upcScavenger » 1952 Births » Wiki: Joe Lovano

Joe Lovano

( 1952 Births )

Biography

Early life
Career
Instruments

Discography

As leader/co-leader
As a member
As sideman

References
External links

C O N T E N T S

Blue Ecm Lovano Note

Rank: 100%

Wiki
Comments
Media

Joseph Salvatore Lovano (born December 29, 1952)"Joe Lovano." Contemporary Musicians. Vol. 13. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 1994. Retrieved via Biography in Context database, May 5, 2017. is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist. Though best known as a tenor saxophone, Lovano has also recorded on alto clarinet, flute and drums, amongst other instruments. He has earned a Grammy Award and several mentions in Down Beat magazine's critics' & readers' polls. His wife is singer Judi Silvano, with whom he records and performs. Lovano was a longtime member of the late drummer Paul Motian‘s trio alongside guitarist Bill Frisell.

Biography

Early life

Lovano was born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, to Sicilian-American parents; his father was the tenor saxophonist Tony ("Big T") Lovano.Heckman, Don (May 17, 1992). " Joe Lovano: Following in the Big T's Footsteps". Los Angeles Times. latimes.com. Retrieved May 5, 2017. His father's family came from Alcara Li Fusi in Sicily, and his mother's family came from Cesarò, also in Sicily. In Cleveland, Lovano's father exposed him to jazz throughout his early life, teaching him the standards, as well as how to lead a gig, pace a set, and be versatile enough to find work. Lovano started on alto saxophone at age six and switched to tenor saxophone five years later. John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, and Sonny Stitt were among his earlier influences. After graduating from Euclid High School in 1971,Mosbrook, Joe (September 16, 1996). " Jazzed in Cleveland: Part Twelve ". Cleveland, the New American City website. Retrieved 2012-05-16. Eds. Tim Wilkins and Ted Giola; originally compiled by Lewis Porter. he went to Berklee College of Music, where he studied under Herb Pomeroy and Gary Burton. Lovano received an honorary doctorate of music from the college in 1998.

Career

After Berklee he worked with Jack McDuff and Lonnie Smith. He spent three years with the Woody Herman orchestra, then moved to New York City, where he played with the big band of Mel Lewis. He often plays lines that convey the rhythmic drive and punch of an entire horn section. In the mid 1980s Lovano began working in a quartet with John Scofield and in a trio with Bill Frisell and Paul Motian.

In 1990 Lovano joined Blue Note Records. Many outstanding releases followed, including the highly diverse Rush Hour (tracks range from solo to big band), collaborations with saxophonists Joshua Redman ( Tenor Legacy) and Greg Osby ( Friendly Fire), 52nd Street Themes (with a nonet), and four albums featuring the classic pianist Hank Jones.

In the late 1990s, he formed the Saxophone Summit with Dave Liebman and Michael Brecker (later replaced by Ravi Coltrane). Streams of Expression (2006) was a tribute to both cool jazz and free jazz. Lovano and pianist Hank Jones released an album together in June 2007, entitled Kids. In 2008 Lovano formed the quintet Us Five with Esperanza Spalding on bass, pianist James Weidman, and two drummers, Francisco Mela and Otis Brown III. Folk Art was an album of compositions by Lovano that the band hoped to interpret in the spirit of the avant-garde jazz and loft jazz of the 1960s.Cf. Folk Art on Lovano's homepage. Bird Songs (2011) was a tribute to Charlie Parker. About Bird Songs on Lovano's homepage. West African guitarist Lionel Loueke appeared on the album Cross Culture (Blue Note, 2013). Lovano played reed and percussion instruments he had collected since the 1970s. Peter Slavov replaced Esperanza Spalding on six tracks, all of them written by Lovano except for "Star Crossed Lovers" by Billy Strayhorn. "The idea ... wasn't just to play at the same time, but to collectively create music within the music," Lovano wrote in the liner notes to Cross Culture. "Everyone is leading and following," and "the double drummer configuration adds this other element of creativity." About Cross Culture on Lovano's homepage.

In recent years Lovano has released three records with trumpeter Dave Douglas in a co-led group called Sound Prints. He has also moved over to ECM records, largely adopting the mellow vibe and use of space characteristic of the label. He is a high-profile guest on the acclaimed Arctic Riff (2020) by Polish pianist Marcin Wasilewski.

Lovano has taught at the Berklee College of Music. He taught Jeff Coffin after Coffin was given a NEA Jazz Studies Grant in 1991. He also taught Melissa Aldana, who graduated in 2009.

Downbeat magazine gave its Jazz Album of the Year Award to Lovano for .Scott Yanow Allmusic Review accessed July 21, 2011

Instruments

Lovano has played Borgani saxophones since 1991 and exclusively since 1999. He has his own series called Borgani-Lovano, with a pearl silver body and 24K gold keys.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

1985: Tones, Shapes & Colors (Soul Note, 1985) – live
1986: Hometown Sessions (JSL, 1986)
1986: Solid Steps (Jazz Club, 1986)
1988: Village Rhythm (Soul Note, 1989)
1989: Worlds (Evidence Music, 1989) – live
1989: Ten Tales with Aldo Romano (Owl, 1990)
1990: Landmarks (Blue Note, 1990)
1991: Sounds of Joy (Enja Records, 1991)
1991: From the Soul (Blue Note, 1992)
1992: Universal Language (Blue Note, 1993)
1993: Tenor Legacy (Blue Note, 1994)
1994: Rush Hour (Blue Note, 1995)
1994–1995: (Blue Note, 1995) – live
1996: Celebrating Sinatra (Blue Note, 1997)
1996: Tenor Time (Somethin' Else, 1997)
1997: Flying Colors (Blue Note, 1997) with Gonzalo Rubalcaba
1997: (Blue Note, 1998)
1998: Friendly Fire (Blue Note, 1999) with Greg Osby
1999: 52nd Street Themes (Blue Note, 2000)
2000: Grand Slam: Live at the Regatta Bar (Telarc, 2000) with Jim Hall, George Mraz, and Lewis Nash
2000: (Blue Note, 2001)
2001: Fourth World (Between the Lines, 2001) with James Emery, Judi Silvano and Drew Gress
2001: Viva Caruso (Blue Note, 2002)
2002: On This Day ... at the Vanguard (Blue Note, 2003) – live
2003: I'm All For You (Blue Note, 2004)
2004: Joyous Encounter (Blue Note, 2005)
2005: Classic! Live at Newport feat. Hank Jones, George Mraz & Lewis Nash (Blue Note, 2016) – live
2005: Symphonica (Blue Note, 2008) – live
2005: Streams of Expression (Blue Note, 2006)
2006: (Blue Note, 2007) with Hank Jones
2008: Folk Art (Blue Note, 2009)
2010: Bird Songs with Us Five (Blue Note, 2011)
2012: Cross Culture with Us Five (Blue Note, 2013)
2013: Sound Prints (Blue Note, 2015) with Dave Douglas
2015: The Mezzo Sax Encounter (Cowbell, 2016) with Benjamin Koppel – live
2018: Trio Tapestry with Marilyn Crispell & Carmen Castaldi (ECM Records, 2019)
2019: Roma (ECM, 2019) with Enrico Rava
2019: Garden of Expression with Marilyn Crispell & Carmen Castaldi (ECM, 2021)
2020: Arctic Riff (ECM, 2020) with Marcin Wasilewski Trio
2022: Our Daily Bread with Marilyn Crispell & Carmen Castaldi (ECM, 2023)
2023: Homage (ECM, 2025) with Marcin Wasilewski Trio

As a member

Saxophone Summit
(With Michael Brecker and Dave Liebman)

Gathering of Spirits (Telarc, 2004)

ScoLoHoFo
(With John Scofield, Dave Holland and Al Foster)

Oh! (Blue Note, 2003)

SFJAZZ Collective

Live 2008: 5th Annual Concert Tour - The Works of Wayne Shorter (SFJAZZ, 2008)3CD
Live 2009: 6th Annual Concert Tour - The Music of McCoy Tyner (SFJAZZ, 2009)2CD

As sideman

With John Abercrombie