Jazz Articles about Don Preston

Don Preston: Works

by John Barron
January 13, 2008

Keyboardist/composer Don Preston, who is probably best known for his work with Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention, is deeply rooted in contemporary classical music--Preston has scored more than twenty feature films and fourteen plays.

Works is a ten track retrospective of Preston's classically influenced works, spanning from 1965 to the present. The disc is a fascinating glance into the uncompromising musical mind of an overlooked American musical icon.

The opening track “Of ...

Don Preston Trio: Transformation

by AAJ Staff
June 1, 2001

Pianist Don Preston brings together an unusual combination of composure and freedom on his trio disc Transformation. While most of these pieces assume a reflective posture, the group also takes its liberties and spikes the mix with a good dose of healthy dissonance. That unassuming energy may reflect itself as melodic flights around the edges of formal harmony, as on “The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue." Or it may advance through stuttering collective improvisation, as on “Walking BatterieWoman." The key forces ...