Previte, Bobby

Previte, Bobby , adventurous drummer and imaginative composer; b. Niagara Falls, N.Y., July 16, 1957. He studied at Buffalo Univ. and in 1980 moved to N.Y.C, where he quickly established himself in the “Downtown” scene, collaborating with cutting-edge innovators such as John Zorn, Wayne Horvitz, Bill Frisell, and Elliott Sharp. Previte first recorded his own music in the mid-1980s for the European label Sound Aspects. His own creations are marked by a high-spirited mixture of influences, but they generally maintain a bustling, jazz-based core. Previte has been recognized as an exceptional talent, winning the titles “Composer Deserving of Wider Recognition” (in the 1990 Down Beat Critics Poll) and “Hot Jazz Artist of 1991” (from Rolling Stone). He has performed his music at major international festivals and toured throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia, and the Far East. In demand as a composer, Previte has written commissioned works for the String Trio of N.Y., the Philadelphia-based chamber ensemble Relâche, and for the Moscow Circus (see his Grama vision album Musk of the Moscow Circus). The latter piece premiered at the Gershwin Theater in N.Y.C, on Nov. 5, 1991. He arranged the Charles Mingus tune “Open Letter to Duke” for Hal Willner’s Weird Nightmare—Meditations on Mingus recording, and created a new electronic score for the International Puppet Festival, which debuted at the Public Theater in N.Y.C, in the fall of 1992. The drummer also continues to regularly tour overseas with his various groups, has recorded during these tours, and conducted numerous workshops, lectures, and master classes in Switzerland, Germany, and Australia, as well as in the United States at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., and the New School in N.Y.C. He continues to work on new projects, including his band the Horse, an 11-piece ensemble that plays jazz of the early 1970s at weekly performances at the Knitting Factory in N.Y.C. The drummer established a new recording label, Depth of Field, which, in September 1997, released Euclid’s Nightmare, a duo with John Zorn. A new quartet recording from this label was due out in spring 1998. He has released over 12 recordings as a leader and appeared on numerous others as a sideman. If you’re looking for more info on Previte, see his website (http://www.bobbyprevite.com).

Discography

Bump the Renaissance (1985); Pushing the Envelope (1987); Dull Bang, Gushing Sound, Human Shriek (1987); Claude’s Late Morning (1988); Empty Suits (1990); Music of the Moscow Circus (1991); Weather Clear, Track Fast (1991); Slay the Suitors (1994); Hue and Cry (1994); Too Close to the Pole (1996); My Man in Sydney (1997); Euclid’s Nightmare (1997); Latin for Travelers (1997).

—Nancy Ann Lee