Jean-Luc Ponty Experience with the George Duke Trio
Encyclopedia
The Jean-Luc Ponty Experience with The George Duke Trio is a Jazz
album
released in 1969 (see 1969 in music
) by Jean-Luc Ponty
on World Pacific Jazz
in the US, and is considered to be one of the earliest fusion jazz albums. This was the third album of note for pianist George Duke
.
in mid-September, 1969. A number of Jazz
musicians were experimenting with the jazz-rock fusion that would become so popular in the 1970s, but Jean-Luc Ponty is one of the earliest to get it down on vinyl. Ponty was inspired by Miles Davis
and John Coltrane
to explore this new fusion form, and is considered the first significant Jazz musician to record on the electric violin. Later, in the 1970s, he pioneered the use of 5 & 6-string violins and was the first to combine the violin with MIDI, distortion boxes
, phase shifters
, and wah-wah pedal
s.
-Leonard Feather
, Los Angeles Times
"Jean-Luc Ponty send electric chills up and down the walls of Thee Experience
with a most exciting and personal blending of Rock and Jazz music."
-Los Angeles Herald Examiner
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
released in 1969 (see 1969 in music
1969 in music
-Events:Perhaps the two most famous musical events of 1969 were concerts. At a Rolling Stones concert in Altamont, California, a fan was stabbed to death by Hells Angels, a biker gang that had been hired to provide security for the event...
) by Jean-Luc Ponty
Jean-Luc Ponty
Jean-Luc Ponty is a French virtuoso violinist and jazz composer.- Early years:Ponty was born into a family of classical musicians on 29 September 1942 in Avranches, France. His father taught violin, his mother taught piano...
on World Pacific Jazz
Pacific Jazz Records
Pacific Jazz Records was a Los Angeles-based record label best known for releasing cool jazz or West coast jazz. It was founded by Richard Bock and drummer Roy Harte in 1952....
in the US, and is considered to be one of the earliest fusion jazz albums. This was the third album of note for pianist George Duke
George Duke
George Duke is a multi-faceted American musician, known as a keyboard pioneer, composer, singer and producer in both jazz and popular mainstream musical genres. He has worked with numerous acclaimed artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and professor of music...
.
History
The Jean-Luc Ponty Experience with The George Duke Trio album was recorded live in Hollywood, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in mid-September, 1969. A number of Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musicians were experimenting with the jazz-rock fusion that would become so popular in the 1970s, but Jean-Luc Ponty is one of the earliest to get it down on vinyl. Ponty was inspired by Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
and John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
to explore this new fusion form, and is considered the first significant Jazz musician to record on the electric violin. Later, in the 1970s, he pioneered the use of 5 & 6-string violins and was the first to combine the violin with MIDI, distortion boxes
Distortion
A distortion is the alteration of the original shape of an object, image, sound, waveform or other form of information or representation. Distortion is usually unwanted, and often many methods are employed to minimize it in practice...
, phase shifters
Phaser (effect)
A phaser is an audio signal processing technique used to filter a signal by creating a series of peaks and troughs in the frequency spectrum. The position of the peaks and troughs is typically modulated so that they vary over time, creating a sweeping effect...
, and wah-wah pedal
Wah-wah pedal
A wah-wah pedal is a type of guitar effects pedal that alters the tone of the signal to create a distinctive effect, mimicking the human voice...
s.
Reissues
- Jean-Luc Ponty Experience with the George Duke Trio was reissued on the Pausa label in 1980 and 1991.
- One Way RecordsOne Way RecordsOne Way Records was a record label established by Larry Norman in 1970 to distribute his own work, and that of other Christian musicians including Randy Stonehill, after he had been released by Capitol Records in 1969.-History:...
reissued Jean-Luc Ponty Experience with the George Duke Trio on CD in 1993.
Back cover quotes
"Jean-Luc Ponty is a young marvel and my nomination for Jazz man of the year."-Leonard Feather
Leonard Feather
Leonard Geoffrey Feather was a British-born jazz pianist, composer, and producer who was best known for his music journalism and other writing.-Biography:...
, Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
"Jean-Luc Ponty send electric chills up and down the walls of Thee Experience
Thee Experience (night club)
Thee Experience was a psychedelic nightclub in Hollywood, California, United States. It was located at 7551 Sunset Boulevard, on the Sunset Strip.-History:...
with a most exciting and personal blending of Rock and Jazz music."
-Los Angeles Herald Examiner
Track listing
- "Foosh" (George DukeGeorge DukeGeorge Duke is a multi-faceted American musician, known as a keyboard pioneer, composer, singer and producer in both jazz and popular mainstream musical genres. He has worked with numerous acclaimed artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and professor of music...
) – 8:48 - "Pamukkale" (Wolfgang DaunerWolfgang DaunerWolfgang Dauner is a German jazz fusion pianist, composer and keyboardist born in Stuttgart, Germany, probably best known for his work in the United Jazz and Rock Ensemble and with musicians such as Hans Koller, Albert Mangelsdorff, Volker Kriegel or Ack van Rooyen...
) – 6:15 - "Contact" (Jean-Luc PontyJean-Luc PontyJean-Luc Ponty is a French virtuoso violinist and jazz composer.- Early years:Ponty was born into a family of classical musicians on 29 September 1942 in Avranches, France. His father taught violin, his mother taught piano...
) – 7:03 - "Cantaloupe Island" (Herbie HancockHerbie HancockHerbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
) – 8:20 - "Starlight, Starbright" (Jean-Bernard Eisinger) – 9:00
Credits
- Jean-Luc PontyJean-Luc PontyJean-Luc Ponty is a French virtuoso violinist and jazz composer.- Early years:Ponty was born into a family of classical musicians on 29 September 1942 in Avranches, France. His father taught violin, his mother taught piano...
- electric violinElectric violinAn electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument purposely made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body... - George DukeGeorge DukeGeorge Duke is a multi-faceted American musician, known as a keyboard pioneer, composer, singer and producer in both jazz and popular mainstream musical genres. He has worked with numerous acclaimed artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and professor of music...
- electric pianoElectric pianoAn electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented... - John Heard - amplified bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
- Dick BerkDick BerkRichard Alan "Dick" Berk is an American jazz drummer and bandleader.Berk studied at the Berklee College of Music and played in the Boston area early in the 1960s. In 1962 he moved to New York City and played there with Ted Curson and Bill Barron in a quintet from 1962 to 1964...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Dick Bock - Producer
- David Brand - Engineer
- L'Goeque - Cover and Sleeve Illustration