Don Preston

Don Preston
Don Preston
Background information
Born September 21, 1932 (1932-09-21) (age 79)
Flint, Michigan
Genres Rock, jazz
Occupations Band leader, Session musician
Instruments Piano, keyboards, Moog synthesizer
Years active 1950s–present
Associated acts Frank Zappa, The Mothers of Invention

Donald Ward Preston also known as Dom DeWilde or Biff Debrie born September 21, 1932 in Flint, Michigan. Preston is an American jazz and rock and roll musician.

Contents

Biography

Preston was born into a family of musicians and began studying music at an early age. His father was the composer-in-residence for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Preston later did a stint in the army, serving in Trieste, Italy. Upon his return to Detroit during the early '50s, Preston associated with pianist Tommy Flanagan. He also sat in with Elvin Jones and others at the city's West End Cafe where Yusef Lateef conducted twice-a-week jam sessions with Milt Jackson's brother, bassist Ollie Jackson.

Preston moved to Los Angeles in 1957 where he hooked up with pianist Paul Bley, bassist Charlie Haden, and others who were hearing jazz in new ways.

Many will recognize Preston from his long collaboration with Frank Zappa as the keyboardist and one of the members of the original Mothers of Invention. Preston performed and recorded with Zappa until 1974. During that time he was music director for Meredith Monk and started recording and performing electronic music.

He is a co-founder of the Grande Mothers and still active with the band, completing an extensive tour in Summer-Fall 2000 and later tours through 2011.

Preston also appeared on-stage as a guest keyboardist with the Zappa tribute band Project/Object (featuring Zappa Band alumni Ike Willis and Napoleon Murphy Brock) for several shows in 2001 and 2002.

Often compared to Cecil Taylor for his style of attacking the keys with intense passion[citation needed], Preston’s solos also reflect intellect, technical skills and a storyteller's way with a line. His playing, like his compositions, ranges across panoramas of mood and emotion, all colored with the freedom that comes from possessing remarkable facility.[citation needed]

He also has scored more than 20 feature film scores and 14 plays. He's the winner of numerous awards, and has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and London Philharmonic. Known to jazz and keyboard aficionados for his pioneering contributions in the use of synthesizers and piano, legendary clarinetist and composer John Carter dubbed Don Preston the "father of modern synthesis."

Don has performed with artists like: Frank Zappa, Lou Rawls, Al Jarreau, Nat King Cole, Billy Daniels, Johnnie Ray, Vaughn Monroe, Connie Francis, Herbie Mann, Elvin Jones, Charlie Haden, Art Davis, Paul Bley, Carla Bley, Joe Beck, Shorty Rogers, Leo Sayer, Charles Lloyd, Nelson Riddle, J.R. Monterose, Flo & Eddie (Howard Kaylan & Mark Volman of The Turtles) Yusef Lateef, Don Ellis, Meredith Monk, Bobby Bradford, Michael Mantler, John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

Don Preston is no relation to the Don Preston who played lead guitar for Joe Cocker and Leon Russell in the 1970s. However, the former has admitted to accidentally receiving and unwittingly cashing a royalty check intended for the latter some years ago.[1]

In 2002, Don Preston joined forces with Frank Zappa alumni Roy Estrada and Napoleon Murphy Brock, along with guitarist Ken Rosser, and drummer/percussionist Christopher Garcia to form the Grande Mothers Re:Invented.

Since then they have performed at numerous concerts and festivals throughout America, Canada and Europe, including Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Germany, Holland, Italy, Norway, and Switzerland. (In 2005, guitarist, Miroslav Tadic replaced Ken Rosser in the lineup.) Guitarist/Bassist Robbie "Seahag" Mangano has filled in for Miroslav Tadic on Grande Mothers tours in 2009 and 2010. In 2011 Roy Estrada retired from the music business due to health problems and Tom Fowler is scheduled to replace Roy. Recently Preston has lectured at Cornell, Harvard, Yale, Sarah Laurence, University of Arizona and the University of Belfast.

In 2010 Preston, together with his lifelong companion Bunk Gardner, started a collaboration with guitar player/composer Jon Larsen and Zonic Entertainment. The first recordings were an audio-autobiographical production, The Don Preston Story, followed by the electronic music, contemporary space drama Colliding Galaxys. At this time Preston and Bunk Gardner began touring as The Don & Bunk Show and have 2 tours under their belt in the eastern part of the US.

Discography

  • 1992: Dom De Wilde speaks interview
  • 1993: Vile Foamy Ectoplasm jazz, rock electronic
  • 1994: Who Could Imagine Grandmothers
  • 1997: Hear Me Out solo piano
  • 2001: Io Landscapes experimental/electronic
  • 2001: Corpus Transfixum software photo album w/music
  • 2001: Music from Blood Diner & other films filmscores
  • 2001: Transformation jazz trio
  • 2002: Transcendence meditation
  • 2004: Aysymetrical Construct exper. jazz Bobby Bradford/Elliott Levin
  • 2005: Tetragrammaton experimental Akashic Ensemble
  • 2009: 26 Pieces For Piano & Violin with Harry Scorzo
  • 2010: Colliding Galaxys (Zonic Entertainment)
  • 2011: Escape From 12/2012 Electronic music with percussion/Andrea Centazzo

As an actor Don Preston has been in:

  • 1944: Forbidden Island
  • 1969: Ogo Moto
  • 1970: 200 Motels
  • 1971: Wraith In The Photograph
  • 1974: Sinister Flesh

As Don Preston Trio

  • 2001: Transformation - Don Preston

As Don Preston's The Akashic Ensemble

  • 2003: Inner Realities Of Evolution

As The Don & Bunk Show

  • 2000: Necessity Is... - The Don & Bunk Show
  • 2002: Joined At The Hip - The Don & Bunk Show

With Frank Zappa/Mothers Of Invention/The Mothers

With The Grandmothers

  • 1981: The Grandmothers
  • 1982: Looking Up Granny's Dress
  • 1983: Fan Club Talk Lp
  • 1994: Who Could Imagine
  • 2001: Eating The Astoria
  • 2001: 20 Year Anthology of the Grandmothers
  • 2001: The Eternal Question
  • 2003: A Grande Mothers Night At The Gewandhaus with Napoleon Murphy Brock and Roy Estrada

Other people's albums

References

  1. ^ "Don Preston". United Mutations. http://www.united-mutations.com/p/don_preston.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-03. 

External links


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