sacks and Mat Maneri

With Enrico Pieranunzi

  • Flux and Change (Soul Note, 1995)

With Augusto Pirodda

  • No Comment (Jazzwerkstatt, 2011)

With Enrico Rava

With Martin Speake, plus Bobo Stenson and Mick Hutton

  • Change of Heart (ECM, 2002)

With Bobo Stenson, plus Anders Jormin

  • Goodbye (ECM, 2005)

With Tethered Moon (Trio with Masabumi Kikuchi and Gary Peacock)

  • First Meeting (Winter & Winter, 1997)
  • Chansons d’Édith Piaf (Winter & Winter, 1999)
  • Experiencing Tosca (Winter & Winter, 2004)
  • Play Kurt Weill (Winter & Winter, 2005)

With Pietro Tonolo, Gil Goldstein and Steve Swallow

References

  1. ^ His surname is Armenian, and is often mispronounced "Moe-tee-un;" however, Paul Motian pronounces it "MO-shun."[1]
  2. ^ "Paul Motian Dies at 80". JazzTimes. http://jazztimes.com/sections/news/articles/28981-paul-motian-dies-at-80. Retrieved 22 November 2011. 
  3. ^ Paul Motian, Jazz Drummer, Is Dead at 80, The New York Times, November 22, 2011
  4. ^ a b Huey, Steve. "Paul Motian: Biography". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/paul-motian-p107888/biography. Retrieved 23 November 2011. 
  5. ^ Berendt, Joachim-Ernst (1976). The Jazz Book. Paladin. p. 298. 
  6. ^ Ind, Peter (2005). Jazz Visions: Lennie Tristano and His Legacy. Equinox. p. 74. ISBN 978-1-84553-281-9. 
  7. ^ "Paul Motian". The Daily Telegraph (London). 24 November 2011. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/music-obituaries/8914003/Paul-Motian.html. 
  8. ^ McLellan, Dennis (24 November 2011). "Paul Motian dies at 80; jazz drummer and composer". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-paul-motian-20111124,0,4626692.story. Retrieved 25 November 2011. 

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