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Mundell Lowe

January 31, 2023

James Mundell Lowe (April 21, 1922 – December 2, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist who worked often in radio, television, and film, and as a session musician.

Mundell Lowe
Lowe in 2000
Background information
Birth nameJames Mundell Lowe
Born(1922-04-21)April 21, 1922
Shady Grove, Mississippi, U.S.
DiedDecember 2, 2017(2017-12-02) (aged 95)
San Diego, California, U.S.
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician, composer, conductor
Instrument(s)Guitar
Years active1946–2017
LabelsRCA Victor, Riverside, RCA Camden, Fresh Sound, Nagel-Heyer

He produced film and TV scores in the 1970s, such as the Billy Jack soundtrack and music for Starsky and Hutch, and worked with André Previn's Trio in the 1990s.

Career

The son of a Baptist minister, Lowe grew up on a farm in Shady Grove, Mississippi, near Laurel. He started playing guitar when he was eight years old, with his father and sister acting as his first teachers. When he was thirteen, he began running away from home to play in bands.[1][2][3] Occasionally his father would find him, bring him home, and warn him about the dangers of whiskey. At sixteen, Lowe worked in Nashville on the Grand Ole Opry radio program.[1][4] He was a member of the Jan Savitt orchestra before serving in the military during World War II.[2]

At basic training, he became friends with John Hammond, who organized weekend jam sessions. He performed in an Army dance band while in Guadalcanal. After his discharge, he called Hammond, looking for work, and Hammond sent him to Ray McKinley.[1] He spent two years with McKinley's big band in New York City.[2] He joined the Benny Goodman orchestra, then worked intermittently for the next few years at Café Society and other clubs in New York.[1]

In 1950, he was hired by NBC as a staff musician.[2] He and Ed Shaughnessy were members of the Today Show band for over ten years. Lowe acted in an episode of the Armstrong Circle Theatre television show that included Walter Matthau and live music by Doc Severinsen.[1]

On the weekends he played jazz, sometimes getting permission from NBC to leave for six-month periods. In the jazz world he played with Jimmy Dorsey and Tommy Dorsey, Bill Evans, Billie Holiday, Red Norvo, Charles Mingus, Charlie Parker, Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, and Lester Young. He composed and arranged for NBC.[1][2] He was responsible for introducing pianist Bill Evans to record producer Orrin Keepnews, resulting in Evans's first recordings as a leader.[5]

In 1965 he moved to Los Angeles and worked for NBC as a staff guitarist, composer, and arranger.[6] He wrote music for the TV shows Hawaii Five-O, Starsky & Hutch, and The Wild Wild West, and the movies Satan in High Heels (1962), A Time for Killing (1967), Billy Jack (1971), Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972), Sidewinder 1 (1977) and Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo (1977).[4] He recorded with Carmen McRae and Sarah Vaughan. During the 1980s, he worked with André Previn, Tete Montoliu, and the Great Guitars.[2] He was a teacher at the Guitar Institute of Technology and the Grove School of Music. For several years, he was music director of the Monterey Jazz Festival.[6]

During his career, he worked with Benny Carter, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Hodges, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Lee Konitz, Peggy Lee, Fats Navarro, Shirley Scott, Dinah Washington, and Ben Webster.[4] In the later decades of his life he collaborated often with flautist Holly Hoffman. At the age of 93, he released the album Poor Butterfly.

Lowe was married to singer Betty Bennett, his third wife, for 42 years. In his last years, the couple lived in San Diego. He died on December 2, 2017, at the age of 95.[6]

Discography

As leader

As sideman

With Ruby Braff

  • Holiday in Braff (Bethlehem, 1955)
  • Easy Now (RCA Victor, 1959)
  • You're Getting to Be a Habit with Me (Stere-o-Craft, 1959)

With Chris Connor

  • Chris Connor Sings the George Gershwin Almanac of Song (Atlantic, 1957)
  • I Miss You So (Atlantic, 1957)
  • Chris Craft (Atlantic, 1958)
  • Witchcraft (Atlantic, 1959)
  • At the Village Gate (FM, 1963)

With Carmen McRae

With André Previn

With Felicia Sanders

  • That Certain Feeling (Decca, 1958)
  • I Wish You Love (Time, 1960)
  • Felicia Sanders (Time, 1964)

With Tony Scott

  • Both Sides of Tony Scott (RCA Victor, 1956)
  • The Touch of Tony Scott (RCA Victor, 1956)
  • Gypsy (Fresh Sound, 1987)

With others

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Carlton, Jim (2009). Conversations with Great Jazz and Studio Guitarists. Pacific, Missouri: Bill's Music Shelf. pp. 240–259. ISBN 9780786651238.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Yanow, Scott (2013). The Great Jazz Guitarists. San Francisco: Backbeat. p. 124. ISBN 978-1-61713-023-6.
  3. ^ Yanow, Scott. "Mundell Lowe". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  4. ^ a b c Varga, George (1 December 2008). "Mundell Lowe: Man of Few Notes, Many Stories". JazzTimes. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  5. ^ Myers, Marc (14 January 2008). "Mundel Lowe Interview". Jazzwax.
  6. ^ a b c Varga, George (2 December 2017). "Mundell Lowe dead at 95. Guitar great played with Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Everly Brothers and more". San Diego Union Tribune.

External links

  • NAMM Oral History Interview April 8, 2002
  • Mundell Lowe at IMDb

January 31, 2023
mundell, lowe, james, april, 1922, december, 2017, american, jazz, guitarist, worked, often, radio, television, film, session, musician, lowe, 2000background, informationbirth, namejames, born, 1922, april, 1922shady, grove, mississippi, dieddecember, 2017, 20. James Mundell Lowe April 21 1922 December 2 2017 was an American jazz guitarist who worked often in radio television and film and as a session musician Mundell LoweLowe in 2000Background informationBirth nameJames Mundell LoweBorn 1922 04 21 April 21 1922Shady Grove Mississippi U S DiedDecember 2 2017 2017 12 02 aged 95 San Diego California U S GenresJazzOccupation s Musician composer conductorInstrument s GuitarYears active1946 2017LabelsRCA Victor Riverside RCA Camden Fresh Sound Nagel Heyer He produced film and TV scores in the 1970s such as the Billy Jack soundtrack and music for Starsky and Hutch and worked with Andre Previn s Trio in the 1990s Contents 1 Career 2 Discography 2 1 As leader 2 2 As sideman 3 References 4 External linksCareer EditThe son of a Baptist minister Lowe grew up on a farm in Shady Grove Mississippi near Laurel He started playing guitar when he was eight years old with his father and sister acting as his first teachers When he was thirteen he began running away from home to play in bands 1 2 3 Occasionally his father would find him bring him home and warn him about the dangers of whiskey At sixteen Lowe worked in Nashville on the Grand Ole Opry radio program 1 4 He was a member of the Jan Savitt orchestra before serving in the military during World War II 2 At basic training he became friends with John Hammond who organized weekend jam sessions He performed in an Army dance band while in Guadalcanal After his discharge he called Hammond looking for work and Hammond sent him to Ray McKinley 1 He spent two years with McKinley s big band in New York City 2 He joined the Benny Goodman orchestra then worked intermittently for the next few years at Cafe Society and other clubs in New York 1 In 1950 he was hired by NBC as a staff musician 2 He and Ed Shaughnessy were members of the Today Show band for over ten years Lowe acted in an episode of the Armstrong Circle Theatre television show that included Walter Matthau and live music by Doc Severinsen 1 On the weekends he played jazz sometimes getting permission from NBC to leave for six month periods In the jazz world he played with Jimmy Dorsey and Tommy Dorsey Bill Evans Billie Holiday Red Norvo Charles Mingus Charlie Parker Sauter Finegan Orchestra and Lester Young He composed and arranged for NBC 1 2 He was responsible for introducing pianist Bill Evans to record producer Orrin Keepnews resulting in Evans s first recordings as a leader 5 In 1965 he moved to Los Angeles and worked for NBC as a staff guitarist composer and arranger 6 He wrote music for the TV shows Hawaii Five O Starsky amp Hutch and The Wild Wild West and the movies Satan in High Heels 1962 A Time for Killing 1967 Billy Jack 1971 Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask 1972 Sidewinder 1 1977 and Tarantulas The Deadly Cargo 1977 4 He recorded with Carmen McRae and Sarah Vaughan During the 1980s he worked with Andre Previn Tete Montoliu and the Great Guitars 2 He was a teacher at the Guitar Institute of Technology and the Grove School of Music For several years he was music director of the Monterey Jazz Festival 6 During his career he worked with Benny Carter Miles Davis Ella Fitzgerald Johnny Hodges Rahsaan Roland Kirk Lee Konitz Peggy Lee Fats Navarro Shirley Scott Dinah Washington and Ben Webster 4 In the later decades of his life he collaborated often with flautist Holly Hoffman At the age of 93 he released the album Poor Butterfly Lowe was married to singer Betty Bennett his third wife for 42 years In his last years the couple lived in San Diego He died on December 2 2017 at the age of 95 6 Discography EditAs leader Edit The Mundell Lowe Quartet Riverside 1955 Guitar Moods Riverside 1956 New Music of Alec Wilder Riverside 1956 A Grand Night for Swinging Riverside 1957 Porgy amp Bess RCA Camden 1959 TV Action Jazz RCA Camden 1959 Themes from Mr Lucky The Untouchables and Other TV Action Jazz RCA Camden 1960 Satan in High Heels Charlie Parker 1961 Blues for a Stripper Charlie Parker 1962 California Guitar Famous Door 1973 Guitar Player Dobre 1977 Sweet n Lovely 1 Fresh Sound 1991 Sweet n Lovely 2 Fresh Sound 1991 As sideman Edit With Ruby Braff Holiday in Braff Bethlehem 1955 Easy Now RCA Victor 1959 You re Getting to Be a Habit with Me Stere o Craft 1959 With Chris Connor Chris Connor Sings the George Gershwin Almanac of Song Atlantic 1957 I Miss You So Atlantic 1957 Chris Craft Atlantic 1958 Witchcraft Atlantic 1959 At the Village Gate FM 1963 With Carmen McRae Carmen McRae Bethlehem 1954 Blue Moon Decca 1956 Birds of a Feather Decca 1958 Carmen McRae Sings Lover Man and Other Billie Holiday Classics Philips 1962 With Andre Previn Uptown Telarc 1990 Old Friends Telarc 1992 What Headphones Angel 1993 Andre Previn and Friends Play Show Boat Deutsche Grammophon 1995 Jazz at the Musikverein Verve 1997 With Felicia Sanders That Certain Feeling Decca 1958 I Wish You Love Time 1960 Felicia Sanders Time 1964 With Tony Scott Both Sides of Tony Scott RCA Victor 1956 The Touch of Tony Scott RCA Victor 1956 Gypsy Fresh Sound 1987 With others Steve Allen and All That Jazz Dot 1959 Steve Allen Steve Allen at the Roundtable Roulette 1959 Louie Bellson Louie Rides Again Percussion Power 1974 Betty Bennett The Song Is You Fresh Sound 1992 Tony Bennett My Heart Sings Columbia 1961 Tony Bennett Who Can I Turn To CBS 1965 Bill Berry Shortcake Concord Jazz 1994 Will Bradley amp Johnny Guarnieri Big Band Boogie RCA 1974 Les Brown Digital Swing Fantasy 1987 Ruth Brown Late Date with Ruth Brown Atlantic 1959 Benny Carter Live and Well in Japan Pablo 1978 Benny Carter Elegy in Blue MusicMasters 1994 Russ Case Dances Wild Vik 1957 Cher Bittersweet White Light MCA 1973 Al Cohn Son of Drum Suite RCA Victor 1961 Betty Comden Richard Lewine Remember These Ava 1963 Randy Crawford Everything Must Change Warner Bros 1976 Jackie Davis Most Happy Hammond Capitol 1958 Wild Bill Davis amp Johnny Hodges Con Soul and Sax RCA Victor 1965 Wild Bill Davis Free Frantic and Funky RCA Victor 1965 Sammy Davis Jr Mood to Be Wooed Decca 1958 Sammy Davis Jr Try a Little Tenderness Decca 1965 Blossom Dearie Once Upon a Summertime Verve 1958 Don Elliott Music for the Sensational Sixties Design 1958 Don Elliott Counterpoint for Six Valves Riverside 1959 Ella Fitzgerald Rhythm Is My Business Verve 1962 Jimmy Forrest Soul Street New Jazz 1964 Benny Goodman The New Benny Goodman Sextet Philips 1954 Marty Gold Swingin West RCA Victor 1960 Eydie Gorme Blame It On the Bossa Nova Columbia 1963 Johnny Guarnieri The Duke Again Coral 1957 Donna Hightower Take One Capitol 1959 Johnny Hodges amp Wild Bill Davis Blue Rabbit Verve 1964 Kenyon Hopkins amp Creed Taylor The Sound of New York ABC Paramount 1959 Quincy Jones Quincy Jones Explores the Music of Henry Mancini Mercury 1964 Deane Kincaide The Solid South Everest 1959 Morgana King With a Taste of Honey Mainstream 1964 Al Klink Progressive Jazz Grand Award 1956 Barry Manilow 2 00 AM Paradise Cafe Arista 1984 Herbie Mann Herbie Mann Plays The Roar of the Greasepaint The Smell of the Crowd Atlantic 1965 Marty Manning The Twilight Zone Columbia 1961 Ray McKinley s Orchestra Arr by Eddie Sauter Borderline Savoy 1955 Helen Merrill American Country Songs Atco 1959 Hugo Montenegro Bongos and Brass Time 1960 Joe Mooney The Happiness of Joe Mooney Columbia 1965 Charlie Parker Parker Plus Strings Charlie Parker 1983 Michael Parks You Don t Know Me First American 1981 Arthur Prysock Arthur Prysock Sings Only for You Old Town 1962 Johnnie Ray Til Morning Columbia 1958 Chita Rivera And Now I Sing Seeco 1961 Spike Robinson Reminiscin Capri 1992 Sauter Finegan Orchestra Straight Down the Middle RCA Victor 1958 Lalo Schifrin New Fantasy Verve 1964 Jimmy Scott Very Truly Yours Savoy 1984 Shirley Scott For Members Only Impulse 1964 Jack Sheldon Singular Beez 1980 Jack Sheldon Playin It Straight M amp K 1981 Hymie Shertzer All the King s Saxes Disneyland 1958 George Siravo Seductive Strings by Siravo Time 1961 Rex Stewart amp Peanuts Hucko Dedicated Jazz Jazztone 1956 Ted Straeter Ted Straeter s New York Atlantic 1955 Creed Taylor Shock Music in Hi Fi ABC Paramount 1958 Creed Taylor Ping Pang Pong the Swinging Ball ABC Paramount 1960 Kiri Te Kanawa Kiri Sidetracks Philips 1992 Cal Tjader Gozame Pero Ya Concord Jazz Picante 1980 Sarah Vaughan Sarah Vaughan in Hi Fi Columbia 1955 Sarah Vaughan After Hours Roulette 1961 Patty Weaver Feelings SE 1976 Patty Weaver Patty Weaver Sings As Time Goes By SE 1976 Ben Webster The Soul of Ben Webster Verve 1960 Lee Wiley A Touch of the Blues RCA Victor 1958 References Edit a b c d e f Carlton Jim 2009 Conversations with Great Jazz and Studio Guitarists Pacific Missouri Bill s Music Shelf pp 240 259 ISBN 9780786651238 a b c d e f Yanow Scott 2013 The Great Jazz Guitarists San Francisco Backbeat p 124 ISBN 978 1 61713 023 6 Yanow Scott Mundell Lowe AllMusic Retrieved 20 March 2011 a b c Varga George 1 December 2008 Mundell Lowe Man of Few Notes Many Stories JazzTimes Retrieved 23 November 2017 Myers Marc 14 January 2008 Mundel Lowe Interview Jazzwax a b c Varga George 2 December 2017 Mundell Lowe dead at 95 Guitar great played with Billie Holiday Charlie Parker Everly Brothers and more San Diego Union Tribune External links EditNAMM Oral History Interview April 8 2002 Mundell Lowe at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mundell Lowe amp oldid 1136287598, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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