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James W. Newton (born May 1, 1953) is an American jazz and classical flutist.


Biography

He was born in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, United States. From his earliest years, James Newton grew up immersed in the sounds of African-American music, including urban blues, rhythm and blues, and gospel. In his early teens he played electric bass guitar, alto saxophone, and clarinet. In high school he took up the flute, influenced by
Eric Dolphy Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist and flautist. On a few occasions, he also played the clarinet and piccolo. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gai ...
. In addition to taking lessons in classical music on flute, he also studied jazz with
Buddy Collette William Marcel "Buddy" Collette (August 6, 1921 – September 19, 2010) was an American jazz flutist, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He was a founding member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet. Early life William Marcel Collette was born in L ...
. He completed his formal musical training at
California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public university in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degrees, 122 master's degrees, ...
. From 1972 to 1975, together with David Murray, Bobby Bradford, and Arthur Blythe, Newton was a member of drummer (and later critic)
Stanley Crouch Stanley Lawrence Crouch (December 14, 1945 – September 16, 2020) was an American poet, music and cultural critic, syndicated columnist, novelist, and biographer. He was known for his jazz criticism and his 2000 novel ''Don't the Moon Look ...
's band Black Music Infinity. From 1978 to 1981, he lived in New York, leading a trio with pianist and composer Anthony Davis and cellist Abdul Wadud. These three played extended
chamber jazz Chamber jazz is a genre of jazz involving small, acoustic-based ensembles where group interplay is important. It is influenced aesthetically by the small ensembles of chamber music in musical neoclassicism and is often influenced by classical f ...
and
Third Stream Third stream is a music genre that is a fusion of jazz and classical music. The term was coined in 1957 by composer Gunther Schuller in a lecture at Brandeis University. Improvisation is generally seen as a vital component of third stream. Schu ...
compositions by Newton and Davis. With Davis, Newton founded a quartet and toured successfully in Europe in the early 1980s. Afterwards, he performed with a wide variety of musicians, including projects by John Carter and the
Mingus Dynasty ''Mingus Dynasty'' is a jazz album by Charles Mingus, recorded in 1959 and released on Columbia Records in May 1960. It is a companion album to his 1959 record, ''Mingus Ah Um'', and was inducted in the List of Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipie ...
. Newton has released four recordings of his solo improvisations for flute. Since the 1990s, Newton has often worked with musicians from other cultural spheres, including
Jon Jang Jon Jang (; born March 11, 1954) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader. Of Chinese ancestry, he specializes in music which combines elements of jazz and Asian musics, and is known for musical works exploring international as we ...
,
Gao Hong Gao Hong (born 1964 in Luoyang, Henan) is a composer and performer of the Chinese pipa (pear-shaped lute). Gao has lived in the United States since 1994. She performs traditional and modern Chinese music, with her groups Spirit of Nature and ...
,
Kadri Gopalnath Kadri Gopalnath (6 December 1949 – 11 October 2019) was an Indian alto saxophone, alto saxophonist and one of the pioneers of Carnatic music for that instrument. Early life Born in Sajeepa Mooda village in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada ...
, and
Shubhendra Rao Mr.Shubhendra Rao is a composer and sitar player who's ranked amongst the top soloists of India. The press describes him as "a musical bridge to many cultures" and "a thinking musician, constantly endeavouring to carry his instrument beyond conv ...
, and has taken part in many cross-cultural projects. Newton has performed with the
New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...
,
Brooklyn Philharmonic There have been several organisations referred to as the Brooklyn Philharmonic. The most recent one was the now-defunct Brooklyn Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, an American orchestra based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, in existence fr ...
, L'Orchestre du Conservatoire de Paris,
Vladimir Spivakov Vladimir Teodorovich Spivakov (Russian: Влади́мир Теодо́рович Спивако́в; born 12 September 1944) is a Soviet and Russian conductor and violinist best known for his work with the Moscow Virtuosi chamber orchestra. Spi ...
and the Moscow Virtuosi the
Los Angeles Master Chorale The Los Angeles Master Chorale is a professional chorus in Los Angeles, California, and one of the resident companies of both The Music Center and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1964 by Roger Wagner to be one of the t ...
,
Southwest Chamber Music Southwest Chamber Music is a chamber music ensemble (chamber ensemble) based in Los Angeles County, California. The organization was founded in 1987 by the artistic director Jeff von der Schmidt and the executive director Jan Karlin. One of th ...
,
California EAR Unit The California EAR Unit was an American chamber ensemble dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music. The group was founded in March 1981 in Los Angeles, California. The original members of the EAR Unit were Dorothy Stone (flute) ...
, New York New Music Ensemble, and the
San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...
. He served for five years as Musical Director/Conductor of the Luckman Jazz Orchestra and has held professorships at the
University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and pr ...
, the
California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...
, and
California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public university in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degrees, 122 master's degrees, ...
. In 1989, he wrote and published a method book entitled ''The Improvising Flute''. In 2007, he published ''Daily Focus For The Flute''. He has also composed classical works for chamber ensemble and orchestra, as well as electronic music. In 1997, he wrote an opera, ''The Songs of Freedom''. In his compositional output, he specializes in chamber music and writing for unconventional instrumentations. He has also written a symphony and composed for ballet and modern dance. In 2006, he composed a Latin Mass which premiered in Prato, Italy, in February 2007.


Accolades

He has received Guggenheim (1992) and
Rockefeller Rockefeller is a German surname, originally given to people from the village of Rockenfeld near Neuwied in the Rhineland and commonly referring to subjects associated with the Rockefeller family. It may refer to: People with the name Rockefeller f ...
fellowships, Montreux Grande Prix Du Disque, and ''
Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...
'' International Critics Jazz Album of the Year.


Beastie Boys lawsuit

In 2000, Newton sued the
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
and hip hop group
Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...
(and their producer, record companies, publishers, and music video-related companies) for repeatedly using a six-second, three-note sample of "Choir", Newton's 1978 composition for flute and voice, in their song "
Pass the Mic "Pass the Mic" is the first single from the third studio album ''Check Your Head'' by American rap group the Beastie Boys, released on April 7, 1992. Sampling lawsuit In 2003, Beastie Boys were involved in the landmark sampling (music), sampling ...
". According to the group, Newton declined a settlement offer and, in a counter-offer, demanded "millions" and 50 percent ownership and control of "Pass the Mic", despite the sample being only one of hundreds of sounds in the song. In the federal district court case, Newton claimed that the group infringed his copyright on the composition, by making use of the three-note sequence embodied in the sampled sound recording. The group argued that copyright law treats sound recordings and the underlying compositions as separate entities, with different thresholds for originality; a six-second audio clip must be licensed from the record company, but under the '' de minimis'' doctrine, a mere three notes of a composition need not be licensed from the composer or publisher. With
summary judgment In law, a summary judgment (also judgment as a matter of law or summary disposition) is a judgment entered by a court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes ...
in 2002, the court agreed with Beastie Boys, holding that the group had fulfilled its legal obligation by licensing only the sound recording in 1992. At that time, Beastie Boys paid a fee of US$1,000 to
ECM Records ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) is an independent record label founded by Karl Egger, Manfred Eicher and Manfred Scheffner in Munich in 1969. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a variety of recordings, and ECM's a ...
, the record label to which Newton had previously given contractual permission to license the sound recording. As is standard procedure in copyright cases, Beastie Boys then asked the court for Newton's lawyers to reimburse Beastie Boys' lawyers for $492,000 in legal fees, but the court declined to award costs. Newton appealed, but in 2003, a three-judge panel of the
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...
upheld the lower court's decision in favor of Beastie Boys. Newton petitioned the court to re-hear the case
en banc In law, an en banc session (; French for "in bench"; also known as ''in banc'', ''in banco'' or ''in bank'') is a session in which a case is heard before all the judges of a court (before the entire bench) rather than by one judge or a smaller ...
, but this resulted in a 2004 amended opinion in which the court strengthened its position.


Discography


As leader

*1977: ''Solomon's Sons'' (
Circle A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is const ...
) *1977: ''Binu'' (Circle, with
Mark Dresser Mark Dresser (born September 26, 1952) is an American double bass player and composer. Career Dresser was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. In the 1970s, he was a member of Black Music Infinity led by Stanley Crouch and performed w ...
, Tylon Barea, Rudolf Kreis) *1978: ''Paseo del Mar'' (
India Navigation India Navigation was an American record company and independent record label that specialized in avant-garde jazz in the 1970s and 1980s. It was founded by Bob Cummins, a corporate lawyer who helped jazz musicians with legal matters. Its catalog ...
) *1979: '' Hidden Voices'' (India Navigation) with Anthony Davis *1979: ''The Mystery School'' (India Navigation) *1981: '' Axum'' ( ECM) *1982: ''Portraits'' (India Navigation) *1983: ''Luella'' (
Gramavision Gramavision Records is an American record label founded in 1979. Since 1994 it has been a subsidiary of Rykodisc. The label's music is largely jazz, blues and folk oriented but has touched on many other styles and genres. In 1979, Jonathan F.P. ...
) *1984: ''Echo Canyon'' (Celestial Harmonies) *1985: ''The African Flower'' (
Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...
) *1987: ''Romance and Revolution'' (Blue Note) *1984: ''In Venice'' (Celestial Harmonie) *1990: ''If Love'' (with
Billy Hart Billy Hart (born November 29, 1940) is an American jazz drummer and educator. He is known internationally for his work with Herbie Hancock's "Mwandishi" band in the early 1970s, as well with Shirley Horn, Stan Getz, and Quest, among others. Bi ...
, Anthony Cox, Mike Cain) *1990: ''Trio2'' with Anthony Davis, Abdul Wadud (Gramavision) *1994: ''Suite for Frida Kahlo'' ( Sledgehammer Blues) *1996: '' David Murray/James Newton Quintet'' ( DIW) with David Murray *1997: ''Above Is Above All'' (Contour)


As sideman

With Arthur Blythe *''
Lenox Avenue Breakdown ''Lenox Avenue Breakdown'' is an album by jazz saxophonist Arthur Blythe. It was released by Columbia Records in 1979 and reissued by Koch Jazz in 1998. The album reached No. 35 on the ''Billboard'' Jazz Albums chart in 1979. Reception ''Th ...
'' (Columbia, 1979) With John Carter *''
Dauwhe ''Dauwhe'' is an album by American jazz clarinetist John Carter (jazz musician), John Carter recorded in 1982 for the Italian Black Saint/Soul Note, Black Saint label.
'' (Black Saint, 1982) With
Buddy Collette William Marcel "Buddy" Collette (August 6, 1921 – September 19, 2010) was an American jazz flutist, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He was a founding member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet. Early life William Marcel Collette was born in L ...
*'' Flute Talk'' (Soul Note, 1988) With
Andrew Cyrille Andrew Charles Cyrille (born November 10, 1939) is an American avant-garde jazz drummer. Throughout his career, he has performed both as a leader and a sideman in the bands of Walt Dickerson and Cecil Taylor, among others. AllMusic biographe ...
*'' X Man'' (Soul Note, 1994) *'' Good to Go, with a Tribute to Bu'' (Soul Note, 1997) With
Chico Freeman Chico Freeman (born Earl Lavon Freeman Jr.; July 17, 1949) is a modern jazz tenor saxophonist and trumpeter and son of jazz saxophonist Von Freeman. He began recording as lead musician in 1976 with ''Morning Prayer'', won the New York Jazz Award ...
*''
Peaceful Heart, Gentle Spirit ''Peaceful Heart, Gentle Spirit'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Chico Freeman recorded in 1980 and released on the Contemporary label.
'' (Contemporary, 1980) With Leroy Jenkins *''
Mixed Quintet ''Mixed Quintet'' is an album by American jazz violinist Leroy Jenkins recorded in 1979 for the Italian Black Saint label.
'' (Black Saint, 1979) With David Murray *'' Creole'' (Justin Time, 1998) With
Sirone Sirone ( Brianzöö: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lecco in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about southwest of Lecco. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,270 and an area of .Al ...
* '' Artistry'' (Of The Cosmos, 1979)


References


External links


James Newton official siteNPR story about James Newton's case against Beastie Boys
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newton, James 1953 births Living people Third stream musicians Avant-garde jazz musicians African-American musicians American jazz composers American male jazz composers American jazz flautists Musicians from Los Angeles India Navigation artists ECM Records artists Blue Note Records artists Rockefeller Fellows DIW Records artists Gramavision Records artists