Larry Ochs is an American 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...

 saxophonist and composer.

Ochs studied trumpet briefly but concentrated on tenor and sopranino saxophone

Sopranino saxophone

The sopranino saxophone is one of the smallest members of the saxophone family. A sopranino saxophone is tuned in the key of E, and sounds an octave above the alto saxophone. This saxophone has a sweet sound and although the sopranino is one of the least common of the saxophones in regular use...

s. He worked as a record producer

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 and founded his own label, Metalanguage Records

Metalanguage Records

Metalanguage Records was founded in 1978 by Henry Kaiser and Larry Ochs. It showcased Rova as well as many independent artists and produced the Rova Arts Festival in 1980.-Discography:*ML 101 Rova Saxophone Quartet - Cinema Rovaté 1978...

, in 1978, in addition to operating the Twelve Stars studio in California

California

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...

. He co-founded the Rova Saxophone Quartet

Rova Saxophone Quartet

The Rova Saxophone Quartet is a San Francisco-based saxophone quartet formed in October 1977 at the same time as their "less adventurous" but better known colleagues the World Saxophone Quartet. The name "Rova" is an acronym formed from the last initials of the founding members: Jon Raskin, Larry...

, and also worked in Glenn Spearman

Glenn Spearman

Glenn Spearman was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He was specifically associated with free jazz and experimental music....

's Double Trio. A frequent recipient of commissions, he composed the music for the play Goya's L.A. by Leslie Scalapino

Leslie Scalapino

Leslie Scalapino was a United States poet, experimental prose writer, playwright, essayist, and editor, sometimes grouped in with the Language poets, though she felt closely tied to the Beat poets. A longtime resident of California's Bay Area, she earned an M.A. in English from the University of...

 in 1994 and for Letters Not About Love, which was named best documentary film at SXSW in 1998. He has also played in a new music trio called Room and the What We Live ensemble. He has recorded several albums as a leader. He formed the group Kihnoua in 2007 with vocalist Dohee Lee and Scott Amendola

Scott Amendola

Scott Amendola is an American jazz drummer from the San Francisco Bay Area. His styles include jazz, blues, groove, rock and new music. He is considered central to the Bay Area music scene....

 on drums and electronics, which released Unauthorized Caprices in 2010.

Discography as leader

• The Secret Magritte (Black Saint Records, 1995)
• The Neon Truth (Black Saint, 2002)
• Hall of Mirrors (Music & Arts
  Music & Arts
  Music & Arts is an American record label based in Kensington, California.Music & Arts is owned and operated by Music and Arts Programs of America, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to informal education in the arts, established in California in 1984...
  
  )
• Out Trios Vol.5: Up From Under (Atavistic Records
  Atavistic Records
  Atavistic Records is an American rock and jazz record label based in Chicago, Illinois, known particularly for its No Wave and free jazz recordings. It has released albums by Glenn Branca, Nels Cline, Lydia Lunch, Peter Brötzmann, various Ken Vandermark projects, Pinetop Seven, Swans, Elliott...
  
  , 2007)
• The Mirror World (Metalanguage, 2007)
• Unauthorized Caprices (Not Two, 2010)

External links

• Interview by Luke Harley, 27 May 2008 at Paris Transatlantic