Roy Nathanson
Encyclopedia
Roy Nathanson has a varied career as a saxophonist, composer
, bandleader
, actor
and teacher
. He is leader and principal composer of the Jazz Passengers, a six piece group that he founded with Curtis Fowlkes
in 1987. They have toured Europe many times and played at major festivals in Finland, Germany, Italy, France and Switzerland, as well as the J.V.C. Festival in New York, the Du Maurier Festival In Canada and toured throughout the United States and Canada. The band has recorded eight albums since their debut release. In 1994, Nathanson composed a variety of songs for an original vocal album, Jazz Passengers In Love, produced by Hal Willner
and Huge Dwyer. A number of guest vocalists were featured, including Jimmy Scoff, John Kelly, Freedy Johnston
, Bernard Fowler
, Jeff Buckley
and Deborah Harry, who is now functioning as a full time member of the band. Since the summer of 1995 The Jazz Passengers, have toured Europe and America with Harry, and an occasional guest appearance by Elvis Costello
. With this configuration, the Passengers have released two albums. Individually Twisted (with Harry and Costello), and Live In Spain featuring Deborah Harry. The band performed orchestral arrangements of their repertoire with Harry and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
in March 2001.
Nathanson also co-leads a duo with keyboard
ist, composer Anthony Coleman
with whom he has also toured the U.S. and Europe. Their third album, I Could've Been A Drum was released on John Zorn
's Tzadik Records label
.
As an independent composer he has scored the work of monologuist David Cole. Their work, Deep in a Dream of You premiered at Chicago's Goodman Theatre
in 1990 and had its New York premiere at the Joseph Popp Public Theatre in April 1993. This was their third collaboration. He has scored several works for PBS, and films by Jacob Burkhardt and Tamara Jenkins
as well as numerous theater productions for playwright Roy Dobbins and others. He has written children's songs for the HBO series Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
. Several of his songs will be featured in Karole Armitage
's adaptation of Sheherazade
at the Florence Opera House, and songs that he has written or arranged have appeared in Robert Altman
's film Short Cuts
and Chantal Akerman
's Histoires d'Amérique. He scored the animated film Jay Street directed by Suzan Pitt
which premiered at the New York Film Festival
in October 1995. A film scene album of his Klezmer
- based scene for the 1997 feature film Camp Stories
featuring MIN Gould and Jerry Stiller
was released on Knitting Factory Works.
In 1997 he arranged a Serge Gainsbourg
song for the Jazz Passengers and Deborah Harry for a Virgin France
compilation, and set a poem by Edgar Allan Poe
which was released on a Poe compilation produced by Hal Willner
.
Nathanson received two grants from the Meet the Composer
organization funded by the Carnegie Corporation in 1996 and 1997 to create new work with children. The result, Dreams of Someday was co-written by the children of P.S. 188 in Queens, and performed by their chorus and band trained by Nathanson. It was also performed as part of the Texaco Jazz Festival in June 1997.
The Fire at Keaton's Bar & Grill, was Nathanson's CD released under his own name by Six Degrees Records
in March 2000. It is a story of a fire in a mythical bar and features performances by many of the collaborators he has worked with in his career, adding Charles Earland
to Elvis Costello and Debbie Harry. It has been performed at Arts at St. Ann's Warehouse
in New York City and at the Royal Festival Hall
in London.
As an actor he has performed in films by Chantal Akerman
, Jim Jarmusch
and Elaine May
as well as a variety of downtown N.Y. theatre projects. He was featured in a starring role in the children's film Wasserman directed by Peter Lilienthal
.
His sideman
credits include four years recording and touring with The Lounge Lizards
, work with Marc Ribot
's Rootless Cosmopolitans
, Charles Earland
and The Shirelles
. He has also performed in special projects including a recent saxophone quartet concert in Brussels with Steve Lacy
and Ned Rothenberg
in which each of the four musicians contributed an original composition.
He currently resides in Ditmas Park
, Brooklyn
, with his wife and son. He also teaches at the Institute for Collaborative Education, a public school in Manhattan
, with which he has organised several overseas concerts including one in Newcastle upon Tyne
in March 2011.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
. He is leader and principal composer of the Jazz Passengers, a six piece group that he founded with Curtis Fowlkes
Curtis Fowlkes
Curtis Fowlkes is an American jazz trombonist. In 1987 he founded, together with saxophonist Roy Nathanson, The Jazz Passengers, an eclectic group dedicated to putting entertainment and humor back into jazz. The two had met performing in John Lurie's The Lounge Lizards, a group that shares a...
in 1987. They have toured Europe many times and played at major festivals in Finland, Germany, Italy, France and Switzerland, as well as the J.V.C. Festival in New York, the Du Maurier Festival In Canada and toured throughout the United States and Canada. The band has recorded eight albums since their debut release. In 1994, Nathanson composed a variety of songs for an original vocal album, Jazz Passengers In Love, produced by Hal Willner
Hal Willner
Hal Willner is an American music producer working in recording, films, TV and live events. He is best known for assembling tribute albums and events featuring a wide variety of artists and musical styles...
and Huge Dwyer. A number of guest vocalists were featured, including Jimmy Scoff, John Kelly, Freedy Johnston
Freedy Johnston
Freedy Johnston is a New York City-based singer-songwriter originally from Kinsley, Kansas.Having scored several minor hits since the early 1990s, Johnston's songs are often about troubled loners, and cover topics like heartbreak, alienation and disappointment...
, Bernard Fowler
Bernard Fowler
Bernard Fowler is an American musician, songwriter, producer, and actor. He has provided backing vocals with The Rolling Stones for over 20 years on recordings and tours, and has been a featured guest vocalist on the majority of solo albums released by the members of that band. He has also been a...
, Jeff Buckley
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" Buckley , raised as Scotty Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was the son of Tim Buckley, also a musician...
and Deborah Harry, who is now functioning as a full time member of the band. Since the summer of 1995 The Jazz Passengers, have toured Europe and America with Harry, and an occasional guest appearance by Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
. With this configuration, the Passengers have released two albums. Individually Twisted (with Harry and Costello), and Live In Spain featuring Deborah Harry. The band performed orchestral arrangements of their repertoire with Harry and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra located in Buffalo, New York. Its primary performing venue is Kleinhans Music Hall, which is a National Historic Landmark. Its regular concert season features gala concerts, classics programming of core repertoire, Pops...
in March 2001.
Nathanson also co-leads a duo with keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
ist, composer Anthony Coleman
Anthony Coleman
Anthony Coleman is an American musician. Coleman is a piano and keys player, trombonist and vocalist mainly working within the free improvised and avant-garde jazz scenes in downtown New York during the late 1970s through to the present day.His greatest impact was during the 80s and 90s when he...
with whom he has also toured the U.S. and Europe. Their third album, I Could've Been A Drum was released on John Zorn
John Zorn
John Zorn is an American avant-garde composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. Zorn is a prolific artist: he has hundreds of album credits as performer, composer, or producer...
's Tzadik Records label
Tzadik Records
Tzadik Records is a record label based in New York City specialising in avant-garde and experimental music. The label was established by the eclectic composer and saxophonist John Zorn in 1995; Zorn is the executive producer of all Tzadik releases...
.
As an independent composer he has scored the work of monologuist David Cole. Their work, Deep in a Dream of You premiered at Chicago's Goodman Theatre
Goodman Theatre
The Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of Chicago theatre, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization...
in 1990 and had its New York premiere at the Joseph Popp Public Theatre in April 1993. This was their third collaboration. He has scored several works for PBS, and films by Jacob Burkhardt and Tamara Jenkins
Tamara Jenkins
Tamara Jenkins is an American screenwriter, actress and director. She is best known for her two feature films, Slums of Beverly Hills and The Savages .-Early life:...
as well as numerous theater productions for playwright Roy Dobbins and others. He has written children's songs for the HBO series Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child is an American animated television series that premiered March 26, 1995, on HBO. Narrated by Robert Guillaume, the series aired 39 episodes from 1995 to 2000, and is currently airing on the HBO Family digital cable television channel in the United...
. Several of his songs will be featured in Karole Armitage
Karole Armitage
Karole Armitage is an American dancer and choreographer currently based in New York City. She is Artistic Director of Armitage Gone! Dance, a contemporary ballet company that performs several times annually in New York City as well as touring internationally...
's adaptation of Sheherazade
Shéhérazade
Shéhérazade is the title of two works by the French composer Maurice Ravel.Shéhérazade, ouverture de féerie, written in 1898 but unpublished, is a work for orchestra intended as the overture for an opera of the same name...
at the Florence Opera House, and songs that he has written or arranged have appeared in Robert Altman
Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director and screenwriter known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.His films MASH , McCabe and...
's film Short Cuts
Short Cuts
Short Cuts is a 1993 American drama film directed by Robert Altman. Filmed from a screenplay by Robert Altman and Frank Barhydt, it is inspired by nine short stories and a poem by Raymond Carver...
and Chantal Akerman
Chantal Akerman
Chantal Anne Akerman is a Belgian film director, artist, and professor of film at the European Graduate School. Akerman's best-known film, Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles , exemplifies a dedication to the ellipses of conventional narrative cinema.-Early life:Akerman was born to...
's Histoires d'Amérique. He scored the animated film Jay Street directed by Suzan Pitt
Suzan Pitt
Suzan Pitt is an American film animator and painter, whose surreal, psychological animated films and paintings have been acclaimed and exhibited worldwide...
which premiered at the New York Film Festival
New York Film Festival
The New York Film Festival has been a major film festival since it began in 1963 in New York. The films are selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center...
in October 1995. A film scene album of his Klezmer
Klezmer
Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
- based scene for the 1997 feature film Camp Stories
Camp Stories
Camp Stories is an independent comedy film, written and directed by Herbert Beigel that takes a comic look at a Jewish summer camp in the 1950s. The film was released on April 18, 1997 in the United States-Plot synopsis:...
featuring MIN Gould and Jerry Stiller
Jerry Stiller
Gerald Isaac "Jerry" Stiller is an American comedian and actor.He spent many years in the comedy team Stiller and Meara with his wife Anne Meara...
was released on Knitting Factory Works.
In 1997 he arranged a Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg, born Lucien Ginsburg was a French singer-songwriter, actor and director. Gainsbourg's extremely varied musical style and individuality make him difficult to categorize...
song for the Jazz Passengers and Deborah Harry for a Virgin France
Virgin Group
Virgin Group Limited is a British branded venture capital conglomerate organisation founded by business tycoon Richard Branson. The core business areas are travel, entertainment and lifestyle. Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by Companies House, who class it as a holding...
compilation, and set a poem by Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
which was released on a Poe compilation produced by Hal Willner
Hal Willner
Hal Willner is an American music producer working in recording, films, TV and live events. He is best known for assembling tribute albums and events featuring a wide variety of artists and musical styles...
.
Nathanson received two grants from the Meet the Composer
Meet the Composer
Meet the Composer is an American organization founded in 1974 by the composer John Duffy as a project of the New York State Council on the Arts. It seeks to assist composers in making a living through writing music by sponsoring commissioning, residency, education, and audience interaction...
organization funded by the Carnegie Corporation in 1996 and 1997 to create new work with children. The result, Dreams of Someday was co-written by the children of P.S. 188 in Queens, and performed by their chorus and band trained by Nathanson. It was also performed as part of the Texaco Jazz Festival in June 1997.
The Fire at Keaton's Bar & Grill, was Nathanson's CD released under his own name by Six Degrees Records
Six Degrees Records
Six Degrees Records is an independent record label noted for its catalog of recordings from international musicians and vocalists. It has been described by the journalist and producer Derek Beres as "one of the most groundbreaking labels of the past decade."...
in March 2000. It is a story of a fire in a mythical bar and features performances by many of the collaborators he has worked with in his career, adding Charles Earland
Charles Earland
Charles Earland was an American jazz composer, organist, and saxophonist in the soul jazz idiom.-Biography:...
to Elvis Costello and Debbie Harry. It has been performed at Arts at St. Ann's Warehouse
St. Ann's Warehouse
St. Ann's Warehouse is a performing arts institution in Brooklyn, New York.History: 1980-2001The original home of Arts at St. Ann's was the National Historic Landmark Church of St. Ann and the Holy Trinity on Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights. For twenty-one years, St...
in New York City and at the Royal Festival Hall
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
in London.
As an actor he has performed in films by Chantal Akerman
Chantal Akerman
Chantal Anne Akerman is a Belgian film director, artist, and professor of film at the European Graduate School. Akerman's best-known film, Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles , exemplifies a dedication to the ellipses of conventional narrative cinema.-Early life:Akerman was born to...
, Jim Jarmusch
Jim Jarmusch
James R. "Jim" Jarmusch is an American independent film director, screenwriter, actor, producer, editor and composer. Jarmusch has been a major proponent of independent cinema, particularly during the 1980s and 1990s.-Early life:...
and Elaine May
Elaine May
Elaine May is an American film director, screenwriter and actress. She achieved her greatest fame in the 1950s from her improvisational comedy routines in partnership with Mike Nichols...
as well as a variety of downtown N.Y. theatre projects. He was featured in a starring role in the children's film Wasserman directed by Peter Lilienthal
Peter Lilienthal
Peter Lilienthal is a German film director, writer, actor and producer. His 1979 film David won the Golden Bear at the 29th Berlin International Film Festival. His 1984 film Das Autogramm was entered into the 34th Berlin International Film Festival.-Filmography:*1958 – Studie 23. *1959 – Im...
.
His sideman
Sideman
A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform or record with a group of which he or she is not a regular member. They often tour with solo acts as well as bands and jazz ensembles. Sidemen are generally required to be adaptable to many different styles of music, and so able to fit...
credits include four years recording and touring with The Lounge Lizards
The Lounge Lizards
The Lounge Lizards are a jazz group formed in 1978 by saxophone player John Lurie.Initially a tongue in cheek "fake jazz" combo, drawing on punk rock and no wave as much as jazz, The Lounge Lizards have since become respected for their creative and distinctive sound.-History:Lounge Lizards were...
, work with Marc Ribot
Marc Ribot
Marc Ribot born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer.His own work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notably Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, and composer John Zorn.-Biography:Ribot was...
's Rootless Cosmopolitans
Rootless Cosmopolitans
-Track listing:# "I Should Care" – 1:17# "Shortly After Takeoff" – 4:14# "The Wind Cries Mary" – 5:01# "Friendly Ghosts" – 5:20...
, Charles Earland
Charles Earland
Charles Earland was an American jazz composer, organist, and saxophonist in the soul jazz idiom.-Biography:...
and The Shirelles
The Shirelles
The Shirelles were an African-American girl group that achieved popularity in the early 1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens , Doris Coley , Addie "Micki" Harris , and Beverly Lee...
. He has also performed in special projects including a recent saxophone quartet concert in Brussels with Steve Lacy
Steve Lacy
Steve Lacy , born Steven Norman Lackritz in New York City, was a jazz saxophonist and composer recognized as one of the important players of soprano saxophone....
and Ned Rothenberg
Ned Rothenberg
Ned Rothenberg is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer. He specializes in woodwind instruments, including the alto saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, and shakuhachi...
in which each of the four musicians contributed an original composition.
He currently resides in Ditmas Park
Ditmas Park, Brooklyn
Ditmas Park is a neighborhood in western Flatbush in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, east of Kensington, and is one of three Flatbush neighborhoods which have been officially designated Historic Districts...
, Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, with his wife and son. He also teaches at the Institute for Collaborative Education, a public school in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, with which he has organised several overseas concerts including one in Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
in March 2011.
Discography
- The Coming Great Millennium (1992, label: Knitting Factory Works)
- Lobster and Friend (1993, label: Knitting Factory)
- I Could've Been a Drum (1997, Tzadik RecordsTzadik RecordsTzadik Records is a record label based in New York City specialising in avant-garde and experimental music. The label was established by the eclectic composer and saxophonist John Zorn in 1995; Zorn is the executive producer of all Tzadik releases...
) - Fire at Keaton's Bar and Grill (2000, label: Six DegreesSix DegreesSix Degrees is an American dramatic television series about six residents of New York City and their respective relationships and connections with one another, based on the idea of six degrees of separation....
) - Sotto Voce (2006, label: Aum FidelityAum fidelityAUM Fidelity is a New York City-based independent record label primarily devoted to avant-garde jazz artists such as William Parker, Matthew Shipp, and David S. Ware. It has also released recordings by improvisational rock band Shrimp Boat, and exclusively distributes the CaseQuarter and Riti labels...
) - Little Fred (label: Tablehead)
- Subway Moon (2009)
With Jazz Passengers
- Broken Night/Red Light (Les Disques Du CrepusculeLes Disques du CrepusculeLes Disques Du Crépuscule was a Belgian independent record label.The label was started in 1980 by Michel Duval and Annik Honoré, residents of Brussels who had previously organised and promoted concerts in the city. Initial releases were by Factory Records artists, and were labelled as being...
- 1987) - Deranged & Decomposed (Les Disques Du CrepusculeLes Disques du CrepusculeLes Disques Du Crépuscule was a Belgian independent record label.The label was started in 1980 by Michel Duval and Annik Honoré, residents of Brussels who had previously organised and promoted concerts in the city. Initial releases were by Factory Records artists, and were labelled as being...
- 1989) - Implement Yourself (1990, label: New World)
- Live at the Knitting Factory (1991, label: Knitting Factory)
- Plain Old Joe (1993, Knitting Factory)
- In Love (1994, label: Windham Hill RecordsWindham Hill RecordsWindham Hill Records is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment specializing in Acoustic, New Age and Folk music. Originally founded in 1976 as an Independent record label by guitarist and carpenter William Ackerman and his then-wife Anne Robinson, Windham Hill was a successful and well-respected...
/High Street RecordsHigh Street RecordsHigh Street Records was a subsidiary label of Windham Hill Records from about 1990 to 1997. Notable acts who recorded for the label include John Gorka, Pierce Pettis, Patty Larkin, The Subdudes, and Dots Will Echo...
) - Individually Twisted (1996, label: 32 Jazz)
- Live in Spain (1997, 32 Jazz)