Joel Futterman (born April 30, 1946 in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
) is an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
pianist and
soprano saxophonist.
A native of Chicago, Joel Futterman was influenced both musically and philosophically by
Gene Shaw, with whom he worked with and studied for a few years. Futterman was also influenced by Joseph Schwarzbaum, a writer, poet, and philosopher, as well as his brother Ronald. His influences include
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk ( October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the Jazz standard, standard jazz repertoire, includ ...
,
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...
, and
Eric Dolphy
Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and bandleader. Primarily an alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist, and flautist, Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gain ...
.
From 1964 to 1969, Joel Futterman played bebop and other forms of jazz in various settings in Chicago. He played with artists affiliated with the
AACM, but eventually left Chicago, moving to
Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the List of cities in Virginia, most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeaster ...
in 1972. His first album, ''Cafeteria'', was released in 1979. Since then, Futterman's recordings have included
Jimmy Lyons
Jimmy Lyons (December 1, 1931 – May 19, 1986) was an American alto saxophone player. He is best known for his long tenure in the Cecil Taylor Unit. Lyons was the only constant member of the band from the mid-1960s until his death. Taylor never ...
,
Richard Davis, and
Hal Russell
Hal Russell (born Harold Russell Luttenbacher, August 28, 1926 – September 5, 1992) was an American free jazz composer, band leader and multi-instrumentalist who performed mainly on saxophone and drums but occasionally on trumpet or vibrapho ...
. In the 1980s he released several albums of material on his own label, JDF. After Lyons's death in 1986, Futterman quit working professionally for a time; some of their performances together were reissued in the 1990s.
Joel eventually returned to active performance. Some of his older material was reissued on
Ear-Rational, Konnex Records,
Bellaphon Records
Bellaphon Records is an independent German record label of Bellaphon records GmbH. The label produces its own artists and distributes those of other labels.
Recording artists
* Johnny Cash
* The Flippers
* Ganymed
* Geordie
* Joan Jett & t ...
and
Silkheart Records
Silkheart Records is a Swedish record company and label dedicated to improvised music and free jazz.
Lars-Olof Gustavsson and Keith Knox founded Silkheart in 1985. In 1991, Jimmy Johnson of Forced Exposure suggested that Silkheart "could easily ...
around this time. In 1994 Joel Futterman met
Kidd Jordan
Edward "Kidd" Jordan ( Crowley, May 5, 1935 – April 7, 2023) was an American jazz saxophonist and music educator from New Orleans, Louisiana. He taught at Southern University at New Orleans from 1974 to 2006.
Biography
Jordan was born in Crowl ...
, who introduced him to
Alvin Fielder, and this trio has performed and recorded together for years. Also, Joel Futterman has performed with Greg Foster,
Paul Murphy,
Joseph Jarman
Joseph Jarman (September 14, 1937 – January 9, 2019) was an American jazz musician, composer, poet, and Shinshu Buddhist priest. He was one of the first members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and a member of the ...
,
Jay Oliver
Jay Russell Oliver (born April 26, 1959) is an American jazz musician (piano, keyboards and synths), composer, record producer, programmer and engineer. He began his professional music career at the age of 19 as the youngest member of Maynard Fer ...
,
Ike Levin, and
William Parker. Labels that have released his music include JDF, Silkheart, Charles Lester Music, and others.
Futterman is the author of three books.
Discography
As leader
* ''Cafeteria'' (JDF 1979)
* ''The End Is The Beginning'' (JDF 1980)
* ''In-Between Positions'' (L&R, 1982)
* ''Moments'' (Ear Rational, 1983)
* ''Inneracion'' (Jdf, 1986) Record
* ''Inner Conversations'' (Ear Rational, 1988)
* ''Berlin Images'' (
Silkheart, 1991)
* ''Naked Colours'' (Silkheart, 1991)
* ''Passage'' (Ear Rational, 1991)
* ''Silhouettes'' (
Progressive, 1993)
* ''Vision in Time'' (Silkheart, 1994)
* ''Revelation'' (Kali, 1995)
*
* ''New Orleans Rising'' (Konnex, 1997))
* ''Southern Extreme'' (Drimala, 1997)
* ''Authenticity'' (Kali, 1998)
* ''Relativity'' (Kali, 1998)
* ''Alabama'' (Shipwreck, 2000)
* ''InterView'' (IML, 2000)
* ''The Present Gift'' (IML, 2001)
* ''Lifeline'' (IML, 2002)
* ''Dyami'' (Kali, 2003)
* ''Live at the Noe Valley Ministry'' (Orchard, 2003)
* ''Resolving Doors'' (Charles Lester, 2004)
* ''Coherence'' (Jdf, 2006)
* ''Enigma'' (Charles Lester, 2006)
* ''Live at the Blue Monk'' (Charles Lester, 2006)
* ''Possibilities'' (
Ayler, 2006)
* ''Traveling Through Now'' (Charles Lester, 2008)
* ''Through the Mirror'' (
CD Baby
CD Baby, Inc. is a Portland, Oregon based online distributor of independent music. The company was described as an "anti-label" by its parent company's Chief Operating Officer Tracy Maddux. It was established in 1998 and offered distribution fo ...
, 2014)
* ''Berlin Images'' Raphe Malik, Robert Adkins (1991)
* ''To the Edge'' Raphe Malik, Robert Adkins (1991)
* ''Love Remembered'' Kim Russell Siebert (1995)
* ''Nickelsdorf Konfrontation'' Kidd Jordan, Alvin Fielder, Mats Gustafson Barry Guy (1995)
* ''Intercoastal Blues'' Bruce Hyman (1998)
* ''Who Are You'' (1999)
* ''New Orleans Festival Suite'' Kidd Jordan, William Parker, Alvin Fielder (1999)
* ''Paul Murphy/ Quartet'' Paul Murphy, Vattel Cherry, Jimmy Williams (2000)
* ''As of Now'' Jimmy Williams (2000)
* ''Sweet Silence'' Kim Russell Siebert, Kidd Jordan (2000)
* ''Live at Tampere'' Kidd Jordan, Alvin Fielder (2000)
* ''
Enarre'' Paul Murphy, Kash Killion (2002)
* ''Prayer for Peace'' Anthony Mirabile (2003)
* ''Athena'' Greg Foster (2007)
* ''Breakaway'' Paul Murphy, Jere Carroll (2007)
* ''Live in Baltimore'' Ike Levin (2007)
* ''Existence'' (2008)
* ''Blues Here and Now'' (2008)
* ''On the Blink of a Precipice'' Derwyn Holder (2008)
* ''Spectrum'' (2008)
* ''Transcending to Relaxation'' (2009)
* ''Journey in the Now'' (2009)
* ''Transition Volume 2'' DVD (2009)
* ''Transition Volume 2'' CD (2009)
* ''Transition Volume 1'' DVD (2009)
* ''Transition Volume 1'' CD (2009)
* ''Interaction'' Kidd Jordan (2009)
* ''Celebration'' Ike Levin (2009)
* ''Dialogues and Connections'' Ike Levin (2010)
* ''Albert's Bells'' (2010)
* ''Remembering Dolphy'' (2010)
* ''Perception'' (2011)
* ''The Fall'' (2011)
* ''Live at the Guelph Jazz Festival'' (2011) Kidd Jordan, William Parker, Alvin Fielder (2011)
* ''Blues for My Brother'' (2012)
* ''Interinfinity'' Alvin Fielder (2013)
* ''Reflection 1 Reflection 11'' (2015)
* ''Pathways'' (2017) Joel Futterman
* ''Live In Chicago'' (2017) Joel Futterman Ike Levin
* ''Masters In Improvisation'' (2017) Kidd Jordan Joel Futterman Alvin Fielder Steve Swell
* ''Transformation'' (2018) Joel Futterman Avreeayl Ra
* ''Timeless Memories'' (2018) Joel Futterman Ike Levin Tim Duroche
* ''Intervals'' Joel Futterman (2019)
* ''Intervals 2'' (2019) Joel Futterman
* ''Spirits'' (2020) Kidd Jordan Joel Futterman Alvin Fielder Recorded 1997 Released on Silkheart
* ''TRIBUTE TO ALVIN FIELDER VISION FESTIVAL XXlV'' (2020) KIDD JORDAN JOEL FUTTERMAN WILLIAM PARKER HAMID DRAKE
* ''IN-BETWEEN-POSITIONS'' (REISSUE 2020) JOEL FUTTERMAN JIMMY LYONS RICHARD DAVIS ROBERT ADKINS
* ''WHY?'' (JDF 2020)
* ''Timeless Moments'' (2021)
* ''CREATION SERIES 1, 2, 3, 4, 5'' (2021) Joel Futterman
* ''Warp and Weft'' (2021) Joel Futterman Steve Hirsh
* ''The Chicago River Concerts'' (2022) Joel Futterman Hal Russell CD 1 CD 2 CD 3
* ''ebb & flow'' (2022) Joel Futterman Chad Fowler Steve Hirsh
* ''The Deep'' (2022) Joel Futterman William Parker Chad Fowler Steve Hirsh
* ''Inner Planet'' (2022) Joel Futterman
* ''Here and Now'' (2022) Joel Futterman
* ''INNERPAUSE'' (2023) Joel Futterman Michael Wimberly
* ''Infinite Dimensions'' (2023) Joel Futterman Ike Levin
* ''The Gathering'' (2023) Joel Futterman Ike Levin Steve Hirsh
* ''Forever (2023)'' Joel Futterman
* ''Perspicacity'' (Soul City Sounds, 2024) Joel Futterman
Books
* ''Creative Patterns'' (JDF, 1973)
* ''The Design'' (JDF, 2010)
* ''The Question'' (JDF, 2015)
* "Creative Patterns" 2nd ED. 2020
References
*Steve Huey,
Joel Futtermanat
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
*Gary W. Kennedy, "Joel Futterman". ''
Grove Jazz'' online.
Official website
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Futterman, Joel
American jazz pianists
American male jazz pianists
Jazz musicians from Chicago
1946 births
Living people
20th-century American pianists
21st-century American pianists
20th-century American male musicians
21st-century American male musicians
NoBusiness Records artists