Alvin Batiste
b. 1937, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Batiste played jazz clarinet with Ed Blackwell in high school, which led to a long association with Ornette Coleman, with whom he jammed in Los Angeles in the mid-'50s. After a spell freelancing in New Orleans, Batiste toured with the Ray Charles band in 1958. From the late '60s to the mid-'80s he devoted much of his time to teaching at Southern University in Baton Rouge, although he did record with Cannonball Adderley on the saxophonist's last album, LOVERS, in 1975. In 1981 he joined John Carter, David Murray and Jimmy Hamilton in the group Clarinet Summit and in 1984 released his first album as leader, MUSIQUE D'AFRIQUE NOUVELLE ORLEANS, which comprised a suite celebrating Crescent City Culture (originally written for the New Orleans Philharmonic Orchestra) plus two pieces that revealed Batiste's deep interest in mysticism: in the sleeve-notes he also mentions that he has studied music with the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC. An eclectic player, as happy to work in classical modes as in jazz, Batiste's recent BAYOU MAGIC is a more conventional set of post-bebop tunes but still provides an exhilarating showcase for his brilliant technique and astonishing invention on clarinet. In 1987, for a festival dedicated to Blackwell, he was reunited with various '50s’ associates (such as Ellis Marsalis and Ed Blackwell himself) in the American Jazz Quintet, whose FROM BAD TO BADDER documented their first concert together for some 30 years.