John Voigt
Musician (bass, spoken word, performance art). Occasional performances with Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Keith Jarrett, Bill T. Jones, Captain Kangaroo, Tuli Kupferberg (Fuggs), Jemeel Moondoc, Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), and in Broadway musicals. Music educational and biographical essays published in leading reference books and journals. Appearances on nationwide television and radio. Taught privately—and at The Boston Conservatory, Berklee, Massachusetts College of Art, Northeastern University, and Boston Arts Academy. Served on the Board of Overseers at the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University. Twelve recordings, one video released.
On September 17, 2005 I was playing bass in a small park in downtown New York City with the Jus’ Grew Orchestra—some of the best jazz musicians alive today. The star of the evening was violinist Billy Bang, someone new to playing with the band. That night Bang took over: he was conducting, he was bringing friends up to sit in with the band, he was disappearing with beautiful women in the audience. The band leader, Jemeel Moondoc, decided to throw me into a musical duel with him. But I was in difficult straights. First Bang was arguably the best string player in jazz—his bow technique is killer good. And I was on bass (big-awkward) and Bang was on violin (small—facile). Always a gentleman, Bang thought he would start this musical contest by taking it easy with me before musically crushing me
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“John Voigt's bass has developed into a loquacious and pleasing conversationalist through his fastidious attention to timbre and a wealth of experience” —Elliott Simon, All About Jazz
In his hands the bass turns into a real talker, a mythical creature, a mouthpiece for the history of man