Jazz Great Paul Motian Dies

Jazz Great Paul Motian Dies

A champion of the American Songbook, the many musicians he played with regularly included the saxophonist Joe Lovano and the guitarist Bill Frisell; pianists and Masabumi Kikuchi; saxophonists Greg Osby, Chris Potter and Mark Turner.

"Paul Motian (pictured), a drummer, bandleader, composer and one of the more influential jazz musicians of the last 50 years, has passed away in New York, aged 80.

He had been in the pianist Bill Evans’ trio of the late 1950s and in Keith Jarrett’s ‘American quartet’ during the 1970s, but thereafter Motian came to prominence as a composer and bandleader.

He had the unwavering support of the record labels Winter & Winter and ECM, and of the New York club, the Village Vanguard, who booked him many times a year for residencies.

A champion of the American Songbook, the many musicians he played with regularly included the saxophonist Joe Lovano and the guitarist Bill Frisell; pianists and Masabumi Kikuchi; saxophonists Greg Osby, Chris Potter and Mark Turner.

An open, intuitive player with a great communicative and rhythmic flair, Motian’s place in jazz history is secured as playing an important role in freeing the drummer from strict time-keeping duties.

Published on 24 November 2011

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