The Lounge Lizards
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'''The Lounge Lizards''' are a [[jazz]] group formed in [[1978]] by [[saxophone]] player [[John Lurie]]; they should not be confused with [[country music|country]] [[satire]] group the [[Austin Lounge Lizards]].
Initially a [[tongue in cheek]] "fake jazz" combo, drawing on [[punk rock]] and [[no wave]] as much as [[jazz]], The Lounge Lizards have since become respected for their creative and distinctive sound.
==History==
The first line-up was [[John Lurie]], his brother [[Evan Lurie|Evan]] ([[piano]] and [[Organ (music)|organ]]), [[Arto Lindsay]] (guitar), [[Steve Piccolo]] (bass guitar), and [[Anton Fier]] (drums). This ensemble recorded the group's self-titled debut, which contained two [[Thelonious Monk]] songs and was produced by [[Teo Macero]], famed for his work with [[Miles Davis]]. The record received positive reviews, with one scribe noting "while there's definitely great respect shown here for the jazz tradition, the members are obviously coming at it from different backgrounds."{{Fact|date=June 2007}} Especially notable is Lindsay's noisy guitar: He had earlier honed his distinctive, untutored and unconventional technique with the band [[DNA (band)|DNA]].
After this line-up dissolved, the Lurie brothers formed a new group [http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/lounge_lizards_the/bio.jhtml], which has been described as "less compelling" than the earlier ensemble. Their sole record, 1983's ''Live from the Drunken Boat'', remains the only Lounge Lizards album never to have been issued on [[compact disc]].
In the years following their inception, they lost the moniker of "fake" almost completely and comprised some of the best musicians from the avant-garde New York jazz scene: [[Roy Nathanson]] (saxophone), [[Curtis Fowlkes]] (trombone), [[Marc Ribot]] (guitar), and [[Erik Sanko]] (bass guitar), [[Dougie Bowne]] and [[EJ Rodriguez]] on drums and percussion. (Fowlkes and Nathanson would pursue duo performances, which metamorphosed into [[The Jazz Passengers]]).
This edition of the Lounge Lizards recorded three albums in two years, and demonstrated John Lurie's increasingly sophisticated and multi-layered compositions that often stray rather far from conventional jazz: He was able to integrate elements of various [[world music]]s (he often favors [[tango music|tango]]-inspired passages in his songs), which retain a distinctive flavor, but avoid gimmickry. One critic notes traces of "[[Erik Satie]] and [[Kurt Weill]]" [http://trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=lounge_lizards].
The Luries formed a new version of the Lounge Lizards in the early 1990s; prominent members included [[Steven Bernstein]] (trumpet), [[Michael Blake (musician)|Michael Blake]] (saxophone), [[Oren Bloedow]] (bass guitar), [[Dave Tronzo]] (guitar), [[Calvin Weston]] (drums) and [[Billy Martin (percussionist)|Billy Martin]] (percussion).
Recent years have found the Lounge Lizards less active; John Lurie has been increasingly occupied with writing music for motion picture soundtracks, while Evan Lurie has worked on ''[[The Backyardigans]]'', a children's show that highlights multiple musical genres.
==Past members==
*[[John Lurie]] - alto/soprano sax
*[[Evan Lurie]] - piano
*[[Arto Lindsay]] - guitar
*Steve Piccolo - bass
*[[Anton Fier]] - drums
*[[Peter Zummo]] - trombone
*Dougie Bowne - drums
*Roy Nathanson - sax
*[[Curtis Fowlkes]] - trombone
*[[Marc Ribot]] - guitar, trumpet, Eb horn
*Erik Sanko - bass
*E.J. Rodriguez - percussion
*Brandon Ross - guitar
*Al MacDowell - bass
*Calvin Weston - drums
*Michael Blake - sax
*[[Steven Bernstein (musician)|Steven Bernstein]] - trumpet
*[[Billy Martin (percussionist)|Billy Martin]] - percussion
*[[Jane Scarpantoni]] - cello
*Bryan Carrott - marimba/vibes
*Michele Navazio - guitar
*[[Oren Bloedow]] - bass
*David Tronzo - guitar
*[[Ben Perowsky]] - percussion
*[[Tony Scherr]] - bass
*Doug Wieselman - guitar, clarinet
*Mauro Refosco - percussion
*[[John Medeski]] - organ
*Kenny Wollesen - drums
*Danny Blume - guitar
==Discography==
*1981 ''Lounge Lizards'' (EG)
*1983 ''Live from the Drunken Boat'' (Europa)
*1985 ''Live 79-81'' (ROIR)
*1986 ''Big Heart: Live Tokyo'' (Antilles)
*1987 ''No Pain for Cakes'' (Antilles)
*1988 ''Voice of Chunk'' (Strange & Beautiful)
*1991 ''Live in Berlin, Vol. 1'' (Intuition)
*1991 ''Live in Berlin, Vol. 2'' (Intuition)
*1998 ''Queen of All Ears'' (Strange & Beautiful)
[[Category:Jazz ensembles|Lounge Lizards, The]]
[[fr:The Lounge Lizards]]