Jean Luc Ponty is one of the foremost jazz violinists and a pioneer in the realm of jazz and rock violin. He was born in France on September 29, 1942 into a family of musicians. His father taught violin and his mother was a piano teacher. At 16 he was admitted into a prestigious music conservatory in Paris and graduated two years later with top honors. Ponty was then hired by a major symphony orchestra in France and played there for three years. But his growing interest in jazz, and specifically the music of Miles Davis and John Coltrane eventually caused him to decide to devote his energies to that world.

In the mid-1960s Ponty was playing with some of the greats of European jazz and was developing a style was like that of a bebop horn player, which was unique for his instrument. In 1967 John Lewis invited Ponty to perform at the Monterey Jazz Festival and his performance received critical praise and landed him a recording contract with the World Pacific label. He made recordings with the Gerald Wilson Orchestra as well as with George Duke. In 1969 Ponty recorded an album of Frank Zappa music in collaboration with Zappa and was invited to play with Elton John on his 1972 record “Honky Chateau.”

In the early 1970s Jean Luc Ponty’s reputation and popularity were growing and he moved to Los Angeles with his family. He was a member of guitarist John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra. In 1975 Ponty signed with Atlantic Records and formed his own band with whom he toured regularly for more than a decade and became one of the foremost musicians in the jazz-rock movement.

Since the 1980s Jean Luc Ponty has collaborated with artists like Al DiMeola, Stanley Clarke, Bela Fleck, Chick Corea and Mark O’Connor as well as performing with West African and Indian musicians. Ponty is a prolific composer and has also appeared with symphony orchestras on four continents.

Here is a link to a Ponty performing at the 1982 Montreal Jazz Festival:

"MIRAGE"