Mundell Lowe

Mundell Lowe (born April 21, 1922) is an American jazz guitarist, composer, and conductor who has performed with many notable jazz and popular musicians. He produced film and TV scores in the 1970s, such as the Billy Jack soundtrack and music for Starsky and Hutch, and worked with André Previn's Trio in the 1990s.

Lowe was born in Laurel, Mississippi on 21 April 1922. In the 1930s he played country music and Dixieland jazz. He later played with big bands and orchestras, and on television in New York City. In the 1960s, Lowe composed music for films and television in New York City and Los Angeles. He has performed and/or recorded with Billie Holiday, Bobby Darin, Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Helen Humes, Roy Buchanan, Charles Mingus, Stan Getz, Doc Severinsen, Kai Winding, Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae, Benny Carter, Herb Ellis, Tal Farlow, Barry Manilow, André Previn, Ray Brown, Kiri Te Kanawa, Tete Montoliu, Harry Belafonte and others. Lowe was responsible for introducing the pianist Bill Evans to producer Orrin Keepnews resulting in Evan's first recordings under his own leadership.

Lowe is a regular featured performer at the annual W. C. Handy Music Festival and a member of the W. C. Handy Jazz All-Stars.

During the late 1970s and early 1980s Lowe was also a well-respected teacher at Dick Grove Music Workshop, later the Grove School of Music, in Studio City, California, one of the top professional level music schools in the world. He taught guitar as well as film scoring.

In 1998, he was inducted into the Mississippi Music Hall of Fame, and in 1999, Millsaps College in Jackson, conferred an honorary Doctorate of Arts on Mr. Lowe in recognition of his lifetime of outstanding musical accomplishments.

On July 17, 2009, Mundell Lowe returned home to Laurel, the city he ran away from in 1938. In recognition of a lifetime of musical achievement he was given a key to the city and honored by the Mayor, Melvin Mack, who proclaimed July 18, 2009, Mundell Lowe Day in Laurel. Mundell Lowe, Lloyd Wells, and Jim Ferguson presented a matinee show and an evening show at The Laurel Little Theatre to large enthusiastic audiences. Mississippi artists, Bill Clark (who produced the show), The Cee Jay's, Bob Saxton, and Staci Stringer also honored him through musical presentations.

Lowe is married to the singer Betty Bennett, and appeared on her 1990 recording The Song Is You, with Bob Cooper, George Cables, Monty Budwig and Roy McCurdy.

As leader

 * 1953: The Mundell Lowe Quintet (RCA Victor)
 * 1955: The Mundell Lowe Quartet (Riverside)
 * 1956: Guitar Moods (Riverside)
 * 1956: New Music of Alec Wilder (Riverside)
 * 1957: A Grand Night for Swinging (Riverside)
 * 1958: Porgy & Bess (RCA Camden)
 * 1959: TV Action Jazz! (RCA Camden)
 * 1960: Themes from Mr. Lucky, the Untouchables and Other TV Action Jazz (RCA Camden)
 * 1974: California Guitar (Famous Door) - with Roger Kellaway and Jimmy Rowles
 * 1977: Souvenirs (Jazz Alliance, 1977–92)
 * 1978: The Incomparable (Dobre Records)
 * 1989: Sweet ‘n’ Lovely (Fresh Sound Records) - with Tete Montoliu
 * 1996: The Return of the Great Guitars (Concord) - with Charlie Byrd and Herb Ellis
 * 2000: Mundell’s Moods (Nagel-Heyer)

Film soundtracks

 * 1961: Satan in High Heels (soundtrack) (Charlie Parker)
 * 1971: Billy Jack (soundtrack) (Warner Bros.)
 * 1972: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)

TV scores

 * The Wild Wild West
 * Love on a Rooftop
 * Hawaii Five-O
 * Starsky and Hutch
 * Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan
 * Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo
 * B.A.D. Cats

As sideman
With Tony Bennett With Gene Bianco With Benny Carter With Rosemary Clooney With Sammy Davis Jr. With Blossom Dearie With Don Elliott and Rusty Dedrick With Jimmy Forrest With Ella Fitzgerald With Billie Holiday With Barry Manilow With Carmen McRae With Joe Mooney With Charlie Parker With André Previn With Johnnie Ray With Lalo Schifrin With Shirley Scott With Sarah Vaughan With Ben Webster
 * My Heart Sings (Columbia, 1961)
 * Who Can I Turn To (Columbia, 1964)
 * Harp, Skip & Jump (RCA Camden, 1958)
 * Further Definitions (Impulse!, 1961–66)
 * Live and Well in Japan (OJC, 1977)
 * "On the First Warm Day" (Columbia, 1952)
 * Mood to Be Wooed (Decca, 1957)
 * Once Upon a Summertime (Verve, 1959)
 * Counterpoint for Six Valves (Riverside, 1955-56)
 * Soul Street (New Jazz, 1962)
 * Rhythm Is My Business (Verve, 1962)
 * "Weep No More" / "Girls Were Made to Take Care of Boys" (Decca, 1948)
 * "My Man" / "Porgy" (Decca, 1948)
 * "Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do" / "Baby Get Lost" (Decca, 1949)
 * 2:00 AM Paradise Cafe (Arista, 1984)
 * Carmen McRae (Bethlehem, 1954)
 * A Foggy Day (Stardust, 1955)
 * By Special Request (Decca, 1955)
 * Blue Moon (Decca, 1956)
 * Birds of a Feather (Decca, 1959)
 * Carmen McRae sings Billie Holiday (Harmony, 1961)
 * Bittersweet (Focus, 1964)
 * The Greatness of Joe Mooney (Columbia, 1963)
 * The Legendary Rockland Palace Concert, Volume 1 (Jazz Classics, 1952)
 * Uptown (Telarc, 1990)
 * Old Friends (Telarc, 1992)
 * Kiri Sidetracks: The Jazz Album (Polygram, 1992) - with Kiri Te Kanawa
 * "Cry" (Okeh, 1951)
 * New Fantasy (Verve, 1964)
 * For Members Only (Impulse!, 1963)
 * Sarah Vaughan in Hi-Fi (Columbia, 1949-50)
 * After Hours (Roulette, 1961) with George Duvivier
 * The Soul of Ben Webster (Verve, 1957–58)