Lewis Porter
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Lewis Robert Porter (born May 14, 1951) is an American jazz pianist, composer, author, and educator.


Education and career

Porter was born in
Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...
, but raised primarily in the Bronx in New York City. Porter decided at age 10 that he wanted to be a musician, and took violin lessons from about age 10 to 12, then taught himself at the family's upright piano, eventually taking some lessons in college and afterward. Porter earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the
University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...
in 1972, and, while there, studied music at Eastman. He went on to earn a
Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum an ...
in Counseling from
Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...
in 1976, followed by a master's degree in Music Theory from
Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...
in 1979, under T. J. Anderson, his primary mentor. In 1983, Porter received his Ph.D. in
Musicology Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, ...
from
Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...
, where he studied under Joshua Rifkin. He first taught at
Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...
, jazz history, part-time, starting in January 1977. (This led to his being mentored by Anderson.) In 1982 he became a full-time tenure track music professor at Tufts, and he also taught part-time at Brandeis from 1979 through about 1984. In 1986, he became a Professor of Music at
Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...
, where in September 1997 he founded the world's first jazz history program, the Master's Program in Jazz History and Research, which he directed until his retirement from Rutgers in January 2018. During the Rutgers years, he also taught at
The New School The New School is a Private university, private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for p ...
,
Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...
, NYU, William Paterson University, and
Jazz at Lincoln Center Jazz at Lincoln Center is an organization based in New York City. Part of Lincoln Center, the organization was founded in 1987 and opened at Time Warner Center (now Deutsche Bank Center) in October 2004. The organization seeks to “represent th ...
. Porter has performed as a jazz pianist since his college days, and worked during his Boston years (1974–86) with Alan Dawson,
Herb Pomeroy Irving Herbert Pomeroy III (April 15, 1930 – August 11, 2007) was an American jazz trumpeter, teacher, and the founder of the MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble. Early life Pomeroy was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts, United States. He began playing ...
, George Garzone and others. (He also played alto saxophone during those years, but gave it up around 1994 due to lack of time to practice it in addition to the piano.) His current career is primarily as a performer on piano and synthesizer, with many artists, across the USA and Europe. His 2018 album ''Beauty & Mystery'' featured
Terri Lyne Carrington Terri Lyne Carrington (born August 4, 1965) is an American jazz drummer, composer, producer, and educator. She has played with Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Joe Sample, Al Jarreau, Yellowjackets (band), ...
,
John Patitucci John Patitucci (born December 22, 1959) is an American jazz bassist and composer. Biography John James Patitucci was born in Brooklyn, New York. He began playing the electric bass at age 10, performing and composing at age 12, and at age 15, s ...
and Tia Fuller. He has appeared with them in concert, and has also played with
Dave Liebman David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach. In June 2010, he received a ...
, Jerry Bergonzi, Bela Fleck, Don Byron, Dave King, two pianos with Vijay Iyer, two pianos with Ethan Iverson, and many others. He has appeared on about 30 albums (as of August 2019) as a sideperson, co-leader, or as a leader. Among the latter are ''Second Voyage'' with Dan Faulk and Dave Liebman (2002) and ''Italian Encounter'' with Furio DiCastri "live" for the Siena Jazz Festival (2007), on the Altrisuoni label, and ''Trio/Solo'' with Joris Teepe and Rudy Royston (Unseen Rain label, 2017) and among those as co-leader, ''Surreality'' with Dave Liebman and
Marc Ribot Marc Ribot (; born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer. His work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, Rock music, rock, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notab ...
(Enja), ''Transformation'' (keyboard duets with Marc Rossi/Altrisuoni label) and ''Just Four'' (as a member of the India/Jazz group Dharma Jazz with Badal Roy and Freddie Bryant). His album Solo Piano was released in March 2019 on the label Next To Silence. Porter is also a composer, writing many short pieces for small groups as well as several big band pieces, and longer pieces such as "Movements" for string quartet and piano trio (premiered by his friend pianist Don Friedman), a concerto for jazz saxophone and orchestra (premiered by Dave Liebman), and a concerto for classical soprano saxophone and wind ensemble (premiered by
Paul Cohen Paul Joseph Cohen (April 2, 1934 – March 23, 2007) was an American mathematician, best known for his proofs that the continuum hypothesis and the axiom of choice are independent from Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory, for which he was awarded a F ...
), among others. He remains active in teaching, as a guest teacher at colleges across the USA and Europe, and as a private teacher in person and by Skype.


Writings

Porter is author of many books and articles. He is best known for his acclaimed biography of saxophonist
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 ...
, published in 1998 in English, in French and Italian in 2007, and in Russian. Entitled ''John Coltrane: His Life and Music'' (University of Michigan Press), the book has been endorsed by Coltrane's son Ravi Coltrane, Dan Morgenstern,
Jimmy Heath James Edward Heath (October 25, 1926 – January 19, 2020), nicknamed Little Bird, was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader. He was the brother of bassist Percy Heath and drummer Albert Heath. Biography Heath w ...
, and
Dave Liebman David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach. In June 2010, he received a ...
, among others. His other books include ''Jazz: A Century of Change, Jazz From Its Origins to the Present'' (coauthored with Michael Ullman and Ed Hazell), ''The Lester Young Reader'', and ''Lester Young.'' He was also editor of ''The John Coltrane Reference,'' and assisting author of Dave Liebman's memoir, ''What It Is.'' From 2002 through 2012, Porter was the editor of the jazz book series Jazz Perspectives at the
University of Michigan Press The University of Michigan Press is a university press that is a part of Michigan Publishing at the University of Michigan Library. It publishes 170 new titles each year in the humanities and social sciences. Titles from the press have earn ...
. In 2007 he founded, with his friend and colleague John Howland, a journal, also called Jazz Perspectives. Among many other projects, he was the founding editor of an online Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians which was active from about 2000 through about 2010, but no longer exists. He frequently appears as a guest on NPR,
WNYC WNYC is an audio service brand, under the control of New York Public Radio, a non-profit organization. Radio and other audio programming is primarily provided by a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations: WNYC (AM) and WNYC- ...
,
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
and WBGO, as well as on visual media such as BET and documentary films such as ''Chasing Trane'', among others. He is also quoted in various printed media, including ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' and ''
The Ledger ''The Ledger'' is a daily newspaper serving Lakeland, Florida, and the Polk County area. History The paper was founded on August 22, 1924, as the ''Lakeland Evening Ledger''. In 1927, it bought its main competitor, the morning ''Lakeland S ...
'' upon others. He has been the subject of articles in the jazz magazines ''
DownBeat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...
'' and '' Jazz Times'', as well as numerous reviews of his recordings and publications.


References


External links


Own website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Lewis 1951 births Living people American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists Jazz writers 20th-century American pianists 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians People from Scranton, Pennsylvania Brandeis University alumni Northwestern University alumni Tufts University alumni Brandeis University faculty Manhattan School of Music faculty Rutgers University faculty Tufts University faculty Worcester Polytechnic Institute faculty