Jonathan Kane (born November 4, 1956) is an American musician and composer. Coming out of New York's Downtown

No Wave No wave was an avant-garde music genre and visual art scene that emerged in the late 1970s in Downtown New York City. The term was a pun based on the rejection of commercial new wave music. Reacting against punk rock's recycling of rock and r ...

music scene of the early 1980s, Kane is known for his work with minimalist composers

La Monte Young La Monte Thornton Young (born October 14, 1935) is an American composer, musician, and performance artist recognized as one of the first American minimalist composers and a central figure in Fluxus and post-war avant-garde music. He is best k ...

and

Rhys Chatham Rhys Chatham (born September 19, 1952) is an American composer, guitarist, trumpet player, multi-instrumentalist (flutes in C, alto and bass, keyboard), primarily active in avant-garde and minimalist music. He is best known for his "guitar orche ...

, and was a founding member of NYC band Swans. First published in February 2002 issue of ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...

'' magazine. He also leads his own minimalist

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

band called Jonathan Kane's February. Kane began his professional career while in high school in 1974. Along with his brother,

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

player Anthony Kane, they formed the Kane Brothers Blues Band. They worked at east coast USA clubs and opened concerts for James Cotton,

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

, Dr. John, Koko Taylor, and

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-World War II blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of moder ...

, amongst others. Jonathan-kane-by-lucy-kane

Other groups and artists Kane has toured and recorded with includes Dave Soldier, The Kropotkins, Gary Lucas, Transmission, Elliott Sharp, Soldier String Quartet, John Zorn, Jean-Francois Pauvros, Jac Berrocal, and Tony Hymas. He also composed music for choreographers Bebe Miller, Lisa Fox and Wally Cardona. Kane has released two solo albums, ''February'' (2004) and ''Jet Ear Party'' (2009), and also an EP, ''The Little Drummer Boy'' (2007).

Timeline

* 1974–1977 – Kane Bros. Blues Band * 1977–1979 – Attends

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

in Boston, MA * 1980–1981 – NYC

Post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band Circus Mort with future Swans front man

Michael Gira Michael Rolfe Gira (; born February 19, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter, composer, author and artist. Now based in New Mexico, he founded the band Swans, in which he sings and plays guitar, in New York City in the 1980s at the height of ...

* 1981–1983 – Forms Swans with

, forms Transmission with Daniel Galliduani, tours USA with Swans/Sonic Youth ''Savage Blunder Tours'', tours with

on "Kitchen Tour USA 1" * 1984–1988 – Composes and arranges for choreographers Bebe Miller and Lisa Fox * 1988–2009 – World premier in 1988 of

's symphony for 100 electric guitars ''An Angel Moves Too Fast To See'' that features Kane as the only drummer. Tours worldwide. * 19912000 – Member of

's Forever Bad Blues Band performing Young's 3+ hour piece ''Young's Dorian Blues in G''. Tours worldwide. * 1994–present Forms The Kropotkins with Dave Soldier, Moe Tucker, Lorette Velvette and Charles Burnham. * 2005–present – Forms Jonathan Kane's February, tours USA and Europe, releases 5 records/cds on Table of the Elements label and Issue Project Room Editions. Band members have included Igor Cubrilovic (producer), Peg Simone, Jon Crider, David Bicknell, Adam Wills (Bear In Heaven), Eric Eble, Ernie Brooks (Modern Lovers), David Daniell, and Paul Duncan. * 2010–present – Joins X Patsy's with artists Robert Longo, Jon Kessler and actress Barbara Sukowa. Tours Europe * 2012–present – Forms Soldier Kane with Dave Soldier

Personal life

Jonathan Kane is the son of American photographer Art Kane, and has two brothers, Anthony and Nikolas. In 1984, he married poet and lyricist Holly Anderson, and the couple's daughter, Lucy, was born in 1993. His wife died in 2017, from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

linked to her work as a volunteer following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kane, Jonathan 1956 births Living people Swans (band) members American male composers 20th-century American composers Noise rock musicians 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Drummers from New York City