Jon Metzger
Jon Metzger (born July 30, 1959) is an American jazz vibraphonist, composer, author, and educator.
Biography
Metzger was raised in McLean, VA, and received early musical influence from his mother, Evelyn Metzger, who was a violinist and pianist. His early music training included piano lessons, participation in the Washington, DC Youth Orchestra Program (where he played the mallet percussion instruments for the first time), and private percussion study with Al Merz of the National Symphony. He attended the Potomac School, and at age 15 was permitted to keep the school’s vibraphone at home over the summer, when his older sister, Lise, in turn began his jazz vibraphone exposure by taking him to hear the legendary vibraphonist Milt Jackson perform at Blues Alley in Washington, DC.[1]
Metzger attended Langley High School where he played in the jazz ensemble under the direction of trumpeter George Horan. He completed a Bachelor of Music degree at the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem from 1977-1981,[2] where he studied primarily with J. Massie Johnson and through master classes with marimbists Gordon Stout and Leigh Howard Stevens and vibraphonists Milt Jackson, Gary Burton, and Dave Samuels, among others. As a college student, he began gigging regularly in the Piedmont, NC area, forming his initial quartet and developing original repertoire. He recorded his first album as a leader, Jon Metzger/Vibes in 1984 in New York City with pianist Phil Markowitz, bassist Marc Johnson (musician), and drummer Ted Moore. This project led to a second recording as a leader, Out of the Dark,[3] with pianist Fred Hersch, bassist Marc Johnson (musician), and drummer Joey Baron that was funded by a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Performance Fellowship and later released by VSOP Records in 1986.[4] Since then, he has recorded as a leader and as a sideman for the Summit, Soul Note, Jazz Karma, and Elon Improvibes labels with artists ranging from Cyrus Chestnut, Herlin Riley, Neena Freelon, John Brown, Vincent Gardner, Jack Wilkins, Allison Miller, Ronnie Wells, Ron Elliston, Claire Ritter, and Danny Gottlieb among many others.[5]
Metzger has toured extensively to jazz clubs and festivals in the US and abroad, including as a jazz ambassador for the Department of State under the auspices of the United States Information Agency’s Arts America Program,[6] which from 1985-1995 included tours to Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Columbia, Syria, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Bahrain, Morocco,[7] Tunisia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emerites. His most recent service to the Department of State was in 2010 as a Cultural Envoy to Haceteppe State University in Ankara, Turkey,[8] where he worked with the faculty on the formation of their new Jazz Studies program.[9][10]
Discography
As Leader
- 2003 Common Ground (Improvibes)
- 2001 Times Fly (Improvibes)
- 1998 Teach Me Tonight (Improvibes)
- 1997 The Spinner (VSOP)
- 1988 Into the Light (VSOP)
- 1986 Out of the Dark (VSOP Records)
- 1984 Jon Metzger/Vibes, (Jonder Brook Productions)
Selected Others
- 2012 When Freedom Swings (Iwiggs Music)
- 2012 Christmas (Brown Boulevard Records)
- 2012 Ben Seni Variations
- 2012 Carolina Tracks, The NC Jazz Scholarship Project (JSF Records)
- 2011 The Blue and Green Project (Summit Records)
- 2011 The Stream of Pearls Project (Zoning Records)
- 2010 Setting Standards (Brown Boulevard Records)
- 2009 Insight at Midnight (Tymas Music)
- 2008 Sing Me Down (John Brown Music)
- 2008 Girl Trombone Player...and She Sings Too (McCracken Music)
- 2007 Waltzing the Splendor (Zoning Records)
- 2003 10 Years in 5 Days, Howland Ensemble (Howland Records)
- 1998 Benny Goodman, North Carolina Jazz Repertory Orchestra (Metro Records)
- 1998 Todd Wright, Wright Stuff
- 1994 After You, Ronnie Wells (Jazz Karma),
- 1994 Dedications, Ed Paolantonio (Paolo Productions)
- 1992 Live at Montpelier, Ronnie Wells (Jazz Karma)
- 1992 Make Me a Present of You, Ronnie Wells (Jazz Karma),
- 1990 Reiko (Soul Note)
- 1990 After the Lights Go Down Low, Ronnie Wells (Jazz Karma)
- 1990 Passing By, Iris Benjamin (Indigo Records)
- 1989For You, For Me, Forevermore, Ronnie Wells (Jazz Karma)
References
- ↑ "Faculty". Elon University.
- ↑ "The Noel Freidline Quartet featuring Vibraphonist Jon Metzger". The Jazz Corner.
- ↑ Yanow, Scott. "Jon Metzger - Out of the Dark". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ↑ "Good Vibes". Watauga Democrat.
- ↑ "PopRockFolkJazzEtc. "EAST CO ...". The Washington Post.
- ↑ "FMU Artist Series presents Jazz Vibraphonist Jon Metzger". The Morning News.
- ↑ Holmes, Norma (March 23, 1994). "American Scholar-Teacher-Artist Takes Jazz To Mideast". USIA Wireless File. United States Federal Government. Department of State, Bureau of African Affairs.
- ↑ "Aspiring jazz musicians in Turkey finally get summer academy". Today's Zaman.
- ↑ "Jon Metzger Completes New Recording". Elon University.
- ↑ Beckheet, Diaa. "Jon Metzger: Vibist, Composer, Educator and Jazz Ambassador". Voice of America. United States Federal Government. Retrieved 16 December 2014.