John Mehegan
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John Francis Mehegan (June 6, 1916 – April 3, 1984) was 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, lecturer and critic.


Early life

Mehegan was born in
Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...
, on June 6, 1916, although he sometimes gave the year as 1920. He began playing the violin in 1926 and played for seven years without enjoying it. He initially taught himself to play the piano by matching his fingers to the notes played on a
player piano A player piano is a self-playing piano with a pneumatic or electromechanical mechanism that operates the piano action using perforated paper or metallic rolls. Modern versions use MIDI. The player piano gained popularity as mass-produced home ...
. He went on to study at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford. He had gigs in the
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
area, and then moved to New York in 1941.


Later life and career

In New York, Mehegan played in clubs. He recorded four quartet tracks as a leader for
Savoy Records Savoy Records is an American record company and label established by Herman Lubinsky in 1942 in Newark, New Jersey. Savoy specialized in jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel music. In September 2017, Savoy was acquired by Concord Bicycle Music. ...
in 1945. In the same year, he became teaching assistant to pianist
Teddy Wilson Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive Swing music, swing pianist", Wilson's piano style was gentle, elegant, and virtuosic. His style was high ...
in the jazz department at the Metropolitan Music School, and became the head of its jazz department in 1946; a position he held for around a decade. In the early 1950s, his ''From Barrelhouse to Bop'' album was the first release by Perspective Records; it consisted of spoken introductions followed by performances in the style of other jazz pianists. He also taught at the
Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named afte ...
(1947–64), Columbia University Teachers College (1958 to 1961 or 1962), the
University of Bridgeport The University of Bridgeport (UB or UBPT) is a private university in Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. In 2021, the university was purchased by Goodwin Unive ...
(1968–77) and
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
(1974–83). He wrote the incidental music for ''
A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pe ...
'' which he performed on Broadway for two years.Wilson, John S. (April 5, 1984) "John Mehegan, Jazz Pianist; Wrote 4-Volume Textbook" ''New York Times'' p D30 Mehegan was questioned by the
House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative United States Congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 19 ...
, where he was an uncooperative witness. He was the jazz critic for the ''
New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the '' New York Tribune'' acquired the '' New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and compet ...
'' from 1957 to 1960. "A summer concert, lecture, and research tour of South Africa in 1959 was cut short because he encouraged black musicians, but while there he recorded with the group which was about to become the Jazz Epistles". His final recordings, as a trio, were made in 1960. He wrote numerous books on jazz, including the ''Jazz Improvisation'' series, which sets out the basic principles of jazz, and was published between 1959 and 1965. The American composer
Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...
dedicated a piano composition to Mehegan in his 1948 collection ''Four Anniversaries''.Allmusic
/ref> Mehegan died in
New Canaan, Connecticut New Canaan () is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,622 according to the 2020 census. The town is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region. About an hour from New York City by train, the town ...
, on April 3, 1984.


Discography

* 1952 ''From Barrelhouse to Bop'' (Perspective) * 1954 ''The First Mehegan'' (
Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...
) * 1955 ''The John Mehegan Trio/Quartet'' (Savoy) - with Charles Mingus &
Kenny Clarke Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914January 26, 1985), known professionally as Kenny Clarke and nicknamed Klook, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the ride ...
* 1955 ''A Pair of Pianos'' (Savoy)- with Eddie Costa & Vinnie Burke * 1956 ''How I Play Jazz Piano'' (Savoy) * 1959 ''Casual Affair'' (T.J. Records) * 1960 ''The Act of Jazz'' (
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) ...
) - a lecture on various aspects of jazz improvisation, using "I Got Rhythm" to illustrate the aspects discussed. With
Chuck Wayne Chuck Wayne (February 27, 1923 – July 29, 1997) was an American jazz guitarist. He came to prominence in the 1940s, and was among the earliest jazz guitarists to play in the bebop style. Wayne was a member of Woody Herman's First Herd, the f ...
*'' The Jazz Guitarist'' (Savoy, 1954
956 Year 956 ( CMLVI) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Summer – Emperor Constantine VII appoints Nikephoros Phokas to commander of the Byzantine field army (''Domestic o ...


Techniques, studies & etudes for piano

* ''Contemporary Styles for the Jazz Pianist, in 3 books'' (1964–70) * ''Famous Jazz Style Piano Folio - with instruction on how to play jazz piano'' (1958) * ''Jazz Improvisation'' (1959-65) *** Vol. 1: Tonal and rhythmic principles (1959) *** Vol. 2: Jazz rhythm and the improvised line (1962) *** Vol. 3: Swing and early progressive piano styles (1964) *** Vol. 4: Contemporary piano styles (1965) * ''The Jazz Pianist, in 3 books: Studies in the art and practice of jazz improvisation'' (1960–61) * ''Styles for the Jazz Pianist, in 3 books'' (1962–63) * ''Studies in Jazz Harmony'' (1962) * ''Improvising Jazz Piano'' (1985, posthumous)


Original compositions for piano

* ''Jazz Bourree'' (1960) * ''Jazz Preludes'' (1962) * ''Vienna Woodshed, a jazz waltz for piano 4-hands'' (1965) * ''Jazz Caper, jazz originals for piano 4-hands'' (1965)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehegan, John 1916 births 1984 deaths American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists Musicians from Hartford, Connecticut Savoy Records artists 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from Connecticut 20th-century American male musicians