Earl Zindars
Encyclopedia
Earl Zindars was an American
composer of jazz
and classical
music.
and went on to earn a Masters Degree in Music Composition from Northwestern University
. He studied with Dr. Leon Stein and Walingford Riegger, and earned a Fulbright Scholarship to attend Oxford University, where he studied with Edmund Rubbra. Postgraduate work was at Columbia University
with Dr. Otto Leuning. Fellowships include Yaddo
, the MacDowell Colony
, and the Huntington Hartford Foundation. Earl received numerous commissions and awards throughout his career, including the National Institute of Arts and Letters. He was also the recipient of Broadcast Music, Inc.'s "Jazz Pioneer Award", given in recognition of his "long and outstanding contributions to the world of jazz."
His long association with the legendary Bill Evans
produced several recordings on Evans's albums. Evans particularly favored "Elsa" and "How My Heart Sings", which evolved into jazz standards over the pianist's prolific recording career. In recognition of Evans's connection with "How My Heart Sings" and the title's evocative nature, Peter Pettinger used it as the name of his acclaimed 1998 biography of Bill Evans.
His music has also been featured on the albums of numerous other jazz greats including Cannonball Adderley, Donald Byrd
, Eddie Daniels
, Philly Joe Jones
, Dino Saluzzi
, and Tony Williams. Most recently, pianist Bill Cunliffe
brought forward a CD entitled How My Heart Sings, dedicating it exclusively to the music of Earl Zindars. The CD enjoyed several weeks ranked among Jazz Week's top ten. Zindars's extensive discography numbers nearly 100 albums and continues to grow. Cunliffe described Zindars' contribution:
Beyond the jazz realm, Earl's classical compositions have been performed by the International Chamber Orchestra of Rome (Italy), San Francisco Symphony Chorus, San Francisco Symphony Brass, San Jose Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Chamber Players, and various brass ensembles around the world.
He was living in New York when he met Anne Bohigian, whose first name is "Annig" in Armenian. She was a jazz singer headlining at Radio City Music Hall
with a group called "The Axidentals". Zindars was a timpanist in the orchestra. In between shows, they shared the only available rehearsal room. Six months later, they were married. Shortly thereafter, they moved to San Francisco where they put down their roots and raised two daughters.
He taught music composition and theory for six years at San Francisco State University and performed with the Ernie Heckshire Orchestra at the Venetian Room in San Francisco's landmark Fairmont Hotel. A great lover of the outdoors, he looked forward to Sunday afternoons where he was the longtime timpanist of the San Francisco Golden Gate Park Band. He was also an avid rose gardener.
In 2003, Alisa Clancy, host of KCSM 91.1FM Bay Area Jazz Station's "Desert Island Jazz" program, chose Zindars to be a featured "Castaway". The show challenges each castaway to pare life down to its bare essentials by allowing them to select eight pieces of music to accompany them on a deserted island. In addition, they can choose one book and one luxury item. You can view Zindars's selections on KCSM's Desert Island Jazz page: http://www.kcsm.org/jazzprograms/desertislandcastaways.php?year=2003&gid=164
Zindars, who expressed himself more through his music than words, composed his final composition less than a month before passing away in his Richmond District home. It was called "Roses for Annig" and was dedicated to his wife of 43 years.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
composer of jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
music.
Biography
Chicago-born Earl Zindars graduated from DePaul UniversityDePaul University
DePaul University is a private institution of higher education and research in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul...
and went on to earn a Masters Degree in Music Composition from Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
. He studied with Dr. Leon Stein and Walingford Riegger, and earned a Fulbright Scholarship to attend Oxford University, where he studied with Edmund Rubbra. Postgraduate work was at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
with Dr. Otto Leuning. Fellowships include Yaddo
Yaddo
Yaddo is an artists' community located on a 400 acre estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment."...
, the MacDowell Colony
MacDowell Colony
The MacDowell Colony is an art colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire, U.S.A., founded in 1907 by Marian MacDowell, pianist and wife of composer Edward MacDowell. She established the institution and its endowment chiefly with donated funds...
, and the Huntington Hartford Foundation. Earl received numerous commissions and awards throughout his career, including the National Institute of Arts and Letters. He was also the recipient of Broadcast Music, Inc.'s "Jazz Pioneer Award", given in recognition of his "long and outstanding contributions to the world of jazz."
His long association with the legendary Bill Evans
Bill Evans
William John Evans, known as Bill Evans was an American jazz pianist. His use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines influenced a generation of pianists including: Chick Corea, Herbie...
produced several recordings on Evans's albums. Evans particularly favored "Elsa" and "How My Heart Sings", which evolved into jazz standards over the pianist's prolific recording career. In recognition of Evans's connection with "How My Heart Sings" and the title's evocative nature, Peter Pettinger used it as the name of his acclaimed 1998 biography of Bill Evans.
His music has also been featured on the albums of numerous other jazz greats including Cannonball Adderley, Donald Byrd
Donald Byrd
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd is best known as one of the only bebop jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a...
, Eddie Daniels
Eddie Daniels
Eddie Daniels is an American musician. Though he is best known as a jazz clarinet player, he has also played alto and tenor saxophones, as well as classical music on the clarinet....
, Philly Joe Jones
Philly Joe Jones
Joseph Rudolph Jones was a Philadelphia-born United States jazz drummer, known as the drummer for the Miles Davis Quintet.Philly Joe Jones was often confused with another influential jazz drummer, Jo Jones...
, Dino Saluzzi
Dino Saluzzi
Timoteo "Dino" Saluzzi is an Argentine musician.The son of popular carpero composer and instrumentalist Cayetano Saluzzi, Dino played the bandoneón since his childhood...
, and Tony Williams. Most recently, pianist Bill Cunliffe
Bill Cunliffe
Bill Cunliffe is an American jazz pianist and composer based in Los Angeles He has been described by The New York Times as being in the "modern jazz mainstream" and as an "accomplished pianist and composer." Ernie Rideout of Keyboard Magazine described Cunliffe's playing as "inventive, melodic,...
brought forward a CD entitled How My Heart Sings, dedicating it exclusively to the music of Earl Zindars. The CD enjoyed several weeks ranked among Jazz Week's top ten. Zindars's extensive discography numbers nearly 100 albums and continues to grow. Cunliffe described Zindars' contribution:
He (Zindars) was an interesting composer in that he was one of the first, along with BrubeckDave BrubeckDavid Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...
, to write songs where the time signature changes. For example, on How My Heart Sings, the first part of the song is in a waltz feel, but the middle part of the tune is in a 4/4, medium, swing jazz feel. That was very, very innovative for the fifties. Very few guys were doing that. His music is very interesting harmonically as well and he has a really strong melodic sense. He's a very good composer.––Bill Cunliffe.
Beyond the jazz realm, Earl's classical compositions have been performed by the International Chamber Orchestra of Rome (Italy), San Francisco Symphony Chorus, San Francisco Symphony Brass, San Jose Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Chamber Players, and various brass ensembles around the world.
He was living in New York when he met Anne Bohigian, whose first name is "Annig" in Armenian. She was a jazz singer headlining at Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
with a group called "The Axidentals". Zindars was a timpanist in the orchestra. In between shows, they shared the only available rehearsal room. Six months later, they were married. Shortly thereafter, they moved to San Francisco where they put down their roots and raised two daughters.
He taught music composition and theory for six years at San Francisco State University and performed with the Ernie Heckshire Orchestra at the Venetian Room in San Francisco's landmark Fairmont Hotel. A great lover of the outdoors, he looked forward to Sunday afternoons where he was the longtime timpanist of the San Francisco Golden Gate Park Band. He was also an avid rose gardener.
In 2003, Alisa Clancy, host of KCSM 91.1FM Bay Area Jazz Station's "Desert Island Jazz" program, chose Zindars to be a featured "Castaway". The show challenges each castaway to pare life down to its bare essentials by allowing them to select eight pieces of music to accompany them on a deserted island. In addition, they can choose one book and one luxury item. You can view Zindars's selections on KCSM's Desert Island Jazz page: http://www.kcsm.org/jazzprograms/desertislandcastaways.php?year=2003&gid=164
Zindars, who expressed himself more through his music than words, composed his final composition less than a month before passing away in his Richmond District home. It was called "Roses for Annig" and was dedicated to his wife of 43 years.
External links
- Zindars.com
- Letter From Evans- Hinkle, Win. 1993. Please see pages 18–21 for extensive interview with Earl Zindars.