- The Lounge Lizards
The Lounge Lizards are a
jazz group formed in1978 bysaxophone playerJohn Lurie ; they should not be confused with countrysatire group theAustin Lounge Lizards .Initially a
tongue in cheek "fake jazz" combo, drawing onpunk rock andno wave as much asjazz , The Lounge Lizards have since become respected for their creative and distinctive sound.History
The first line-up was
John Lurie , his brother Evan (piano and organ),Arto Lindsay (guitar),Steve Piccolo (bass guitar), andAnton Fier (drums). This ensemble recorded the group's self-titled debut, which contained twoThelonious Monk songs and was produced byTeo Macero , famed for his work withMiles Davis . The record received positive reviews, with one scribe noting "while there's definitely great respect shown here for the jazz tradition, the members are obviously coming at it from different backgrounds."Fact|date=June 2007 Especially notable is Lindsay's noisy guitar: He had earlier honed his distinctive, untutored and unconventional technique with the band DNA.After this line-up dissolved, the Lurie brothers formed a new group [http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/lounge_lizards_the/bio.jhtml] , which has been described as "less compelling" than the earlier ensemble. Their sole record, 1983's "Live from the Drunken Boat", remains the only Lounge Lizards album never to have been issued on
compact disc .In the years following their inception, they lost the moniker of "fake" almost completely and comprised some of the best musicians from the avant-garde New York jazz scene:
Roy Nathanson (saxophone),Curtis Fowlkes (trombone),Marc Ribot (guitar), andErik Sanko (of Skeleton Key) (bass guitar),Dougie Bowne andEJ Rodriguez on drums and percussion. (Fowlkes and Nathanson would pursue duo performances, which metamorphosed intoThe Jazz Passengers ).This edition of the Lounge Lizards recorded three albums in two years, and demonstrated John Lurie's increasingly sophisticated and multi-layered compositions that often stray rather far from conventional jazz: He was able to integrate elements of various
world music s (he often favors tango-inspired passages in his songs), which retain a distinctive flavor, but avoid gimmickry. One critic notes traces of "Erik Satie andKurt Weill " [http://trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=lounge_lizards] .The Luries formed a new version of the Lounge Lizards in the early 1990s; prominent members included
Steven Bernstein (trumpet), Michael Blake (saxophone),Oren Bloedow (bass guitar),Dave Tronzo (guitar),Calvin Weston (drums) and Billy Martin (percussion).Recent years have found the Lounge Lizards less active; John Lurie has been increasingly occupied with writing music for motion picture soundtracks, while Evan Lurie has worked on "
The Backyardigans ", a children's show that highlights multiple musical genres.Past members
*
John Lurie - alto/soprano sax
*Evan Lurie - piano
*Arto Lindsay - guitar
*Steve Piccolo - bass
*Anton Fier - drums
*Peter Zummo - trombone
*Dougie Bowne - drums
*Roy Nathanson - sax
*Curtis Fowlkes - trombone
*Marc Ribot - guitar, trumpet, Eb horn
*Erik Sanko - bass
*E.J. Rodriguez - percussion
*Brandon Ross - guitar
*Al MacDowell - bass
*Calvin Weston - drums
*Michael Blake - sax
*Steven Bernstein - trumpet
*Billy Martin - percussion
*Jane Scarpantoni - cello
*Bryan Carrott - marimba/vibes
*Michele Navazio - guitar
*Oren Bloedow - bass
*David Tronzo - guitar
*Ben Perowsky - percussion
*Tony Scherr - bass
*Doug Wieselman - guitar, clarinet
*Mauro Refosco - percussion
*John Medeski - organ
*Kenny Wollesen - drums
*Danny Blume - guitarDiscography
*1981 "Lounge Lizards" (EG)
*1983 "Live from the Drunken Boat" (Europa)
*1985 "Live 79-81" (ROIR)
*1986 "Big Heart: Live Tokyo" (Antilles)
*1987 "No Pain for Cakes" (Antilles)
*1988 "Voice of Chunk" (Strange & Beautiful)
*1991 "Live in Berlin, Vol. 1" (Intuition)
*1991 "Live in Berlin, Vol. 2" (Intuition)
*1998 "Queen of All Ears" (Strange & Beautiful)
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.