Bobby Previte (born July 16, 1951 in

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Fall ...

, New York) is a drummer, composer, and

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues o ...

. He earned a degree in economics from the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1 ...

, where he also studied percussion. He moved to New York City in 1979 and began professional relationships with

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jazz ...

Wayne Horvitz Wayne Horvitz (born 1955) is an American composer, keyboardist and record producer. He came to prominence in the Downtown scene of 1980s and '90s New York City, where he met his future wife, the singer, songwriter and pianist Robin Holcomb. He ...

, and

Elliott Sharp Elliott Sharp (born March 1, 1951) is an American contemporary classical composer, multi-instrumentalist, and performer. A central figure in the avant-garde and experimental music scene in New York City since the late 1970s, Sharp has released ...

Composer

While Previte is a talented drummer he has also received critical acclaim for his "exceptional abilities as a composer and orchestrator." A review of his 1988 album ''Claude's Late Morning'' reports that "Perhaps most striking is Previte's skill in composing music that fully integrates these disparate

instruments Instrument may refer to: Science and technology * Flight instruments, the devices used to measure the speed, altitude, and pertinent flight angles of various kinds of aircraft * Laboratory equipment, the measuring tools used in a scientific l ...

— including

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

and drum machine,

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

and keyboards,

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrat ...

, harp, accordion,

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all steel guitars, it can ...

tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece (brass), mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th&n ...

, and

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica in ...

— while emphasizing each instrument's unique, individual sound." Another critic notes Previte's "driving and propulsive compositions, featuring both fiery jazz expressionism and layered counterpoint that suggested elements of contemporary

minimalism In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Do ...

. Previte's compositions are often tightly arranged, although they leave room for significant amounts of improvisation. Additionally, Previte often uses unusual instrumentation and also draws on many non-jazz musics for his compositions. In 1991, he wrote the score for "Cirk Valentin" (Moscow Circus on Stage), a stage show consisting of circus acts created by Valentin Gneushev that performed at the

Gershwin Theatre The Gershwin Theatre (originally the Uris Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 222 West 51st Street, on the second floor of the Paramount Plaza office building, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Opened in 1972, it is operate ...

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

. Recent large-scale compositional works as of Spring 2007 include: *"The Constellations Ensemble," a chamber group touring the multi-media show, ''The 23 Constellations of Joan Miró''. *"The Separation," a collaboration with writer/director Andrea Kleine "dealing with the role of religion in society. Based on the 15th-century composer Guilliaume Dufay's Missa Sancti Jacobi and written for early music pioneers the Rose Ensemble with electric band." Previte is currently working on a series of percussion concertos featuring So Percussion ensemble and solo improvisers scheduled to premiere in 2011. Bobby Previte 2

Performer

Previte has received excellent reviews and full articles in major newspapers such as The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Guardian for playing a wide range of genres and venues and for qualities as diverse as his intellectual aesthetic to his ability "to groove." Recent and current projects as of Spring 2007 include : *"Dialed In," a solo electronic drum show collaboration with video artist Benton C Bainbridge. * The Coalition of the Willing, a guitar quartet featuring Charlie Hunter, Steven Bernstein and

Jamie Saft Jamie Saft is an American keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist and composer. He was born in New York City, and studied at Tufts University and the New England Conservatory of Music. Saft moved from Brooklyn to the Hudson Valley around 2007, and ...

. *"Strike," a new quartet with organist

Marco Benevento Marco Benevento (born July 22, 1977) is an American pianist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer, who has been a fixture of the New York experimental music rock and jazz scene since 1999. He is the founder and recording e ...

and two saxophones. *"Groundtruther," a duo with Hunter. *"The Beta Popes," a power trio with

Skerik Skerik is an American saxophonist from Seattle, Washington. Performing on the tenor and baritone saxophone, often with electronics and loops, he is a pioneer in a playing style that has been called saxophonics. He is a founding member of Critte ...

and Saft. *"Swami LatePlate," a duo with Jamie Saft. Much of Previte's work is also improvisational. One of Previte's own favorite recorded improvisational collaborations was with

, "

Euclid's Nightmare ''Euclid's Nightmare'' is an album of improvised music by Bobby Previte and John Zorn. The album was released on the Depth of Field label in 1997. The album comprises 27 untitled tracks of which several are intentionally identical - tracks (7) an ...

" (Depth of Field 1997). In the 1990s, he performed with the Seattle-based 100% improvisational musical collective Ponga with

, and Dave Palmer. Previte has collaborated with

as "Swami Late Plate." Also the improvisational ''Bobby Previte, Jamie Saft, Skerik: Live in 2003'' (DVD - Word Public) was released in 2006. ''April In New York'', is a 5-DVD set released 2007 of improvisational duets. Previte appeared in the movie

Short Cuts ''Short Cuts'' is a 1993 American comedy-drama film, directed by Robert Altman. Filmed from a screenplay by Altman and Frank Barhydt, it is inspired by nine short stories and a poem by Raymond Carver. The film has a Los Angeles setting, which is ...

directed by

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a five-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director and is considered an enduring figure from the New H ...

. In 1997 he founded the record company and label Depth of Field.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

* 1980: ''Pull to Open'' (Zoar) * 1985: ''Bump the Renaissance'' (Sound Aspects) * 1987: ''Pushing the Envelope'' ( Gramavision) * 1987: ''Dull Bang, Gushing Sound, Human Shriek'' (Dossier) * 1988: ''Claude's Late Morning'' (Gramavision) * 1990: '' Empty Suits'' (Gramavision) * 1991: '' Weather Clear, Track Fast'' (

Enja Enja Records is a German jazz record company and label based in Munich which was founded by jazz enthusiasts Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber in 1971. The label's first release was by Mal Waldron, and early releases included European and ...

) * 1991: '' Music of the Moscow Circus'' (Gramavision) * 1993: '' Slay the Suitors'' ( Avant) with Empty Suits * 1993: ''

Hue and Cry In common law, a hue and cry is a process by which bystanders are summoned to assist in the apprehension of a criminal who has been witnessed in the act of committing a crime. History By the Statute of Winchester of 1285, 13 Edw. I statute 2. ...

'' (Enja) with Weather Clear, Track Fast * 1996: '' Too Close to the Pole'' (Enja) with Weather Clear, Track Fast * 1997: ''

'' (Depth of Vision) with

* 1997: ''

My Man in Sydney My or MY may refer to: Arts and entertainment * My (radio station), a Malaysian radio station * Little My, a fictional character in the Moomins universe * ''My'' (album), by Edyta Górniak * ''My'' (EP), by Cho Mi-yeon Business * Marke ...

'' (Enja) with Latin for Travelers * 1998: ''In the Grass'' (Enja) with Marc Ducret * 1998: '' Downtown Lullaby'' (Depth of Vision) with John Zorn, Wayne Horvitz and Elliott Sharp * 1998: ''Dangerous Rip'' (Enja) with Latin for Travelers * 2002: ''The 23 Con