Jean-Luc Ponty (born 29 September 1942) is a French

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 ...

and

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

violinist and composer. He is considered a pioneer of jazz-rock, particularly for his use of the

electric violin An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument intentionally made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body. It can also refer to a violin fi ...

starting in the 1970s. He rose to prominence for his collaborations with popular musical artists

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

and

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

. In addition to his solo work, he has performed with symphony orchestras in France, the United States, Canada, and Japan.

Early life

Ponty was born into a family of classical musicians in

Avranches Avranches (; ) is a commune in the Manche department, and the region of Normandy, northwestern France. It is a subprefecture of the department. The inhabitants are called ''Avranchinais''. History Middle Ages By the end of the Roman period, th ...

, France. His father taught violin, and his mother taught piano. At sixteen, he was admitted to the

Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Jau ...

, graduating two years later with the institution's highest honor, Premier Prix (first prize). He was hired by the

Orchestre Lamoureux The Orchestre Lamoureux () officially known as the Société des Nouveaux-Concerts and also known as the Concerts Lamoureux) is an orchestral concert society which once gave weekly concerts by its own orchestra, founded in Paris by Charles Lamoure ...

in which he played for three years. While still a member of the orchestra in Paris, Ponty picked up a side job playing clarinet (which his father had taught him) for a college jazz band that regularly performed at local parties. It proved life-changing. A growing interest in

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

and

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 ...

compelled him to take up

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

. One night after an orchestra concert, and still wearing his tuxedo, Ponty found himself at a local club with only his violin. Within four years, he was widely accepted as the leading figure in "jazz fiddle". At that time, Ponty was leading a dual musical life: rehearsing and performing with the orchestra while also playing jazz at clubs throughout Paris. The demands of that schedule eventually brought him to a crossroads. Critic

Joachim-Ernst Berendt Joachim-Ernst Berendt (20 July 1922 in Berlin – 4 February 2000 in Hamburg) was a German music journalist, author and producer specialized on jazz. Life Berendt's father, Ernst Berendt, was a Protestant pastor belonging to the Confessing ...

wrote that "Since Ponty, the jazz violin has been a different instrument".

Success with the violin

At first, the violin proved to be challenging; few at the time viewed the instrument as having a legitimate place in the modern jazz vocabulary. With a powerful sound that eschewed vibrato, Ponty distinguished himself with

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early to mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...

phrasing and a punchy style influenced more by horn players than by anything previously tried on the violin. In 1964, at age 22, he released his debut album, ''

Jazz Long Playing ''Jazz Long Playing'' is the debut album by French violinist Jean-Luc Ponty recorded in Paris in June and July 1964. It was reissued in 2000. ''Jazz Long Playing'' is one of two albums produced by Ponty; ''Sunday Walk'' in 1967 was his second. T ...

''. He performed on stage in Basel, Switzerland, with string players

Stuff Smith Hezekiah Leroy Gordon Smith (August 14, 1909 – September 25, 1967), better known as Stuff Smith, was an American jazz violinist. He is well known for the song " If You're a Viper" (the original title was "You'se a Viper"). Smith was, al ...

Stéphane Grappelli Stéphane Grappelli (; 26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997) was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the first all-string jazz bands. ...

, and

Svend Asmussen Svend Asmussen (28 February 1916 – 7 February 2017) was a Danish jazz violinist, known as "The Fiddling Viking". A Swing-style virtuoso, he played and recorded with many other notable jazz musicians, including Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and ...

. The performance was released as the album ''

Violin Summit The Summit format is used in jazz to bring together performers on a particular musical instrument. Though these recordings often feature other musicians (notably a rhythm section), the main instrument is focused upon in a celebratory way. The saxo ...

'' (1966).

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American civil rights activist and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

of the

Modern Jazz Quartet The Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ) was a jazz combo established in 1952 that played music influenced by classical music, classical, cool jazz, blues and bebop. The Quartet consisted of John Lewis (pianist), John Lewis (piano), Milt Jackson (vibraphon ...

invited Ponty to perform at the

Monterey Jazz Festival The Monterey Jazz Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Monterey, California, United States. It debuted on October 3, 1958, championed by Dave Brubeck and co-founded by jazz and popular music critic Ralph J. Gleason and jazz ...

in 1967, which led to a recording contract with the

World Pacific Pacific Jazz Records was a Los Angeles–based record company and label best known for cool jazz or West coast jazz. It was founded in 1952 by producer Richard Bock (1927–1988) and drummer Roy Harte (1924–2003). Harte, in 1954, also co-founde ...

label and the albums '' Electric Connection'' (1969) with the Gerald Wilson Big Band and '' Jean-Luc Ponty Experience with the George Duke Trio'' (1969). That year also brought ''Sunday Walk'' (1967), the first collaboration between Ponty and

Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (; 27 May 1946 – 19 April 2005), also known by his abbreviated nickname NHØP, was a Danish jazz double bassist. Biography Pedersen was born in Osted, near Roskilde, on the Danish island of Zealand, the son o ...

Frank Zappa and emigration to the United States

In 1969,

composed the music for Ponty's solo album '' King Kong: Jean-Luc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa'' (World Pacific, 1970). In 1972,

invited Ponty to contribute to his ''

Honky Chateau Honky (also spelled honkey) is a derogatory term used to refer to white people, predominantly heard in the United States. The first recorded use of "honky" in this context may date back to 1946. Etymology The exact origins of the word are gener ...

'' (1972) album. At the urging of Zappa and

The Mothers of Invention The Mothers of Invention (also known as the Mothers) were an American rock music, rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Originally an ...

, who wanted him to join their tour, Ponty emigrated with his wife and two young daughters to the United States and made his home in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He continued to work on a variety of projects – including two of John McLaughlin's

Mahavishnu Orchestra The Mahavishnu Orchestra was a jazz fusion band formed in New York City in 1971, led by English guitarist John McLaughlin (musician), John McLaughlin. The group underwent several line-up changes throughout its history across its two periods of a ...

albums ''

Apocalypse Apocalypse () is a literary genre originating in Judaism in the centuries following the Babylonian exile (597–587 BCE) but persisting in Christianity and Islam. In apocalypse, a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a ...

'' (1974) and '' Visions of the Emerald Beyond'' (1975) and tours until 1975, when he signed with

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

. For the next decade, Ponty toured the world repeatedly and recorded 12 consecutive albums, each of which reached the ''Billboard'' jazz charts top five, selling millions of albums. His early Atlantic recordings, such as 1976's ''

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

'' and ''

Imaginary Voyage Imaginary voyage is a narrative genre which presents fictitious locations in the form of a travel narrative, but has no generally agreed-upon definition. It has been subdivided into fantastic voyages and realistic voyages depending on the promine ...

'', established Ponty as one of the leading figures in jazz-rock. He went on to crack the Top 40 with the album ''

Enigmatic Ocean ''Enigmatic Ocean'' is a studio album by French jazz fusion artist Jean-Luc Ponty, released in 1977. It features guitarists Allan Holdsworth and Daryl Stuermer, keyboardist Allan Zavod, bassist Ralphe Armstrong (with whom Ponty had played in Mahav ...

'' in 1977 and '' Cosmic Messenger'' in 1978. In 1984, a video of

time-lapse Time-lapse photography is a technique in which the frequency at which film frames are captured (the frame rate) is much lower than the frequency used to view the sequence. When played at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and th ...

images of New York City and Chicago was produced by Louis Schwarzberg for the song " Individual Choice" (1983). Besides recording and touring with his own group, Ponty performed with the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, the Radio City Orchestra in New York, and symphony orchestras in Montreal, Toronto, Oklahoma City, and Tokyo. In the late 1980s he recorded the albums '' The Gift of Time'' (1987) and ''

Storytelling Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing narrative, stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatre, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cul ...

'' (1989) for Columbia. On '' Tchokola'' (

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

, 1991) Ponty combined acoustic and electric violins for the first time with polyrhythmic sounds of West Africa. He performed for two months in the U.S. and Canada with African expatriates he had met in Paris. In 1993, he returned to Atlantic with the album '' No Absolute Time''. In 1995, he joined guitarist

Al Di Meola Albert Laurence Di Meola (born July 22, 1954) is an American guitarist. Known for his work in jazz fusion and world music, his breakthrough came after joining Chick Corea's Return to Forever group in 1974. He launched, from 1976 afterwards, a s ...

and bassist

Stanley Clarke Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951) is an American bassist, composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first jazz-fus ...

to record an acoustic album, '' The Rite of Strings''. That trio undertook a six-month tour of North America, South America, and Europe. He reunited his American band in 1996 for live performances following the release of a double album for Atlantic titled '' Le Voyage: The Jean-Luc Ponty Anthology''. One of these concerts was recorded in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, Michigan on June 29, 1996, and released in October 1996 by Atlantic under the title '' Live at Chene Park''. In 1997, Ponty reunited his group of Western and African musicians to pursue the fusion music he had begun to explore in 1991. They toured for three years from the Hawaiian Islands to Poland and in North America and Europe. Ponty performed a duet with bassist

Miroslav Vitous Miroslav may refer to: * Miroslav (given name), a Slavic masculine given name * ''Young America'' (clipper) or ''Miroslav'', an Austrian clipper ship in the Transatlantic case oil trade * Miroslav (Znojmo District), a town in the Czech Republic S ...

in December 1999. In January 2000, he participated in

Lalo Schifrin Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger, and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film and TV scores since the 1950s, incorporating jazz and Music of Latin America, Lati ...

's recording ''Esperanto''. In June 2001 he performed duets with Russian violinist

Vadim Repin Vadim Viktorovich Repin (, ; born 31 August 1971) is a Russian and Belgian violinist who lives in Vienna.A ...

and at the Film Music Festival in Poland with American jazz violinist

Regina Carter Regina Carter (born August 6, 1966) is an American jazz violinist. She is the cousin of jazz saxophonist James Carter. Early life Carter was born in Detroit and was one of three children in her family. She began piano lessons at the age of t ...

. In August 2001, Ponty released his album '' Life Enigma'' on his label (J.L.P. Productions), a return to his concept from the 1970s with modern production. He played all the instruments on some tracks and was joined by band members for others. He gave a concert with his band in his native town of

in Normandy on 21 September 2001. He was honored during a ceremony at City Hall. He then embarked on a tour in the U.S. in October and November 2001. In May 2001, he recorded a concert with the same musicians at the opera house in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, Germany. That recording was released in July 2002 on '' Live at Semper Opera''. In January 2003, he toured India for the first time, seven shows in six major cities for the Global Music Festival organized by Indian violinist L. Subramaniam. Ponty performed on a reunion tour with

and

from June to October 2004 in the U.S. and Canada. In 2005, he toured with Trio! with Stanley Clarke and

Béla Fleck Béla Anton Leoš Fleck (born July 10, 1958) is an American banjo player. An acclaimed virtuoso, he is an innovative and technically proficient pioneer and ambassador of the banjo, playing music from bluegrass, jazz, classical, rock and various ...

. In 2006, he reunited Jean-Luc Ponty & His Band and toured in the U.S., Chile, Venezuela, Western and Eastern Europe, Russia, The Middle East and India; they recorded a studio album called '' The Atacama Experience'' (2007) with guitarists

Allan Holdsworth Allan Holdsworth (6 August 1946 – 15 April 2017) was a British jazz and rock music, rock guitarist, violinist and composer. He contributed to numerous bands, including Soft Machine, U.K. (band), U.K., The Tony Williams Lifetime, Pierre Moerl ...

and

Philip Catherine Philip Catherine (born 27 October 1942) is a Belgian jazz rock guitarist. Biography Philip Catherine was born in London, England, to an English mother and Belgian father, and was raised in Brussels, Belgium. His grandfather was a violinist i ...

. In April 2012, Ponty performed in an acoustic trio with Clarke and guitarist Bireli Lagrene for the second set of a concert at the Chatelet Theatre in Paris to celebrate five decades in music. The first set featured Ponty with a string orchestra. In 2014, he recorded a jazz album entitled ''D-Stringz'' with Clarke and Lagrene. In March of 2014,

Jon Anderson Jon Anderson (born John Roy Anderson, 25 October 1944) is a British, and latterly American, singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the former lead singer of the progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes, which he formed in 1968 with bassis ...

, the lead singer of

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...

announced he was forming a new band with Jean Luc Ponty as the result of a mutual friend, Michael Lewis. The project was originally called Inventioning. In July of 2014, the band was formally introduced as the Anderson/Ponty Band.

Work with Return to Forever

In 2011, Ponty was invited by bandleader/keyboardist

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain (instrumental), Spain", "500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba" ...

to join the group

Return to Forever Return to Forever was an American jazz fusion band that was founded by pianist Chick Corea in 1972. The band has had many members, with the only consistent bandmate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke. Along with Weather Report, The Headhun ...

for a series of concerts throughout that year. The group was labeled 'Return to Forever IV', as it is the fourth incarnation of the group. Ponty had first recorded with Corea on his 1976 solo album ''

My Spanish Heart ''My Spanish Heart'' is a studio album by Chick Corea, recorded and released in 1976. Prominent guest musicians include Corea’s Return to Forever bandmate Stanley Clarke on basses, violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, drummers Steve Gadd and Narada Michae ...

''.

Personal life

Ponty is married and has two daughters. One daughter,

Clara Ponty Clara Ponty is a French-American pianist, vocalist, and composer. Early life and education Ponty is the daughter of jazz violinist and composer Jean-Luc Ponty. Born in Paris but raised in Los Angeles since age four, she began studying violin and ...

, is a pianist and composer; Ponty has collaborated with Clara on several projects, including her third album, ''

Mirror of Truth Clara Ponty is a French-American pianist, vocalist, and composer. Early life and education Ponty is the daughter of jazz violinist and composer Jean-Luc Ponty. Born in Paris but raised in Los Angeles since age four, she began studying violin an ...

'' (2004).

Discography

As leader

* ''

'' (

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

, 1964) * ''Sunday Walk'' (SABA, 1967) * ''Violin Summit'' with Stuff Smith, Stephane Grappelli, Svend Asmussen (SABA, 1967) * ''As Trio HLP'' with Daniel Humair, Eddy Louiss (All Life, 1968

980 Year 980 ( CMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Peace is concluded between Emperor Otto II (the Red) and King Lothair III (or Lothair IV) at Margut, ending the Franco-Germa ...

* ''More Than Meets the Ear'' (World Pacific, 1968) * '' Electric Connection'' (World Pacific, 1969) * '' Live at Donte's'' (Blue Note/UA, 1969

981 Year 981 ( CMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Emperor Otto II (the Red) leads the imperial court to Rome, making the city his imperial capital, and receiv ...

* '' Jean-Luc Ponty Experience with the George Duke Trio'' (World Pacific, 1969) * '' King Kong: Jean-Luc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa'' (World Pacific, 1970) * '' Astrorama''

ive Ive or IVE may refer to: Music * Ive (group), a South Korean girl group * I've Sound (aka "I've"), a Japanese musical group People * Ive (given name), a Croatian and Slovenian given name * Bert Ive (1875–1939), British-born Australian cinema ...

with Masahiko Sato (Far East/Toshiba EMI, 1970) * ''New Violin Summit'' with Don "Sugar Cane" Harris, Michal Urbaniak (MPS/BASF, 1971) * '' Open Strings'' (MPS/BASF, 1971) * ''Live at Montreux 72'' (Pierre Cardin, 1972) * ''Ponty/Grappelli'' with Stephane Grappelli (America, 1973) * ''Jean-Luc Ponty Meets Giorgio Gaslini'' (Pausa, 1973

976 Year 976 ( CMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * January 10 – Emperor John I Tzimiskes dies at Constantinople, after returning from a second campaign against ...

* '' Upon the Wings of Music'' (Atlantic, 1975) * ''

'' (Atlantic, 1976) * ''

Cantaloupe Island "Cantaloupe Island" is a jazz standard composed by Herbie Hancock and recorded for his 1964 album ''Empyrean Isles'' during his early years as one of the members of Miles Davis' 1960s quintet. Hancock later recorded a version mixing reggae and ...

'' (Blue Note/UA, 1976) * ''

'' (Atlantic, 1976) * ''

'' (Atlantic, 1977) * '' Cosmic Messenger'' (Atlantic, 1978) * ''

Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film * ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...

'' (Atlantic, 1979) * '' A Taste for Passion'' (Atlantic, 1979) * '' Civilized Evil'' (Atlantic, 1980) * ''

Mystical Adventures ''Mystical Adventures'' is an album by French jazz fusion artist Jean-Luc Ponty, released in 1982. Track listing All songs by Jean-Luc Ponty unless otherwise noted. #"Mystical Adventures (Suite) Part I" – 3:29 #"Mystical Adventures (Suite) Pa ...

'' (Atlantic, 1982) * '' Individual Choice'' (Atlantic, 1983) * '' Open Mind'' (Atlantic, 1984) * ''

Fables Fable is a literary genre defined as a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse (poetry), verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphized, and that ...

'' (Atlantic, 1985) * '' The Gift of Time'' (Columbia, 1987) * ''

'' (Columbia, 1989) * ''Puss in Boots'' with

Tracey Ullman Tracey Ullman (born Trace Ullman; 30 December 1959) is a British-American actress, singer, dancer, screenwriter, producer, and director. Despite being frequently referred to as a comedian, Ullman considers herself a character actress. Critics h ...

(Rabbit Ears/BMG Kidz, 1991) * '' Tchokola'' (Epic, 1991) * ''Volume 1'' with Daniel Humair, Eddy Louiss (Dreyfus, 1991) * ''Volume 2'' with Daniel Humair, Eddy Louiss (Dreyfus, 1991) * '' No Absolute Time'' (Atlantic, 1993) * '' The Rite of Strings'' with

, Al Di Meola (Gai Saber/I.R.S., 1995) * '' Live at Chene Park'' (Atlantic, 1996) * '' Life Enigma'' (J.L.P. Productions, 2001) * '' Live at Semper Opera'' (Le Chant Du Monde, 2002) * '' Jean-Luc Ponty in Concert'' (Le Chant Du Monde, 2003) * '' The Atacama Experience'' (Koch, 2007) * ''D-Stringz'' with Stanley Clarke, Bireli Lagrene (Impulse!, 2015) * '' Better Late Than Never'' with Jon Anderson (Ear Music, 2015)

As sideman

With

* ''

'' (Polydor, 1976) * ''Chick Corea'' (Polydor, 1987) * ''Music Forever & Beyond'' (GRP, 1996) * ''

Forever Forever or 4ever may refer to: Film and television Films * ''Forever'' (1921 film), an American silent film by George Fitzmaurice * ''Forever'' (1978 film), an American made-for-television romantic drama, based on the novel by Judy Blume * '' ...

'' (Concord, 2011) With

* ''

'' (Columbia, 1974) * '' Visions of the Emerald Beyond'' (Columbia, 1975) * ''The Mahavishnu Orchestra & John McLaughlin'' (Amiga, 1979) With

* ''

Hot Rats ''Hot Rats'' is the second solo album by Frank Zappa, released in October 1969. It was Zappa's first recording project after the dissolution of the original lineup of the Mothers of Invention. Five of the six songs are instrumental, while " Wil ...

'' (Bizarre/Reprise, 1969) *

The Mothers The Mothers of Invention (also known as the Mothers) were an American rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Originally an R&B band c ...

, ''

Over-Nite Sensation ''Over-Nite Sensation'' is the twelfth album by The Mothers of Invention (credited as The Mothers), and the seventeenth album overall by Frank Zappa, released in September 1973. It was Zappa's first album released on his DiscReet label. Record ...

'' (Discreet/Reprise, 1973) * ''

Apostrophe The apostrophe (, ) is a punctuation mark, and sometimes a diacritical mark, in languages that use the Latin alphabet and some other alphabets. In English, the apostrophe is used for two basic purposes: * The marking of the omission of one o ...

'' (Discreet/Reprise, 1974) * ''

Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar ''Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar'' is a series of three albums - ''Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar'', ''Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar Some More'', and ''Return of the Son of Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar'' - released by American musician Frank Zappa in 1981. T ...

'' (Barking Pumpkin, 1981) * ''You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 6'' (Rykodisc, 1992) * ''

The Lost Episodes ''The Lost Episodes'' is a 1996 posthumous album by Frank Zappa which compiles (with the exception of "I Don't Want to Get Drafted" and "Any Way the Wind Blows") previously unreleased material. Much of the material covered dates from early in his ...

'' (Rykodisc, 1996) * ''

One Shot Deal ''One Shot Deal'' is an album by Frank Zappa, posthumously released in June 2008. Overview The track "Occam's Razor" is a guitar solo extract from a live version of the song " Inca Roads". The solo was used in the song "On the Bus" from the alb ...

'' (

Zappa Records Zappa Records is an American record label based in Los Angeles which was founded by Frank Zappa in 1977. It was mostly inactive during the 1980s and 1990s, but was revived in 2006 by the Zappa Family Trust. History In May 1976, Zappa ended his r ...

, 2008) * ''

Road Tapes, Venue 2 ''Road Tapes, Venue #2'' is a posthumous album of Frank Zappa, released in October 2013, consisting of songs from three concerts held in August 1973 at the Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, Finland: the August 23 early & late shows and the August 24 sh ...

'' (Vaulternative, 2013) * '' The Crux Of The Biscuit'' (Zappa Records, 2016) With others * Inventioning, ''Some People'' (Michael Lewis/Blue Street Artists, 2021) *

, '' 1000 Hands: Chapter One'' (Opio Media, 2019) *

Sam Bush Charles Samuel Bush (born April 13, 1952) is an American mandolinist who is considered an originator of progressive bluegrass music. In 2020, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame as a member of New Grass Revival. ...

, '' Laps in Seven'' (Sugar Hill, 2006) *

Michel Colombier Michel Colombier (23 May 1939 – 14 November 2004) was a French composer, arranger, and conductor. Career Colombier wrote the scores of several motion pictures and TV productions. He also wrote chamber music and ballets. With composer Pierre ...

, ''Wings'' (A&M 1971) *

Wolfgang Dauner Wolfgang Dauner (; 30 December 1935 – 10 January 2020) was a German jazz pianist who co-founded the United Jazz + Rock Ensemble. He worked with Hans Koller, Albert Mangelsdorff, Volker Kriegel and Ack van Rooyen and composed for radio, televi ...

, ''Free Action'' (SABA, 1967) *

George Duke George Martin Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as ...

, ''Night After Night'' (Elektra, 1989) *

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French singer-songwriter, actor, composer, and director. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provocative rel ...

, ''Histoire De Melody Nelson'' (Light in the Attic, 2009) *

George Gruntz George Gruntz (24 June 1932 – 10 January 2013) was a Swiss jazz pianist, organist, harpsichordist, keyboardist, and composer known for the George Gruntz Concert Big Band and his work with Phil Woods, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Don Cherry, Chet Baker ...

, ''Barock Sex & Jazz-Sechs'' (Electrola, 1966) * George Gruntz, ''Noon in Tunisia'' (SABA, 1967) * Andre Hodeir, ''Anna Livia Plurabelle'' (Philips, 1966) *

, ''

'' (UNI, 1972) *

Jeff Lorber Jeffrey H. Lorber (born November 4, 1952) is an American keyboardist, composer, and record producer. After six previous nominations, Lorber won his first Grammy Award on January 28, 2018 for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for ''Prototype'' ...

, ''

Hacienda A ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or '' finca''), similar to a Roman '' latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards ...

'' (Heads Up, 2013) *

, ''Mirror of Truth'' (Eden, 2005) * Clara Ponty, ''Into the Light'' (Le Chant Du Monde, 2010) *

, ''

The Mothership Returns ''The Mothership Returns'' is a live two CD/single DVD set by the fusion band Return to Forever. Released 18 June 2012 by Eagle Rock Entertainment, it documents music performed during the 2011 tour, for which Return to Forever was expanded to a ...

'' (Eagle 2012) *

, ''Esperanto'' (Aleph, 2000) *

Alan Sorrenti Alan Sorrenti (born 9 December 1950) is an Italian singer and composer. Biography Sorrenti was born in Naples, but his mother was Welsh, and he spent much of his childhood in Aberystwyth, Wales. As a result, he is fluent in both Italian an ...

, ''Aria'' (Harvest, 1972) *

Gerald Wilson Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. He arranged music for D ...

, '' Eternal Equinox'' (World Pacific, 1969)

Films

* 1999: ''L. Subramaniam: Violin from the Heart'' (Directed by Jean Henri Meunier; includes a scene with Ponty and L. Subramaniam performing together)

References

External links

Ponty.com
– Official website
Jean-Luc Ponty video interview
at AllAboutJazz.com
"In Conversation with Jean-Luc Ponty"
at Jazz.com by Thierry Quénum on 6 September 2008
2010 interview with Jean-Luc Ponty
at Prog-Sphere.com by Nikola Savić on 28 September 2010
Jean-Luc Ponty biography, discography and album reviews, credits & releases
at

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 ...

Jean-Luc Ponty discography, album releases & credits
at

Discogs.com Discogs ( ; short for "discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''The N ...

Jean-Luc Ponty biography, discography, album credits & user reviews
at ProgArchives.com
Jean-Luc Ponty albums to be listened
as stream on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

– 3/15/2014, Jon Anderson announces new band with Jean Luc Ponty. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ponty, Jean-Luc 1942 births Living people French composers French male composers French jazz violinists 20th-century French violinists 20th-century French male musicians French male violinists Musicians from Manche Mahavishnu Orchestra members French expatriates in the United States 21st-century French violinists 21st-century French male musicians French male jazz musicians