Biography
Growing up in West Los Angeles, composer, producer, and improvising violinist Jeff Gauthier first encountered the instrument during his elementary years. His initial instructor was his aunt; later he received lessons from Armand Roth, then occupying the principal first-violin position with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. While still in middle school he became captivated by the freely inventive hard-rock approach of Jimi Hendrix and the British power trio Cream, an enthusiasm that soon directed him toward the jazz-fusion explorations Miles Davis undertook during the Bitches Brew period. After graduating from Beverly Hills High School he pursued formal studies in violin and music at the California Institute of the Arts.
Over the ensuing decades his professional engagements have spanned an unusually wide spectrum, encompassing performances with such boundary-pushing figures as John Cale, Vinny Golia, Alex Cline, and Yusef Lateef as well as appearances alongside the Milwaukee Symphony, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and the Long Beach Symphony. Improvisation and jazz nevertheless remain his central focus: he leads the Jeff Gauthier Goatette, co-founded Quartet Music, and participated in the establishment of both the Nine Winds and Delos labels. In 1998 he launched the Cryptogramophone imprint, widely regarded as the leading outlet for forward-thinking jazz. Gauthier has received two NEA grants and has contributed to numerous film and television scores, most prominently those associated with the Star Trek franchise. His recorded output includes the 1993 Nine Winds releases Internal Memo and The Present, the Cryptogramophone albums Mask (2002) and One and the Same (2006), and the label’s 2008 issue House of Return.
Over the ensuing decades his professional engagements have spanned an unusually wide spectrum, encompassing performances with such boundary-pushing figures as John Cale, Vinny Golia, Alex Cline, and Yusef Lateef as well as appearances alongside the Milwaukee Symphony, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and the Long Beach Symphony. Improvisation and jazz nevertheless remain his central focus: he leads the Jeff Gauthier Goatette, co-founded Quartet Music, and participated in the establishment of both the Nine Winds and Delos labels. In 1998 he launched the Cryptogramophone imprint, widely regarded as the leading outlet for forward-thinking jazz. Gauthier has received two NEA grants and has contributed to numerous film and television scores, most prominently those associated with the Star Trek franchise. His recorded output includes the 1993 Nine Winds releases Internal Memo and The Present, the Cryptogramophone albums Mask (2002) and One and the Same (2006), and the label’s 2008 issue House of Return.