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John Ettinger

With three well-received recordings under his name featuring Tony Malaby, Todd Sickafoose, Scott Amendola, Devin Hoff, Art Hirahara, and Pete Forbes, John has also performed and recorded with an array of noteworthy artists over the years, including Honeycut (on DJ Shadow's Quannum Records); composer/clarinetist Beth Custer (on her CD Vinculum Symphony and the Hans Wendl-produced soundtrack to the 1929 Russian silent film My Grandmother); and vocalist Percy Howard (Incidental Seductions with Living Colour's Vernon Reid, King Crimson's Trey Gunn and This Heat's Charles Hayward). Ettinger served as a co-founding member of several bay area bands, including eclectic improv groups Overdriven Cultists (with Grassy Knoll members Dave Revelli and Jonathan Byerly) and electric jazz-jam band Hurlo Thrumbo (with Jon Preuss, Andrew Luthringer, and Tod Preuss). He has also performed in various other settings with The Scott Amendola Band, Beth Custer, Damon Smith, and Naut Humon and the Iso-Orchestra with Arto Lindsay and Eyvind Kang. Prior to moving to the Bay Area, Ettinger lived in Arizona, where he collaborated with several musicians, including Trio Discussions (with Rob Kaplan, and J. B. Smith), an improv group with whom he recorded an album produced by guitarist David Torn.

While in Arizona he also was a member of the Primavera String Quartet, Mariachi Continental Azteca, various community symphony orchestras, and a composer of music for Desert Dance Theatre, the Southwest's leading modern dance company. He played in over 50 musicals on either violin or bass. He was a professional bass player in Arizona through the 80's and early 90's until his move to San Francisco. In 1987 he earned a Bachelor of Music degree in jazz performance on violin from Arizona State University. John was born in Detroit, raised in Arizona, and eventually migrated to the San Francisco bay area where he now lives with his wife and two daughters.

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313
Album Review

John Ettinger / Pete Forbes: Inquatica

Read "Inquatica" reviewed by Chris May


With practically no warning, violinist John Ettinger burst out of the San Francisco Bay area scene and towards national cult status in 2006 with Kissinger In Space (Ettinger Music, 2006). The album--made with tenor saxophonist Tony Malaby, bassist Devin Hoff and drummer Scott Amendola--announced Ettinger as a thrilling new voice in creative jazz and made an irrefutable case for the violin as a heavyweight frontline instrument. Kissinger went on to become an AAJ Publisher's Pick and figured in several best-of ...

209
Interview

John Ettinger: Broken Pedals and an Open Mind

Read "John Ettinger: Broken Pedals and an Open Mind" reviewed by Paul Olson


Although violinist John Ettinger's been a presence in the San Francisco Bay Area music scene since he moved to the region from Arizona in 1992, he was by no means a household name even on the West Coast and was virtually unknown elsewhere. That state of relative obscurity made his recorded debut as a bandleader, August Rain (Ettinger Music, 2003) a wonderful surprise. Simply put, the album was great --who was this guy? August Rain's compositions--all but one Ettinger's own ...

320
Album Review

John Ettinger: Kissinger In Space

Read "Kissinger In Space" reviewed by Chris May


Rarely the ringmaster and more often the performing seal, the violin has never been a member of the jazz lineup's inner circle. From Stuff Smith's congenial swing through Ornette Coleman's excruciating scratchings, it has instead orbited colourfully around the margins, at best providing exoticism, at worst attention-seeking novelty. The closest the fiddle ever got to the beating heart of things was probably with Stephane Grappelli in the Hot Club de France in the 1930s. 59-year-old Billy Bang aside, precious few ...

148
Album Review

John Ettinger: August Rain

Read "August Rain" reviewed by AAJ Staff


Let's be honest. The best thing about what critics do is that we get the chance to listen to new music more or less constantly. So when something random falls out of the mailbox, we might just make a discovery. And have a chance to share it with the world, of course.

And so with that selfish mindset a given, John Ettinger just scored a whole heap of points this evening. August Rain comes from San Francisco and the artist ...

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162

Recording

Violinist John Ettinger to Release "Inquatica," a Lyrical, Violin Loops-Laden Duo with Drummer Pete Forbes

Violinist John Ettinger to Release "Inquatica," a Lyrical, Violin Loops-Laden Duo with Drummer Pete Forbes

Source: All About Jazz

Ettinger’s third CD as leader, Inquatica will be released October 14, 2008 on Ettinger Music, available through CDBaby.com, IndieJazz.com and for download on iTunes.com. Having solidified his jazz presence with two superb CDs as a leader—2003’s August Rain and 2006’s Kissinger in Space—San Francisco Bay Area violinist John Ettinger continues his adventurous jazz trek with Inquatica, an eclectic 12-track collection of alchemic duo performances with drummer / songwriter / engineer / producer Pete Forbes. Largely improvised over a long weekend ...

105

Interview

West Coast Violinist John Ettinger Interviewed at AAJ

West Coast Violinist John Ettinger Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz

Although violinist John Ettinger's been a presence in the San Francisco Bay Area music scene since he moved to the region from Arizona in 1992, he was by no means a household name even on the West Coast and was virtually unknown elsewhere. That state of relative obscurity made his recorded debut as a bandleader, August Rain (Ettinger Music, 2003) a wonderful surprise. Simply put, the album was great---who was this guy? August Rain's compositions--all but one Ettinger's own pieces--had ...

115

Recording

Violinist John Ettinger releases new CD "Kissinger in Space" with Tony Malaby, Devin Hoff, and Scott Amendola

Violinist John Ettinger releases new CD "Kissinger in Space" with Tony Malaby, Devin Hoff, and Scott Amendola

Source: All About Jazz

SAN FRANCISCO RISING-STAR JAZZ VIOLINIST JOHN ETTINGER RELEASES SUPERB SOPHOMORE CD, KISSINGER IN SPACE, FEATURING AN ALL-STAR QUARTET OF TENOR SAXOPHONIST TONY MALABY, BASSIST DEVIN HOFF, DRUMMER SCOTT AMENDOLA

ALBUM TO BE RELEASED SEPTEMBER 26, ON ETTINGER MUSIC; AVAILABLE THROUGH SUPER D, CDBABY.COM, INDIEJAZZ.COM AND FOR DOWNLOAD AT iTUNES.COM

While jazz violin has enjoyed a resurgence of interest in recent years with the growing popularity of such artists as Regina Carter and Billy Bang, its potential in improvised music has ...

Cadence Magazine: "This quartet makes a great sound...If you are looking for jazz that is new and different, but totally approachable, this is a great find." -Phillip McNally, Cadence Magazine, February 2007

DownBeat Magazine: "Free improvisation and modern composition are among the hallmarks of Kissinger In Space, John Ettinger's fine sophomore release." 3 1/2 stars. -Eric Fine, DownBeat Magazine, March 2007

All Music Guide (4 stars): "John Ettinger, a versatile violinist based in the San Francisco Bay area, has in the past played with rock and avant-garde groups so he has a very open style

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Inquatica

Ettinger Music
2008

buy

Kissinger In Space

Ettinger Music
2006

buy

August Rain

Self Produced
2003

buy

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