The Lounge Lizards were an eclectic musical group founded by saxophonist

John Lurie John Lurie (born December 14, 1952) is an American musician, painter, actor, director, and producer. He co-founded the Lounge Lizards jazz ensemble; has acted in 19 films, including ''Stranger than Paradise'' and '' Down by Law''; has composed ...

and his brother, pianist Evan Lurie, in 1978. Initially known for their ironic, tongue-in-cheek take on

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 m ...

, The Lounge Lizards eventually became a showcase for John Lurie's sophisticated compositions straddling jazz and many other genres. They were active until about 1998 with the Lurie brothers as the only constant members, though many leading New York City based musicians were members of the group. The group's name was borrowed from American

slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-gr ...

. A lounge lizard is typically depicted as a well-dressed man who frequents the establishments in which the rich gather with the intention of seducing a wealthy woman with his flattery and deceptive charm.

History

At its founding, the band consisted of John Lurie and Evan Lurie, guitarist

Arto Lindsay Arthur Morgan "Arto" Lindsay (born May 28, 1953) is an American guitarist, singer, record producer and experimental composer. He was a member of the pioneering 1970s no wave group DNA, which featured on the 1978 compilation '' No New York''. I ...

, bassist Steve Piccolo, and percussionist Anton Fier. They released a self-titled album on EG Records in 1981. The album included two

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...

covers, but as one critic noted, "the two aforementioned Monk covers seem a strange choice when you actually hear the band, which has more in common with sonic experimentalists like

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Coll ...

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...

." By the mid-1980s, a new line-up included bassist

Erik Sanko Erik Sanko (born 27 September 1963) is a bass player from New York who has played in The Lounge Lizards and currently active in Skeleton Key. Biography In the past he also worked with notable musicians including Marc Ribot, John Cale, Yoko Ono, ...

, trombonist

Curtis Fowlkes Curtis Fowlkes (born March 19, 1950) is an American jazz trombonist and singer. He is a founding member of The Jazz Passengers. Career In 1987, Fowlkes started The Jazz Passengers with saxophonist Roy Nathanson. He has also been a member of ...

, guitarist

Marc Ribot Marc Ribot (; born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer. His work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, rock, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notably Tom Wai ...

, saxophonist

Roy Nathanson Roy Jay Nathanson (born May 17, 1951) is an American saxophonist, composer, bandleader, actor and teacher. He became the leader and principal composer of the Jazz Passengers, a six piece group that he founded with Curtis Fowlkes in 1987. They have ...

, and percussionists Dougie Bowne and E.J. Rodriguez. This group recorded various live and studio albums and showcased John Lurie's increasingly sophisticated and multi-layered compositions. The band's 1987 music video ''Big Heart'' was featured on the adult animation ''

The Brothers Grunt ''The Brothers Grunt'' is an adult animated comedy television series, and the earliest series made by ''Ed, Edd n Eddy'' creator Danny Antonucci. It originally aired from August 15, 1994, to April 9, 1995, on MTV. It centers on five humanoids, n ...

''. In 1998, the band released ''

Queen of All Ears ''Queen of All Ears'' is an album by the American band the Lounge Lizards, released in 1998. It was the band's final album. "The First and Royal Queen" was used at the end of episodes of '' Painting with John''. The band supported the album with ...

'' on John Lurie's ''Strange and Beautiful Music'' label and had added Steven Bernstein, Michael Blake,

Oren Bloedow Oren Bloedow (born July 3, 1965) is an American singer, guitarist and bassist. He founded the band Elysian Fields in 1995 with Jennifer Charles. His father, Jerry Bloedow, was a playwright, poet, and film editor whose theater, the Hardware Po ...

David Tronzo David Tronzo (born 1957) is an American guitarist, best known for his innovation of pairing the techniques of electric slide guitar with the genres of bebop, modern jazz, rock, downtown music, and experimental music. He has recorded with former D ...

, Calvin Weston, and

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989), commonly called "Billy", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yan ...

. "The Lizards' music isn't jazz," said Fred Bouchard of ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade of growt ...

'', "but it is intelligent and rhythmically and harmonically interesting (it ain't rock either, in other words) and, despite the ultra-hip trappings, it has an almost innocent directness that can transcend stylistic prejudice." Recent years have found the Lounge Lizards less active. John Lurie has been occupied with painting, while Evan has worked on ''

The Backyardigans ''The Backyardigans'' is a computer-animated musical children's television series created by Janice Burgess. The series was written and recorded at Nickelodeon Animation Studio. It centers on five animal neighbors who imagine themselves on fantas ...

'', a children's show that highlights multiple musical genres.

Personnel

- alto/soprano saxophone * Evan Lurie - piano, organ *

- guitar * Steve Piccolo - bass * Anton Fier - drums * Dana Vlcek - guitar * Danny Rosen - guitar *

Peter Zummo Peter Zummo (born 1948) is an American composer and trombonist. He has been described as "an important exponent of the American contemporary classical tradition." Meanwhile, he has been quoted as describing his own work as "minimalism and a whole ...

- trombone * Tony Garnier - bass * Dougie Bowne - drums *

- saxophone *

- trombone *

- guitar, trumpet, Eb horn *

- bass * E.J. Rodriguez - percussion * Brandon Ross - guitar * Al MacDowell - bass * Calvin Weston - drums * Michael Blake - saxophone * Steven Bernstein - trumpet *

- percussion * Jane Scarpantoni - cello * Bryan Carrott - marimba, vibes * Michele Navazio - guitar *

- bass *

- guitar * Ben Perowsky - percussion *

Tony Scherr Tony Scherr is an American jazz and folk rock bassist, guitarist, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Biography Scherr was born in New Haven, Connecticut, and is a graduate of the Hammonasset School. He played with Woody Herman as a teenag ...

- bass * Doug Wieselman - guitar, clarinet *

Mauro Refosco Mauro Refosco is a Brazilian percussionist. He is best known for working with singer David Byrne and as the former touring and session percussionist for the American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. He is a member of the experimental supergroup ...

- percussion *

John Medeski Anthony John Medeski (born June 28, 1965) is an American jazz keyboard player and composer. Medeski is a veteran of New York's 1990s avant-garde jazz scene and is known popularly as a member of Medeski Martin & Wood. He plays the acoustic piano ...

- organ *

Kenny Wollesen Kenny Wollesen (born 1966) is an American drummer and percussionist. Wollesen has recorded and toured with Tom Waits, Sean Lennon, Ron Sexsmith, Bill Frisell, Norah Jones, John Lurie, Myra Melford, Steven Bernstein, and John Zorn. He is a ...

- drums * Jaime Scott - guitar *

Danny Blume Danny Blume is an American music producer, musician, and composer. He is a Grammy Award winner and multiple Grammy nominee. He operates a studio and lives in Woodstock, New York. Before becoming a music producer, he played as a guitarist and bas ...

- guitar *

Clark Gayton Clark Gayton is an American multi-instrumentalist, musician, composer and musicians' rights advocate. Biography Born as Carver Clark Gayton Jr. to Carver Clark Gayton and Mona Marie Lombard, Clark Gayton is a professional musician (trombone, ...

- trombone

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lounge Lizards, The Avant-garde jazz ensembles Musical groups established in 1978 Musical groups disestablished in 1998 1978 establishments in New York (state) 1998 disestablishments in New York (state) E.G. Records artists No wave groups