McNeill, Lloyd

McNeill, Lloyd, black American artist, musician, painter, photographer, and poet; b. Washington, D.C., April 12, 1935. He studied art and zoology at More-house Coll. (B.A., 1961), painting and printmaking at Howard Univ. (M.F.A., 1963), lithography at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris (1964–65), and sound recording and animation at N.Y.U. (1974); also studied composition with Hale Smith and flute with Frank Albright, Eric Dolphy, Harold Jones, and others. A true Renaissance man, McNeill excels in a variety of art forms; his drawings were praised by Picasso, whom he befriended in the 1960s, and have been exhibited widely with his paintings; he also appears in readings of his own poetry. He appeared as a congo drummer with Nina Simone and in a variety of ensembles as a flutist; in 1968 he formed The Lloyd McNeill Band. He taught at Dartmouth Coll., Spelman Coll., and Howard Univ.; in 1969 he joined the visual arts faculty at Rutgers Univ. (Mason Gross School of the Arts); subsequently was a prof. there. His compositions include Sketches for Flute (1986); certain movements are often performed separately (e.g., Tori Suite, 3 pieces), while others have been arranged for different instrumental combinations, including The Falling Snow for Flute and Violin (1987) and Calypso Facto for Flute and Violin (1987; also arranged for Harpsichord). He’s also recorded several albums and written and performed dance pieces and film scores.

Discography

Asha (1969); Tanner Suite (1969); Washington Suite (1970); Treasures (1977); Tori (1978); Elegia (1980); X.TEM.POR.E (1997); The Best of Lloyd McNeill (1997).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire