James Newton

[BlueMiles]

Whatever happened to James Newton? He is about the coolest flute player I have ever heard. And I did hear him live once, doing Ellington's music---similar to the great music of The African Flower, though quite a few years later. I know he's long been into sacred music and composing for large ensembles (often no longer playing). But I think back to those glory days of African Flower and Romance and Revolution and his appearance on Jay Hoggard's In the Spirit.

I have some of his earlier stuff on LP, and I'm trying to track down some of the last jazz projects from the 1990s.

He's been way under the radar for too long.

[Uli]

[BlueMiles]

Thanks, Uli--that's fantastic.

[gonzo]

dedicating his life to teaching.

[randalljazz]

http://www.ethnomusic.ucla.edu/index...d=7&Itemid=226

https://www.facebook.com/#!/james.newton.3745

[Lois Gilbert]

You might recall he sued the Beastie Boys for sampling his music - and took to the Supreme Court

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=4701570

[arodjazz]

Hi all,

Lois mentioned this thread to me in a conversation earlier today, and I thought I'd stop by and testify! I just finished the first year of UCLA's PhD program in ethnomusicology, and Professor Newton has been the crown jewel of my education here. He is a full professor and takes his job very seriously, working closely with the undergraduates in the jazz studies program, the composition program, and doctoral students doing research in jazz-related fields. He is still a brilliant and insightful musical mind and is in the midst of composing his take on St. Matthew's Passion. He also leads the Charles Mingus Ensemble at UCLA, which performs the music of Mingus, Dolphy, Monk, Steve Coleman, and other similarly hip composers. I took his excellent lecture course "Jazz Since the Sixties," and he's teaching a seminar on the music of Jimi Hendrix this fall.

I still can't believe how fortunate I am to have the opportunity to work with him. He's certainly way, way too far under the radar -- but I think he prefers it that way, for the most part. As he once told me, "I think I'm allergic to fame."

-Alex