Jean-Luc Ponty

Artist ∙ Jazz

France's Jean-Luc Ponty is a prolific recording artist, composer and bandleader. He pioneered the electric violin in jazz-rock in the 1970s, creating a distinctive sonic fusion that graced iconic albums by Frank Zappa, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and others. Between 1975 and 1995, he released 15 consecutive top five albums. These included Upon the Wings of Music (1975), Enigmatic Ocean (1977), The Gift of Time (1987), Storytelling (1989), and The Rite of Strings (1995, alongside Stanley Clarke and Al Di Meola). 2007's The Atacama Experience featured guitarists Allan Holdsworth and Philip Catherine. In 2015, Ponty, with Clarke and Birelli Lagrene released D-Stringz, while he and vocalist Jon Anderson issued Better Late Than Never. They collaborated again on 2019's 1000 Hands: Chapter One. In 2022, MPS issued the archival Live at the Bern Jazz Festival with pianist Wolfgang Dauner. In June, Ponty appeared on house producer Ron Trent's single "Sphere."

December 31, 1977 at PST
Cosmic Messenger
8 Tracks
August 31, 1977 at PDT
Enigmatic Ocean
Violin virtuoso Jean-Luc Ponty had already earned renown for his work with Frank Zappa and The Mahavishnu Orchestra in the first half of the '70s, but his string of '70s solo releases on Atlantic made him a true star of the jazz fusion realm. By 1977's Enigmatic Ocean, Ponty was in the midst of fertile flurry of activity, having refined a brand of jazz-rock relying as much on crafty composition as band interaction. But while the extended suites that dominate the album (the title piece and "The Struggle of the Turtle to the Sea") serve up their share of soaring themes that flirt with prog rock in a manner not dissimilar to fusion peers Return to Forever, Enigmatic Ocean is fleshed out by the vivid solos of keyboardist Allan Zavod and guitarists Daryl Stuermer and Allan Holdsworth. When the three of them trade licks back and forth with Ponty on the title suite, the excitement intensifies. Of course, Ponty's name is on the front cover for a reason—his command of textures and knack for passionate, lyrical solos (particularly on a gradually developing piece like "Mirage") are at the core of his legend.
11 Tracks
December 31, 1978 at PST
A Taste for Passion
Jean-Luc Ponty's final album of the '70s marks a stylistic detour from his earlier approach. He became a jazz-rock star in the first half of the '70s with a fiery but lyrical brand of fusion featuring plenty of frenetic soloing and intense interplay between violin, guitar, and synthesizers. On A Taste for Passion, Ponty slows and scales things down a bit, savoring the lyrical side of his sensibilities and making the most of his melodic gifts. There's also more acoustic piano than usual amid the synths and a greater focus on concise song forms. Unlike on previous albums, there are no epic suites here. Instead, there's languid atmosphere aplenty—the warm, almost aqueous guitar arpeggios and sonorous violin lines that kick off the opening cut, "Stay with Me," pretty much set the album's tone. Midtempo and highly melodic tunes dominate, though the fire of old is briefly rekindled somewhat on "Life Cycles" and "Give Us a Chance," where the pace gets a little more urgent and the solos burn a bit more. Passion proves that Ponty's got plenty of strings to his bow, figuratively and literally.
10 Tracks
December 31, 1975 at PST
Imaginary Voyage
9 Tracks
September 14, 1980 at PDT
Civilized Evil
Though it features futuristic-looking artwork and sci-fi song titles, Jean-Luc Ponty's first album of the '80s doesn't otherwise embrace the arrival of a new era so boldly. (That would come a few albums later with the heavily electronic Individual Choice.) Instead, Civilized Evil is a continuation of the jazz fusion style Ponty had perfected in the '70s. Still, the arrival of some new band members, including bassist Randy Jackson and keyboardist Chris Rhyne, brings a fresh feeling to the tracks. While Ponty had occasionally tapped into R&B grooves on previous albums, Jackson's basslines seem to bring a funkier, more swinging feel, especially on tracks like "Good Guys, Bad Guys," propelled by his thump-popping riffs. Ponty maintains a good balance between the contemplative and the cutting, and tunes like the atmospheric, acoustic-oriented "Once a Blue Planet" are balanced beautifully against the more intense interplay on tracks like "Peace Crusaders," making Civilized Evil an excellent place to sample Ponty's multitudinous modes.
8 Tracks
October 16, 1984 at PDT
Open Mind
6 Tracks
December 31, 1980 at PST
Mystical Adventures
10 Tracks
June 8, 2000 at PDT
The Very Best of Jean-Luc Ponty
16 Tracks
August 16, 1983 at PDT
Individual Choice
Jean-Luc Ponty's decision to gear his sound toward synthesizers, sequencers, and drum machines on 1983's Individual Choice was perfectly in keeping with the musical zeitgeist, but it was a huge departure from his previous work. Sure, there'd been a fair amount of synth on his earlier albums, but it was mostly used in the context of freewheeling jazz-rock solos played by the likes of Allan Zavod or Chris Rhyne. Here, the synth lines are largely preprogrammed by Ponty for a complex electronic latticework that leans more toward Tangerine Dream than The Mahavishnu Orchestra. The same goes for the rest of the electronics that Ponty employs on Individual Choice. But for all his newfound fascination with electronic empowerment, he doesn't forget that he's a violinist first and foremost; the vibrant solo on the opening cut, "Computer Incantations for World Peace," makes that clear from the outset. He also shows he hasn't forgotten how to play with others, as contributions from guitar hero Allan Holdsworth and keyboard wizard George Duke expand the album's scope.
7 Tracks
November 5, 2015 at PST
D-Stringz
10 Tracks
December 31, 1984 at PST
Fables
7 Tracks
October 11, 1987 at PDT
The Gift of Time
8 Tracks
August 7, 1989 at PDT
Storytelling
9 Tracks
November 30, 1975 at PST
Aurora
8 Tracks
March 11, 2002 at PST
The Best of Jean-Luc Ponty
12 Tracks
May 31, 2004 at PDT
Jean-Luc Ponty: Live
7 Tracks
July 18, 1993 at PDT
No Absolute Time
10 Tracks
August 31, 1970 at PDT
King Kong: Jean-Luc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa
6 Tracks
May 2, 1991 at PDT
Tchokola
10 Tracks
December 21, 2016 at PST
Mirage
33 Tracks
May 24, 1975 at PDT
Upon the Wings of Music
8 Tracks
August 7, 1989 at PDT
Storytelling
9 Tracks
January 30, 1997 at PST
Live at Chene Park
13 Tracks
November 8, 1999 at PST
Jazz Violin Summit
11 Tracks
January 22, 1996 at PST
Le Voyage: The Jean-Luc Ponty Anthology
32 Tracks

Jean-Luc Ponty

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