Jack DeJohnette

Born in Chicago in 1942, Jack DeJohnette is widely regarded as one of jazz music's greatest drummers. Music appreciation flourished in DeJohnette's family. He studied classical piano from age four until fourteen before beginning to play drums with his high school concert band and taking private piano lessons at the Chicago Conservatory of Music. DeJohnette credits his uncle, Roy l. Wood Sr., who was one of the most popular jazz DJ's in the South Side of Chicago, later vice president of the National Network of Black Broadcasters, as the person who initially inspired him to pursue music.

In his early years on the Chicago scene, he led his own groups and was equally in demand as a pianist and as a drummer. He played R & B, hard bop, and avant-garde and was active with the experimentalists of the AACM in its early days, with the likes of founder Muhal Richard Abrams, Roscoe Mitchell and Joseph Jarman. In 1966, he drummed alongside Rashied Ali in the John Coltrane Quintet. International recognition came with his tenure in the Charles Lloyd Quartet, one of the first jazz groups to receive crossover attention, also alerting the world to Keith Jarrett's skills.

Jack DeJohnette has collaborated with most major figures in jazz history. Some of the great talents he has worked withare John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, SonnyRollins, Sun Ra, Jackie McLean, Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, Stan Getz, Keith Jarrett, Chet Baker, GeorgeBenson, Stanley Turrentine, Ron Carter, Lee Morgan, Charles Lloyd, Herbie Hancock, Dave Holland, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Abbey Lincoln, Betty Carterand Eddie Harris, who is responsible for convincing DeJohnette to stick with drums because he heard DeJohnette's natural talent.

It was in 1968 that DeJohnette joined Miles Davis's group in time for the epochal upheaval marked by "Bitches Brew,"an album that changed the direction of jazz. In his autobiography, Miles Davis said, "Jack DeJohnette gave me a deep groove that I just loved to play over." Jarrett soon followed DeJohnette into the Davis group, and the drummer's first ECM recording, the duet “Rutya and Daitya” was made in 1971. Working with Miles also brought about collaborations with John McLaughlin, Chick Corea and Dave Holland.

In 1968, he recorded his first album as a leader on the Milestone label, called “The DeJohnette Complex,” where Jack played melodica along with his mentor Roy Haynes on drums. In the early '70s he recorded “Have You Heard” in Japan and two albums for Prestige, called “Sorcery” and “Cosmic Chicken.” These early sessions united Jack with Gary Peacock, Bennie Maupin, Stanley Cowell, Miroslav Vitous, Eddie Gomez, Alex Foster and Peter Warren.

Jack began to record as a leader for ECM, with each of his successive groups, Directions, New Directions, and Special Edition, making important contributions to the evolution of jazz. The New Directions band featured two musicians who would have long-term associations with DeJohnette: John Abercrombie and Lester Bowie. A friend from Chicago days, Bowie played intermittently with DeJohnette until the end of his life. Most notably, Lester and Jack collaborated on a duo album called “Zebra,” which was a world beat-influenced video soundtrack and CD. Abercrombie continued to work with DeJohnette in the Gateway Trio, along with Dave Holland. Special Edition, with its rotating front line, helped introduce the sounds of David Murray, Rufus Reid, Howard Johnson, Arthur Blythe, Chico Freeman, Greg Osby, Michael Caine, Lonnie Plaxico, Gary Thomas and John Purcell to a wider audience. DeJohnette has recorded as a leader on Columbia, Landmark, MCA/GRP, and Toshiba/EMI/Blue Note, but the bulk of his recordings are on the ECM label.

While continuing to lead his own projects and bands, DeJohnette has also been a 20 year member of the immensely popular Keith Jarrett/Gary Peacock/Jack DeJohnette trio. DeJohnette has appeared on more ECM albums than any other musician; his numerous recordings for the label display his subtle, powerful playing and the ‘melodic'approach to drums and cymbals that makes his touch instantly recognizable.

Jack is also known for his cutting-edge collaborations; his“Parallel Realities” CD, with Herbie Hancock and Pat Metheny toured successfully and received much acclaim. Another major collaboration was a CD called “Music for the Fifth World,” inspired by Jack's studies with a Seneca native elder, named Grandmother Twylah Nitsch. This project brought together the likes of Vernon Reid, Will Calhoun, John Scofield, traditional native american singers, Michael Cain, and Lonnie Plaxico. Most recently, he has also performed and recorded with Bobby McFerrin, Don Byron, Danilo Perez and Gonzalo Rubalcaba.

Jack has received many awards for his music, including “New Directions” which received the prestigious French Grand Prix du Disque, Charles Cros award in 1979. “Album, Album” and “Special Edition” both won album of the year in the annual Downbeat readers' polls. “Audio-Visualscapes” became album of the year in the Downbeat annual critics' poll in 1989. “Parallel Realities” won album of the year in Japan. In 1991, “Earth Walk” won album of the year and recording of the year in Japan. Jack has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music in Boston in 1991. There is an extensive list of awards for drumming, including at least 14 years of the Downbeat polls, the NY Jazz awards, and the Jazz Central online awards, along with many international awards.

DeJohnette's drumming, though originally influenced by masters including Max Roach, Art Blakey, Roy Haynes, Elvin Jones, Philly Joe Jones, Art Taylor, Rashied Ali, Paul Motian, Tony Williams, and Andrew Cyrelle, has long drawn on sources beyond “jazz.” Thirty years ago, he was already describing his work as “multi-directional music.”

“As a child, I listened to all kinds of music and I never put them into categories. I had formal lessons on piano and listened to opera, country and western music, rhythm and blues, jazz, swing, whatever. To me, it was all music and great. I've kept that integrated feeling about music, all types of music, and just carried it with me. I've maintained that belief and feeling in spite of the ongoing trend to try and compartmentalize people and music.”

As well as his previous credentials, DeJohnette has also composed soundtracks for both TV and video. These include a soundtrack in collaboration with Pat Metheny for a PBS play called “Lemon Sky”; a soundtrack for a documentary called “City Farmers” by Meryl Joseph and a video production with fellow percussionist Don Alias on Homespun tapes, “Talking drummers”, which includes a documentary that was made of the whole process. Jack also enjoyed a cameo appearance as a member of the“Alligator Blues Band” in the Blues Brothers 2000 movie.

Beyond his own groups, some of DeJohnette's most wide-open playing can be heard in his recordings ofspontaneously improvised music with Keith Jarrett (“AlwaysLet Me Go”, “Inside Out”, and “Changeless”); John Surman (“Invisible Nature”, “The Amazing Adventures of Simon Simon,” and the transitional sequences in Surman's musicfor reeds, drums, piano and brass ensemble, “Free and Equal”); Michael Cain and Steve Gorn (“Dancing WithNature Spirits”); and Don Alias, Michael Cain, and Jerome Harris (“Oneness”).

DeJohnette continues his ongoing visionary projects, including the release of his new “Resonating Bells” instruments in collaboration with cymbal manufacturers, Sabian; forming a group celebrating the works of Jack's friend and masterdrummer Tony Williams, featuring John Scofield and Larry Goldings; and the first release, “Music in the key of Om” onhis newly launched record label, “Golden Beams Productions.”