Mundell Lowe


James Mundell Lowe was an American jazz guitarist who worked often in radio, television, and film, and as a session musician.
He produced film and TV scores in the 1970s, such as the Billy Jack soundtrack and music for Starsky and Hutch, and worked with André Previn's Trio in the 1990s.

Early life, family and education

The son of a Baptist minister, Lowe grew up on a farm in Shady Grove, Smith County, Mississippi.
He started playing guitar when he was eight years old, with his father and sister acting as his first teachers.

Career

When he was thirteen years old, he began running away from home to play in bands. Occasionally his father would find him, bring him home, and warn him about the dangers of whiskey. At sixteen, Lowe worked in Nashville on the Grand Ole Opry radio program. He was a member of the Jan Savitt orchestra before serving in the military during World War II.
At basic training, he became friends with John Hammond, who organized weekend jam sessions. He performed in an Army dance band while in Guadalcanal. After his discharge, he called Hammond, looking for work, and Hammond sent him to Ray McKinley. He spent two years with McKinley's big band in New York City. He joined the Benny Goodman orchestra, then worked intermittently for the next few years at Café Society and other clubs in New York.
In 1950, he was hired by NBC as a staff musician. He and Ed Shaughnessy were members of the Today Show band for over ten years. Lowe acted in an episode of the Armstrong Circle Theatre television show that included Walter Matthau and live music by Doc Severinsen.
On the weekends he played jazz, sometimes getting permission from NBC to leave for six-month periods. In the jazz world he played with Jimmy Dorsey and Tommy Dorsey, Bill Evans, Billie Holiday, Red Norvo, Charles Mingus, Charlie Parker, Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, and Lester Young. He composed and arranged for NBC. He was responsible for introducing pianist Bill Evans to record producer Orrin Keepnews, resulting in Evans's first recordings as a leader.
In 1965 he moved to Los Angeles and worked for NBC as a staff guitarist, composer, and arranger. He wrote music for the TV shows Hawaii Five-O, Starsky & Hutch, and The Wild Wild West, and the movies Satan in High Heels, A Time for Killing, Billy Jack, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask), Sidewinder 1 and Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo. He recorded with Carmen McRae and Sarah Vaughan. During the 1980s, he worked with André Previn, Tete Montoliu, and the Great Guitars. He was a teacher at the Guitar Institute of Technology and the Grove School of Music. For several years, he was music director of the Monterey Jazz Festival.
During his career, he worked with Benny Carter, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Hodges, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Lee Konitz, Peggy Lee, Fats Navarro, Shirley Scott, Dinah Washington, and Ben Webster. In the later decades of his life he collaborated often with flautist Holly Hoffmann. At the age of 93, he released the album Poor Butterfly.
Lowe was married to singer Betty Bennett, his third wife, for 42 years. In his last years, the couple lived in San Diego. He died on December 2, 2017, at the age of 95.

Discography

As leader

The Mundell Lowe Quartet Guitar Moods New Music of Alec Wilder A Grand Night for Swinging Porgy & Bess TV Action Jazz! Themes from Mr. Lucky, The Untouchables and Other TV Action Jazz Satan in High Heels /Blues for a Stripper California Guitar Guitar Player Sweet 'n' Lovely 1 Sweet 'n' Lovely 2
  • ''Mundell's Moods''

As sideman

With Steve Allen...and All That Jazz Steve Allen at the Roundtable
With Tony BennettMy Heart Sings Who Can I Turn To
With Ruby BraffHoliday in Braff Easy Now You're Getting to Be a Habit with Me
With Benny CarterLive and Well in Japan! Elegy in Blue
With Chris ConnorChris Connor Sings the George Gershwin Almanac of Song I Miss You So Chris Craft Witchcraft At the Village Gate
With Carmen McRaeCarmen McRae Blue Moon Birds of a Feather Carmen McRae Sings Lover Man and Other Billie Holiday Classics The Complete Ralph Burns Sessions (New York 1955, 1958)
With André PrevinUptown Old Friends What Headphones? André Previn and Friends Play Show Boat Jazz at the Musikverein
With Sammy Davis Jr.Mood to Be Wooed Try a Little Tenderness
With Don ElliottMusic for the Sensational Sixties Counterpoint for Six Valves
With Morgana KingWith a Taste of Honey A Taste of Honey
With Charlie Parker"Bird" Is Free Parker Plus Strings
With Felicia SandersThat Certain Feeling I Wish You Love Felicia Sanders
With Tony ScottBoth Sides of Tony Scott The Touch of Tony Scott Gypsy
With Jack SheldonSingular Playin' It Straight
With Creed TaylorShock Music in Hi-Fi Ping Pang Pong the Swinging Ball
With Sarah VaughanSarah Vaughan in Hi-Fi After Hours
With Patty WeaverFeelings Patty Weaver Sings "As Time Goes By"
With others