"Naturally, I had to make a choice, so I took a chance with jazz", says Jean-Luc.Īt first, the violin proved to be a handicap few at the time viewed the instrument as having a legitimate place in the modern jazz vocabulary. The demands of this doomed schedule eventually brought him to a crossroads. So it was that Ponty found himself leading a dual musical life: rehearsing and performing with the orchestra while also playing jazz until 3 AM at clubs throughout Paris. Fueled by an all-encompassing creative passion, Jean-Luc soon felt the need to express his jazz voice through his main instrument, the violin. A growing interest in the jazz sounds of Miles Davis and John Coltrane compelled him to take up the tenor saxophone. It proved a life-changing jumping-off point. While still a member of the orchestra in Paris, Ponty picked up a side gig playing clarinet (which his father had taught him) for a college jazz band that regularly performed at local parties. In turn, he was immediately hired by one of the major symphony orchestras, Concerts Lamoureux, where he played for three years. At sixteen, he was admitted to the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, graduating two years later with the institution's highest award, Premier Prix. His father taught violin, his mother taught piano. Ponty was born in a family of classical musicians on Septemin Avranches, France. He is widely regarded as an innovator who has applied his unique visionary spin that has expanded the vocabulary of modern music. Is a pioneer and undispute master of violin in the arena of jazz and rock.
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