John Mehegan | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1916-06-06)June 6, 1916 Hartford, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Died | April 3, 1984(1984-04-03) (aged 67) New Canaan, Connecticut |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, lecturer, critic |
| Instrument | Piano |
John Francis Mehegan (June 6, 1916 – April 3, 1984) was an Americanjazz pianist, lecturer and critic.
Mehegan was born inHartford, Connecticut, on June 6, 1916, although he sometimes gave the year as 1920.[1] He began playing the violin in 1926 and played for seven years without enjoying it.[1] He initially taught himself to play the piano by matching his fingers to the notes played on aplayer piano.[1] He went on to study at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford.[1] He had gigs in theMassachusetts area, and then moved to New York in 1941.[2]
In New York, Mehegan played in clubs.[1] He recorded four quartet tracks as a leader forSavoy Records in 1945.[1][2] In the same year, he became teaching assistant to pianistTeddy Wilson in the jazz department at theMetropolitan Music School,[3] and became the head of its jazz department in 1946; a position he held for around a decade.[1] In the early 1950s, hisFrom Barrelhouse to Bop album was the first release by Perspective Records; it consisted of spoken introductions followed by performances in the style of other jazz pianists.[4] He also taught at theJuilliard School of Music (1947–64),Columbia University Teachers College (1958 to 1961 or 1962), theUniversity of Bridgeport (1968–77) andYale University (1974–83).[1]
He wrote the incidental music forA Streetcar Named Desire which he performed on Broadway for two years.[3] Mehegan was questioned by theHouse Un-American Activities Committee, where he was an uncooperative witness.[5] He was the jazz critic for theNew York Herald Tribune from 1957 to 1960.[3] "A summer concert, lecture, and research tour of South Africa in 1959 was cut short because he encouraged black musicians, but while there he recorded with the group which was about to becomethe Jazz Epistles".[1] His final recordings, as a trio, were made in 1960.[2]
He wrote numerous books on jazz, including theJazz Improvisation series, which sets out the basic principles of jazz,[6] and was published between 1959 and 1965.[1]
The American composerLeonard Bernstein dedicated a piano composition to Mehegan in his 1948 collectionFour Anniversaries.[7] Mehegan died inNew Canaan, Connecticut, on April 3, 1984.[1]
WithChuck Wayne
