Makanda Ken McIntyre (born Kenneth Arthur McIntyre; also known as Ken McIntyre) (September 7, 1931 – June 13, 2001) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

musician, composer and educator. In addition to his primary instrument, the alto saxophone, he played flute, bass clarinet, oboe, bassoon, double bass, drums, and piano.

Biography

McIntyre was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, United States. His father played mandolin. McIntyre started his musical life on the bugle when he was eight years old, followed by piano. In his teens he discovered the music of

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

and began playing saxophone at nineteen, then clarinet and flute two years later. In 1953 he served in the Army and played saxophone and piano in Japan. After serving two years in the U.S. Army, he attended the

Boston Conservatory Boston Conservatory at Berklee (formerly The Boston Conservatory) is a private performing arts conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in dance, music, and theater. Boston Conservatory was founded ...

where he studied with

Gigi Gryce Gigi Gryce (born George General Grice Jr.; November 28, 1925 – March 14, 1983), later Basheer Qusim, was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, and educator. While his performing career was relatively short, ...

Charlie Mariano Carmine Ugo Mariano (November 12, 1923 – June 16, 2009) was an American jazz saxophonist who focused on the alto and soprano saxophone. He occasionally performed and recorded on flute and nadaswaram as well. Biography Mariano was born in ...

, and

Andy McGhee Andy McGhee (November 3, 1927 – October 12, 2017) was a tenor saxophonist and educator. Career McGhee graduated from New England Conservatory in 1949 and worked for a short time with trumpeter Roy Eldridge and local Boston musician Fat Man Rob ...

. In 1958 he received a degree in flute and composition with a master's degree the next year in composition. He also received a doctorate (

Ed.D. The Doctor of Education (Ed.D. or D.Ed.; Latin ''Educationis Doctor'' or ''Doctor Educationis'') is (depending on region and university) a research or professional doctoral degree that focuses on the field of education. It prepares the holder for a ...

) in curriculum design from the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...

in 1975. In 1960 he recorded as a leader with

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 ...

. Beginning the next year, and for the next six years, he taught music in public schools. He took oboe lessons in New York before playing with

Bill Dixon William Robert “Bill” Dixon (October 5, 1925 – June 16, 2010) was an American composer, improviser, visual artist, activist, and educator. Dixon was one of the seminal figures in free jazz and late twentieth-century contemporary music. Hi ...

Jaki Byard John Arthur "Jaki" Byard (; June 15, 1922 – February 11, 1999) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and arranger. Mainly a pianist, he also played tenor and alto saxophones, among several other instruments. He was known for hi ...

, and the

Jazz Composer's Orchestra The Jazz Composer's Orchestra was an American jazz group, founded by Carla Bley and Michael Mantler in 1965, to perform orchestral avant-garde jazz. Its origins lay in the Jazz Composers Guild, an organization founded by Bill Dixon which grew out ...

. Then he spent three years with pianist

Cecil Taylor Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet. Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in complex ...

. During the 1970s he recorded with

Nat Adderley Nathaniel Carlyle Adderley (November 25, 1931 – January 2, 2000) was an American jazz trumpeter. He was the younger brother of saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, whom he supported and played with for many years. Adderley's composition " ...

and

Beaver Harris William Godvin "Beaver" Harris (April 20, 1936 – December 22, 1991) was an American jazz drummer who worked extensively with Archie Shepp. Early life Harris was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Coming from an athletic family, he played basebal ...

and in the 1980s with

Craig Harris Craig S. Harris (born September 10, 1953) is an American jazz trombonist, who started working with Sun Ra in 1976. He also has worked with Abdullah Ibrahim, David Murray, Lester Bowie, Cecil Taylor, Sam Rivers, Muhal Richard Abrams, and Char ...

and

Charlie Haden Charles Edward Haden (August 6, 1937 – July 11, 2014) was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than 50 years. In the late 1950s, he was an original member of the ground-breaking ...

. In 1971, he founded the first African American Music program in America at the

State University of New York College at Old Westbury The State University of New York College at Old Westbury (SUNY at Old Westbury) is a public college in Old Westbury, New York, with portions in the neighboring town of Jericho, New York. It enrolls just over 5,000 students. History The State Uni ...

, teaching for 24 years. He also taught at

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

Central State University Central State University (CSU) is a public, historically black land-grant university in Wilberforce, Ohio. It is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Established by the state legislature in 1887 as a two-year program for te ...

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

, and

The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music School of Jazz and Contemporary Music is the second conservatory of The New School. It is located on West 13th Street in New York City's Greenwich Village neighborhood. It was known as The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music before it wa ...

. In the early 1990s, he changed his name to Makanda Ken McIntyre. While performing in Zimbabwe, a stranger handed him a piece of paper with the word "Makanda" written on it; the word means "many skins" in the Ndebele language and "many heads" in

Shona Shona often refers to: * Shona people, a Southern African people * Shona language, a Bantu language spoken by Shona people today Shona may also refer to: * ''Shona'' (album), 1994 album by New Zealand singer Shona Laing * Shona (given name) * S ...

. McIntyre died of a heart attack in New York City, at the age of 69 on June 13, 2001.

Discography

As leader

* '' Stone Blues'' (New Jazz, 1961) * '' Looking Ahead'' (New Jazz, 1961) * '' Year of the Iron Sheep'' (

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

, 1962) * ''Way, Way Out'' (United Artists, 1963) * ''

Hindsight Hindsight bias, also known as the knew-it-all-along phenomenon or creeping determinism, is the common tendency for people to perceive past events as having been more predictable than they actually were. People often believe that after an event ha ...

'' (

SteepleChase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

, 1974) * ''

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

'' (

, 1975) * ''

Open Horizon ''Open Horizon'' is an album recorded by American saxophonist Ken McIntyre in 1975 for the SteepleChase label.Fitzgerald, M.Makanda Ken McIntyre Discography accessed March 16, 2015 Reception Allmusic awarded the album 4 stars.SteepleChase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

, 1975) * ''

Introducing the Vibrations ''Introducing the Vibrations'' is an album recorded by American saxophonist Ken McIntyre in 1976 for the SteepleChase label.Fitzgerald, M.Makanda Ken McIntyre Discography accessed March 16, 2015 Reception Allmusic awarded the album 3 stars stat ...

'' (

, 1977) * '' Chasing the Sun'' (

, 1979) * ''Tribute'' (Serene, 1991) * ''In the Wind'' (Passin' Thru, 1996) * ''A New Beginning'' (Passin' Thru, 2000)

As sideman

With

* ''

Dream Keeper ''Dream Keeper'' is an album by bassist Charlie Haden that was recorded in 1990 and released by Blue Note Records. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance and was voted "Jazz album of the year" in ''Dow ...

'' (DIW, 1990) * '' The Montreal Tapes: Liberation Music Orchestra'' (Verve, 1999) * ''Live in Montreal'' (Image Entertainment, 2002) With

* ''Beautiful Africa'' (Soul Note, 1979) * ''Negcaumongus'' (Cadence, 1981) * ''Live at Nyon'' (Cadence, 1981) * ''Safe'' (Red, 1980) With

Archie Shepp Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...

* ''Quartet'' (FreeFactory, 2009 ) * ''

Bill Dixon 7-tette/Archie Shepp and the New York Contemporary 5 ''Bill Dixon 7-tette/Archie Shepp and the New York Contemporary 5'' is an album released on the Savoy label originally featuring one LP side by Bill Dixon's septet and one LP side by the New York Contemporary Five featuring saxophonist Archie She ...

'' (Savoy, 1964) With others *

, '' Don't Look Back'' (

, 1976) *

, ''Fire Waltz'' (Prestige, 1978) *

Honi Gordon Honi Gordon (sometimes Honey Gordon) was a jazz vocalist. Career Honi Gordon sang as a member of the Gordons (with her father and two brothers) in the early 1950s.Henderson, Ale"Honi Gordon" AllMusic. Retrieved June 4, 2017. Her first recordings, ...

, '' Honi Gordon Sings'' (Prestige, 1962) *

, ''Aboriginal Affairs'' (India Navigation, 1983) *

, ''

Communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

'' (Fontana, 1966) *

Michael Mantler Michael Mantler (born August 10, 1943) is an Austrian avant-garde jazz trumpeter and composer of contemporary music. Career: United States Mantler was born in Vienna, Austria. In the early 1960s, he was a student at the Academy of Music and V ...

Carla Bley Carla Bley (born Lovella May Borg; May 11, 1936) is an American jazz composer, pianist, organist and bandleader. An important figure in the free jazz movement of the 1960s, she is perhaps best known for her jazz opera '' Escalator over the Hill'' ...

, ''13 & 3/4'' (1975) *

, ''

Unit Structures ''Unit Structures'' is a 1966 studio album by free jazz pianist Cecil Taylor, released by Blue Note Records. Background ''Unit Structures'' was Taylor's first album on Blue Note. He released ''Conquistador!'' on the label in the same year, with a ...

'' (Blue Note, 1966)

References

External links

Makanda Ken McIntyre discography
at JazzDiscography.com {{DEFAULTSORT:McIntyre, Makanda Ken 1931 births 2001 deaths Musicians from Boston Jazz musicians from Massachusetts Central State University faculty State University of New York at Old Westbury faculty University of Massachusetts Amherst College of Education alumni Wesleyan University faculty 20th-century American composers 20th-century American drummers 20th-century American pianists 20th-century double-bassists 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American saxophonists African-American pianists American bassoonists American double-bassists American flautists American jazz alto saxophonists American jazz oboists American male composers American male drummers American male pianists American male saxophonists American multi-instrumentalists Bass clarinetists Male double-bassists American male jazz musicians Male oboists 20th-century African-American musicians 20th-century flautists