BRIAN TARQUIN & JEAN-LUC PONTY - BEYOND THE WARRIOR'S EYES

Brian Tarquin & Jean-Luc Ponty.
Title track from Brian Tarquin's latest release.
The A.I. video doesn't convince me, but I do like the track.

JEAN-LUC PONTY

The BGO record label is re-issuing a remastered version of "The Gift Of Time", "Storytelling" and "Tchokola" in one 2 CD package.

JEAN-LUC PONTY GUESTS ON THE NEW ALBUM BY BRIAN TARQUIN

The new album by Brian Tarquin & his Heavy Friends will feature Jean-Luc Ponty on one track.

01 “Behind the Iron Curtain” w/ Chris Poland
02 “Beyond the Warrior’s Eyes” w/ Jean-Luc Ponty
03 “Common Valor” w/ Larry McCray
04 “Faith & Hope” w/ Steve Morse & John Tropea
05 “The Gates of Valhalla” w/ Eric Johnson & Dean Brown
06 “La Sierre Del Norte” w/ Carl Verheyen
07 “Quiet Desperation” w/ Robben Ford
08 “A Soldier’s Journey” w/ Steve Kindler & Budapest Symphony Orchestra
09 “These Colors Don’t Run” w/ Steve Morse & Phil Naro

ZAPPA ALUMNI TO BE FOUND ON BOB HOLZ'S NEW ALBUM

from GlassOnyonPR

Drummer Bob Holz to Release New Album “Holz-Stathis: Collaborative” Featuring John McLaughlin, Jean-Luc Ponty, Darryl Jones and Randy Brecker

Jazz Fusion drummer and composer Bob Holz will release his sixth album for MVD Audio on September 8, 2023. The record is titled “Holz-Stathis: Collaborative.” Joining Bob Holz on the album are John McLaughlin, Jean Luc Ponty, Darryl Jones, Randy Brecker, Elliott Yamin, Alex Acuna, Airto Moreira, Brandon Fields, Ralphe Armstrong, Billy Steinway, Dean Brown, Ric Fierabracci, Jamie Glaser, Ada Rovatti, Karen Briggs, Diana Moreira Purim, Ben Shepherd and Frank Stepanek.

The album features twelve new original tunes penned by Holz, Steinway and Brown. Rob Stathis is the Executive Producer. The album is recorded and mixed by multiplatinum sound engineer Dennis Moody.

Two vocalists are featured on “Holz-Stathis:Collaborative.” Elliott Yamin who placed third on American Idol sings a hip hop meets jazz tune penned by Dean Brown and Holz. Diana Moreira Purim sings a Brazilian jazz fusion tune titled “Island Sun Love,” written by Steinway and Holz.

Bob has released a new video featuring Darryl Jones on bass, and vocalist Elliott Yamin. It was shot at Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood, CA and is a cover tune of “Make Me Smile” by Chicago.

SUGARCANE HARRIS & JEAN-LUC PONTY - ABSOLUTELY LIVE

• sugarcane harris & jean-luc ponty: absolutely live
      (????, lp, the netherlands, boots productions)

The label name, "Boots Productions", gives it away: this is an unofficial release.

Recorded during two concerts at the Berlin Jazz Festival in Germany in 1971, the songs got released on Sugarcane Harris' "Sugar Cane's Got The Blues" LP (= side A) and on Jean-Luc Ponty's "New Violin Summit" (side B).

Next to Sugarcane and Jean-Luc, the recordings feature Neville Whitehead on bass, Robert Wyatt on drums, Terje Rypdal on guitar on one track and Volker Kriegel on guitar on two other tracks, plus Wolfgang Dauner on keyboards, and special guest Nipso Brantner also on violin.

Guitar player Volker Kriegel, as you might know, was part of the Dave Pike Set with whom he recorded FZ's 'Mother People', released on the "Noisy Silence - Gentle Noise"  album, with another version to be found on one of Volker's solo albums.

from "Sugarcane's Got The Blues" :

JEAN-LUC PONTY - OPEN MIND

Jean-Luc Ponty's "Open Mind" album got released in 1984.
Earlier this month, a remastered edition got released on CD.

Featuring Jean-Luc Ponty and Chick Corea !

JEAN LUC PONTY MASTERCLASS

Clazz International Music Festival 2023 announces special guest artist:

JEAN LUC PONTY

Join us for Clazz 2023! Our free application, early bird deadline is extended to March 15th, 2023. Apply now at:
https://www.clazzmusicfestival.com/

JEAN-LUC PONTY'S "LIVE" ALBUM GETS RE-ISSUED

Jean-Luc Ponty's "Live" album got released in 1979.
First CD re-issue followed in the U.S. in 2003 (and later in Japan).

And now made available again on CD by the same label that issued the album in 2003: Wounded Bird.

The album featured Ralphe Armstrong (Mahavishnu Orchestra) on bass and Allan Zavod on keyboards, both of which have performed and/or recorded with Frank Zappa's band at some point of their career.

JEAN-LUC PONTY

New album announced :

Jean-Luc Ponty & Wofgang Dauner: Live at the Bern Jazz Festival 2011

CD release

JEAN-LUC PONTY IN CONCERT

 Jean-Luc Ponty is doing a concert in Germany and in France next month.

OCT 17, 2021 - ESSLINGEN - GERMANY
Württembergische Landesbühne
Esslingen, Germany
JLP TRIO
= JLP violin - CLARA PONTY grand piano / keyboards - GUY NSANGUE AKWA bass
Esslinger Jazzfestival (at 20:30)

OCT 29, 2021 - SAINT-GAUDENS - FRANCE
Parc des expositions du Comminges
Saint-Gaudens, France
PLE Trio (PONTY-LAGRENE-EASTWOOD)
= JLP violin - Bireli Lagrene guitar - Kyle Eastwood double bass
Festival Jazz en Comminges

JEAN-LUC PONTY'S "LIVE" ALBUM IS GETTING A RE-ISSUE

 Originally released in 1979 and put on CD in 2003 by the Wounded Bird record label, the long out of print album is getting a CD re-issue (on Wounded Bird Records).

JEAN-LUC PONTY

In 1970, the World Pacific Jazz label released the Jean-Luc Ponty / Frank Zappa collaboration entitled "King Kong".
A fascinating release.

The album got combined with "Electric Connection", another World Pacific Jazz release (from 1969) and released as a 2 CD package in 2004. On the Gott Discs label.
And again in 2009 on the BGO Records label.

• jean-luc ponty: electric connection / king kong
      (2004, 2cd, uk, gott discs)

• jean-luc ponty: electric connection / king kong
      (2004, 2cd, uk, bgo records)

JEAN-LUC PONTY - THE BEST OF THE PACIFIC JAZZ YEARS

• jean-luc ponty: the best of the pacific years
      (2001, cd, usa, pacific jazz)

My search for Frank Zappa compositions on recordings by other artists, lead me to this Jean-Luc Ponty compilation album from 2001.
"The Best Of The Pacific Jazz Years" included three tracks from Jean-Luc's 1970 "King Kong" album: the Ponty penned "How Would You Like To Have A Head Like That" plus FZ's 'Twenty Small Cigars' and 'King Kong'.

Here's a more recent performance of both Zappa pieces :
Jean-Luc Ponty in concert at Zappanale in 2010.

JON ANDERSON

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and YES Founding Member JON ANDERSON Signs with Blue Élan Records

Anderson’s luminous new album, 1000 Hands, to be released July 31, features a stunning array of guests including Alan White, Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Jean-Luc Ponty, Ian Anderson, Billy Cobham and Chick Corea


LOS ANGELES, CA – For music fans everywhere, a new album by legendary Yes singer Jon Anderson is cause for celebration. But Anderson’s grand and glorious new solo album, 1000 Hands, is quite unlike any other record – it’s an event, one which the singer’s loyal legion of fans across the globe have been wildly anticipating for three decades.

1000 Hands will be Anderson’s first release via his new partnership with Blue Élan Records. The album will be available digitally as well as on CD and a deluxe 180-gram double vinyl package on July 31 and can be previewed HERE

“I’ve spent long periods of time making some records, but I’ve never taken a journey quite like this one,” says the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. “To say that 1000 Hands has been a long time in coming would be quite an understatement, but I’m thrilled that it’s finally a reality and that my fans will now be able to hear it. And I think they’ll be delighted to hear music that’s timeless. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done.”

Of the label’s new signing, Blue Élan President Connor Pasich commented, “To have an artist of Jon Anderson’s caliber as part of our label family is exciting for all of us and to be able to be part of his musical legacy is priceless.”

Anderson began the album (originally called Uzlot – “it means a lot of us”) nearly 30 years ago, working with a group of musicians that included Yes drummer Alan White and bassist Chris Squire. However, due to his heavy touring commitments with Yes, Anderson had to put the record on the back burner. “Before you knew it, I started getting involved in other projects and tours, and years went by,” he explains. “I would listen to the tapes from time to time and think, ‘This could have been a great album! One day I’ll finish it.’”

Grammy-nominated producer Michael T. Franklin (Bruce Hornsby, Brian Wilson, Roger McGuinn) had at one point begun working on orchestrations for the album, but once again Anderson’s jammed schedule required the project to be put on hold. Finally, a year and a half ago, Anderson and Franklin got the album back on track and were determined to see it through. “Our ideas still matched,” Anderson says. “Michael knew everything I wanted to do and how I wanted the music to sound, so we agreed to go for it.”

Setting up shop in Franklin’s Solar Studios in Orlando, Florida, Anderson laid down backing vocals to his original lead tracks, and Franklin called in an astonishing array of rock and jazz luminaries to fill out the songs: fellow Yes alum Steve Howe, Ian Anderson, Jean-Luc Ponty, Billy Cobham, Chick Corea, Steve Morse, Rick Derringer, Jonathan Cain, and the Tower of Power Horns are just a few of the guests on 1000 Hands.

“That’s where the title 1000 Hands comes from, all of the brilliant musicians who played a part in making the record,” Anderson says. “Michael acted like something of a casting director, bringing so many great players. It was really exciting to hear the record open up and become what I had always envisioned.”

The sessions turned out so well, in fact, that Anderson decided to include four new songs on the album, with brand-new lead vocals. “Jon is such a remarkable writer and singer,” raves Franklin. “His newer songs were fabulous, and they fit seamlessly with the rest of the album. Everything came together beautifully.”

Anderson’s celestial voice – one of the most recognizable sounds in rock – is in stunning form throughout 1000 Hands, an album that features some of his most breathtaking compositions. Bookended by the starkly beautiful acoustic ballads “Now” and “Now and Again,” the record features electrifying new prog masterpieces (“Activate,” “Come Up”), glorious poly-rhythmic wonders (“WDMCF”) and delightful reggae pop (“First Born Leaders”). Listeners will be mesmerized by the cavalcade of sumptuous vocal harmonies on the frisky “Ramalama,” and they’ll be singing along merrily to the horn-driven funk of the aptly named “Makes Me Happy.”

JEAN-LUC PONTY

There's a new sampler out that focuses on Jean-Luc Ponty's years with the Atlantic record label, aptly called "The Atlantic Years".
If I'm not mistaken, this is not the first Ponty sampler with that name. Welcome, confusion.

• jean-luc ponty: the atlantic years
      (2018, cd, usa, warner music group)

1. overture
2. the trans-love express
3. imaginary voyage, pt.1
4. cosmic messenger
5. stay with me
6. modern times blues
7. the struggle of the turtle to the sea, part I
8. the struggle of the turtle to the sea, part II
9. the struggle of the turtle to the sea, part III
10. once a blue planet
11. in the kingdom of peace
12. mirage
13. jig
14. the gardens of babylon
15. elephants in love
16. enigmatic ocean, part I
17. enigmatic ocean, part II
18. enigmatic ocean, part III
19. enigmatic ocean, part IV
20. egocentric molecules

-- info: Zjakki Willems

BUELL NEIDLINGER

Buell Neidlinger can be heard playing the bass on Jean-Luc Ponty's "King Kong" and "Cantaloupe Island" albums.
He started his career in Cecil Taylor's band.

http://surfingtheodyssey.blogspot.be/2018/03/cecil-taylor-and-buell-neidlinger-1989.html

-- info: Jan van Kemenade

JEAN-LUC PONTY - SUNDAY WALK

• jean-luc ponty: sunday walk
      (1967, lp, ger, saba)

Added data for Jean-Luc Ponty's "Sunday Walk" album to the United Mutations Archives.
As far as I know, this vinyl album has never been put on CD.

Here's the album cover of the 1968 re-release on the MPS label :

-- info: Jan van Kemenade

JEAN-LUC PONTY - WAVING MEMORIES

• jean-luc ponty: waving memories - live in chicago 1975
      (2017, cd, ??, hi hat)

A "radio show" album, meaning that this is not a release by Jean-Luc Ponty but by a dubious record company that has the rights (?) to this radio broadcast.
Semi-official, at best.

On the other hand, it does present a recording of a pretty fine show, live in Chicago in 1975.
With Tom Fowler on the bass !!

jean-luc ponty: electric violin
daryl stuermer: guitar
mike wolf: keyboards
tom fowler: bass
norman fearrington: drums
waving memories

1. band intros
2. question with no answer
3. bowing bowing
4. fight for life
5. announcer outro

JEAN-LUC PONTY 2017 TOUR DATES

Jean-Luc Ponty should need no introduction.

He recorded the superb violin line for Frank Zappa's 'It Must Be A Camel' for the "Hot Rats" album.
One year later, in 1970, Jean-Luc released "King Kong", an album on which he performed Frank Zappa's music.
A couple of years later, Jean-Luc even joined Zappa's band, next to one of his early musical buddies, George Duke. This resulted in a.o. "Over-Nite Sensation" and "Apostrophe (')".

Jean-Luc Ponty and his band will be bringing their “Atlantic Years” tour to the US beginning late May 2017!
Jean Luc Ponty is a pioneer and undisputed master of the violin in the arena of jazz and rock. He is widely regarded as an innovator who has applied his unique visionary spin that has expanded the vocabulary of modern music.

Says Jean Luc, “We're calling it 'The Atlantic Years' tour since I am touring with my band from the late 70's - 80's with whom I recorded several albums for Atlantic Records.”

The Jean Luc Ponty Band features:

Jean Luc Ponty – violin
Wally Minko – keyboards
Jamie Glaser – guitars
Rayford Griffin – drums
Baron Browne – bass

Jean Luc Ponty Band 2017 US tour dates:

May 30 – Portland, OR - Aladdin Theater
May 31 – Seattle, WA - The Neptune
June 01 – Eugene, OR - John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts
June 03 – Los Angeles, CA - The Saban Theater Beverly Hills
June 04 – San Francisco, CA - Regency Ballroom
June 05 – Santa Cruz, CA - Rio Theatre
June 07 – San Juan Capistrano, CA - The Coach House
June 08 – Agoura Hills, CA - The Canyon
June 09 – Scottsdale, AZ - Center For the Arts
June 10 – Las Vegas, NV - Allante Casino
June 14 – Boulder, CO - Boulder Theater
June 16 – Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
June 17 – Austin, TX - One World Theatre
June 20 – Chicago, IL - City Winery
June 21 – Detroit, MI - Chene Park
June 23 – Niagara Falls, NY - Seneca Niagara Casino
June 24 – Saratoga Springs, NY - Performing Arts Center
June 25 – NYC - B.B. King

JEAN-LUC PONTY - CANTELOUPE ISLAND

• jean-luc ponty: canteloupe island
      (2006, 2cd, uk, bgo records bgocd706)

I always wondered why Jean-Luc Ponty's "King Kong" album wasn't included in Zappa's discography. Next to the L.S.O. and the Ensemble M.
I love J.-L.P's "King Kong". I think it's a fabulous album.

As you probably know, the complete "King Kong" album got incorporated in its entirety in the "Canteloupe Island" 2LP Blue Note sampler set that got released in 1976.
A couple of years ago, BGO re-released "Canteloupe Island".
Digitally re-mastered.
I gave it a couple of spins earlier this week and noticed that I hadn't included this CD-re-release in the United Mutations Archives. That has been fixed.