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Don Preston
Donald Ward Preston also known as Dom DeWilde or Biff Debrie born September 21, 1932 in Flint, Michigan. Preston is an American rock and roll musician.
Preston was born into a family of musicians and began studying music at an early age. His father was the composer-in-residence for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
At 12 years old he was thrown out of school for hypnotizing several students and a nun. The nuns used to beat his hands with a big ruler when he made mistakes playing the piano. Because of this weird treatment he began to like strange and dissonant music.
Preston later did a stint in the army, serving in Trieste, Italy. Upon his return to Detroit during the early '50s, Preston associated with pianist Tommy Flanagan. He also sat in with Elvin Jones and others at the city's West End Cafe where Yusef Lateef conducted twice-a-week jam sessions with Milt Jackson's brother, bassist Ollie Jackson.
Preston moved to Los Angeles in 1957 where he hooked up with pianist Paul Bley, bassist Charlie Haden, and others who were hearing jazz in new ways.
Many will recognize Preston from his long collaboration with Frank Zappa as the keyboardist and one of the original members of the Mothers of Invention. Preston performed and recorded with Zappa until 1974.
He is a co-founder of the Grande Mothers and still active with the band, completing an extensive tour in Summer-Fall 2000.
Preston also appeared on-stage as a guest keyboardist with the Zappa tribute band Project/Object (featuring Zappa Band alumni Ike Willis and Napoleon Murphy-Brock) for several shows in 2001 and 2002.
Often compared to Cecil Taylor for his style of attacking the keys with intense passion, Preston’s solos also reflect intellect, technical skills and a storyteller's way with a line. His playing, like his compositions, ranges across panoramas of mood and emotion, all colored with the freedom that comes from possessing remarkable facility.
He also has scored more than 20 feature film scores and 14 plays. He's the winner of numerous awards, and has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and London Philharmonic. Known to jazz and keyboard aficionados for his pioneering contributions in the use of synthesizers and piano, legendary clarinetist and composer John Carter dubbed Don Preston the "father of modern synthesis."
Don has performed with artists like: Frank Zappa, Lou Rawls, Al Jarreau, Nat King Cole, Billy Daniels, Johnny Ray, Vaughn Monroe, Connie Francis, Herbie Mann, Elvin Jones, Charlie Haden, Art Davis, Paul Bley, Carla Bley, Joe Beck, Shorty Rogers, Leo Sayer, Charles Lloyd, Nelson Riddle, J.R. Montrose, Flo and Eddie (Howard Kaylan & Mark Volman of The Turtles) Yusef Lateef, Don Ellis, Meredith Monk, Bobby Bradford, Michael Mantler, John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
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Frank Zappa: Waka/Wazoo
by Mario Calvitti
Il programma dela pubblicazione di inediti zappiani in occasione del loro cinquantesimo anniversario, iniziato con il box set The Hot Rats Session e proseguito con i cofanetti dedicati alle Mothers del 1970 e 1971 e alla colonna sonora del film 200 Motels, prosegue ora con quello che probabilmente è il titolo più atteso, da tempo annunciato e ora finalmente disponibile. Il nuovo cofanetto Waka/Wazoo contenente 4 CD di materiale inedito e un Blu-Ray celebra i 50 anni dalla pubblicazione di ...
read moreFrank Zappa: Zappa/Erie
by Mario Calvitti
La pubblicazione di inediti dall'apparentemente inesauribile archivio zappiano prosegue a un ritmo tale da mettere a dura prova anche i fans più incalliti, soprattutto considerando che quasi tutte le ultime uscite sono cofanetti con più dischi. Anche questo nuovissimo Zappa/Erie consiste di 6 CD alloggiati in una elegante confezione a libro formato LP, con 24 pagine di note e foto (una versione speciale deluxe limitata contiene anche un poster). Questa volta non si tratta di celebrare un ...
read moreBobby Bradford and Friends: Stealin' Home: Jackie Robinson Suite
by Chuck Koton
Born in Mississippi in 1934 and raised in Dallas, Texas, cornet master and composer Bobby Bradford knows racism and segregation. When asked if Texas was completely segregated, Bradford said, “If there's a word stronger than 'completely,' that was Texas." In spite of the hate and discrimination of everyday life in the Jim Crow South, Bradford and his family were tuned in to events around the country that impacted African Americans. They “got the news from the outside world" from Black ...
read moreDon Preston / Jeff Boynton / Philip Mantione: TriAngular Bent
by Dave Wayne
A lot of artists Don Preston's age, with a similar musical pedigree, are revered as “national treasures." For whatever reason, this hasn't yet happened for the veteran sonic explorer, still going strong after 84 years on the planet. Perpetually a “Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition," he's most frequently remembered for his groundbreaking work with Frank Zappa. He contributed significantly to all of the iconoclastic guitarist / composer's tours and recordings through the mid-1970s. In collaboration with Bunk Gardner, Tom Fowler, ...
read moreDon Preston: Just Another Duo From LA
by Rex Butters
Just a few miles east of the Whisky a Go Go, where they stunned the world over 40 years ago with the classic Mothers of Invention, keyboardist Don Preston and saxophonist Bunk Gardner returned to Sunset Blvd. as The Don and Bunk Show, reviving their duo homage to the early music of Frank Zappa. Dolores Petersen Productions brought the terrible two to the Hollywood Studio Bar and Grill to warm up for their east coast tour, which may jump the ...
read moreDon Preston: Works
by John Barron
Keyboardist/composer Don Preston, who is probably best known for his work with Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention, is deeply rooted in contemporary classical music--Preston has scored more than twenty feature films and fourteen plays.
Works is a ten track retrospective of Preston's classically influenced works, spanning from 1965 to the present. The disc is a fascinating glance into the uncompromising musical mind of an overlooked American musical icon.
The opening track “Of ...
read moreDon Preston Trio: Transformation
by AAJ Staff
Pianist Don Preston brings together an unusual combination of composure and freedom on his trio disc Transformation. While most of these pieces assume a reflective posture, the group also takes its liberties and spikes the mix with a good dose of healthy dissonance. That unassuming energy may reflect itself as melodic flights around the edges of formal harmony, as on “The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue." Or it may advance through stuttering collective improvisation, as on “Walking BatterieWoman." The key forces ...
read moreThe Don Preston Trio To Play Virtual Concert At The World Stage On July 2, 2021
Source:
Glass Onyon PR - William James
Mothers of Invention keyboard legend Don Preston and his trio will be performing a free-form Virtual Concert at The World Stage on July 2, 2021! Don Preston leads a life filled with music, innovation, and experimentation. “Groundbreaking” is a phrase that is clearly overused… with Preston it rings true. One of the first performers to drag a pile of oscillators and filters onstage, he brought his classical training to the avant-garde. In the early '60s a weird guy named Frank ...
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The Grandmothers Of Invention Featuring Legendary Zappa Alumni Don Preston & Napoleon Murphy Brock To Embark On 'one Size Fits All And More' Us Tour
Source:
Glass Onyon PR - William James
Los Angeles, CA - Having just completed a month long European tour of performances in the CZECH REPUBLIC, HUNGARY, SLOVAKIA, AUSTRIA, GERMANY, HOLLAND, SWITZERLAND, the GrandMothers Of Invention, featuring legendary Frank Zappa Alumni Napoleon Murphy Brock and special guest artist Don Preston, once again will tour America. This time around the ensemble will be performing the ONE SIZE FITS ALL album in its entirety, along with other MOI/FRANK ZAPPA favorites from BONGO FURY, OVERNITE SENSATION, ROXY & ELSEWHERE, UNCLE MEAT ...
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Legendary Mothers of Invention Members Don Preston and Bunk Gardner to Tour East Coast
Source:
Glass Onyon PR - William James
Los Angeles, CA—Don Preston and Bunk Gardner, both original members of the the legendary Mothers of Invention with Frank Zappa, are gearing up to tour east coast once again with The Don & Bunk Show. The duo will be playing a full range of Zappa's music from Freak Out to Zoot Allures. The evening will be full of the zany antics, wild improvisations and strange electronic music the early Mothers were famous for, along with the expert mastery of their ...
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Keyboard Legend Don Preston Releases New Download Only Album On Norway's Zonic Entertainment
Source:
Glass Onyon PR - William James
Norway—Considered the greatest synthesizer practitioner in the world by many, original Mothers of Invention and keyboard music legend Don Preston, has released a modern masterpiece in electronic music. Now available as a download-only album from Norway's Zonic Entertainment, Don Preston's 'Colliding Galaxys' is an epic electronic tone poem, for the most part, created on classic analogue Moog synthesizers. “The new CD is about the time when the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxies will collide in about 50 million years ...
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Keyboardist Don Preston Interviewed About the Don and Bunk Show at AAJ
Source:
All About Jazz
Just a few miles east of the Whisky a Go Go, where they stunned the world over 40 years ago with the classic Mothers of Invention, keyboardist Don Preston and saxophonist Bunk Gardner returned to Sunset Blvd. as The Don and Bunk Show, reviving their duo homage to the early music of Frank Zappa. Dolores Peterson Productions brought the terrible two to the Hollywood Studio Bar and Grill to warm up for their east coast tour, which may jump the ...
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Former Mothers of Invention Members Don Preston and Bunk Gardner to Tour East Coast
Source:
Glass Onyon PR - William James
Los Angeles, CA - Don Preston and Bunk Gardner, both original members of the the legendary Mothers of Invention with Frank Zappa, are gearing up for an exciting east coast tour called The Don & Bunk Show. The duo will be playing a full range of Zappa's music from Freak Out to Zoot Allures. The evening will be full of the zany antics, wild improvisations and strange electronic music the early Mothers were famous for, along with the expert mastery ...
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Zappa Alumni Don Preston and Bunk Gardner @ Hollywood Studio Bar and Grill
Source:
SoCal Creative Music
Wow! Two Zappa alumni playing together on St Patrick's Day! Should be a great time. Played after Preston at Jimmy Carl Black's memorial a couple of years ago and he and the band sounded great. Go see a legend!DON PRESTON AND BUNK GARDNERWednesday, March 17, 20107:00pm - 11:30pm HOLLYWOOD STUDIO BAR & GRILLDOLORES PETERSEN PRESENTS:THE DON AND BUNK SHOWST. PATRICK'S DAY BASHZappa had decided to expand to ...
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Don Preston Akashic Ensemble - Fall Tour 2007
Source:
Glass Onyon PR - William James
Pioneering Composer/Pianist/Electronic Artist To Tour Clubs, Universities 9/12/07 - Los Angeles, CA - Don Preston was quite possibly the first person to add synthesis to live rock performances, taking Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention into uncharted musical territories over several tours and albums. Today, four decades after having built “analog synthesizers" from scratch before most people had heard of such things, Preston is a living legend and a pioneer who now tweaks synths on his Apple laptop. This summer Preston ...
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Zappa/Mothers Keyboard Legend Don Preston to Tour Europe
Source:
Glass Onyon PR - William James
Keyboard legend Don Preston was quite possibly the first person to add synthesis to live rock performances, taking Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention into uncharted musical territories over several tours and albums. Today, four decades after having built analog synthesizers from scratch before most people had heard of such things, Preston is a living legend and a pioneer who now tweaks synthesizers on his Apple laptop. This summer Don Preston will set off on tour of Europe with his Akashic ...
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Keyboard Legend Don Preston to Make Guest Appearance on Todd Grubbs New Release
Source:
All About Jazz
Legendary Zappa Keyboardist To Appear On Florida Guitar Slinger's New CD April 18, 2007 - Brandon, Florida - Virtuosic Florida guitarist Todd Grubbs, who has been prominently featured in national and international publications such as Guitar World, Guitar FPM and Guitar (Japan), is currently in the recording studio working on his fourth solo album titled Time, Space and the Electric. For these sessions, Grubbs has enlisted the aid of legendary Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention keyboardist Don Preston ...
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Don Preston
Instrument: Keyboards
Born: September 21, 1932
Publicist: Glass Onyon PR - William James
