Paul Plimley

Canadian free jazz pianist (1953–2022)

Paul Plimley

Background information
Born	(1953-03-16)16 March 1953 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Died	18 May 2022(2022-05-18) (aged 69) Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Instrumentalist
Instrument(s)	Piano, vibraphone

Website	www.paulplimley.com

Musical artist

Paul Horace Plimley (16 March 1953 – 18 May 2022) was a free jazz pianist and vibraphonist. He was one of the doyens of the Canadian jazz avant-garde, a co-founder of the New Orchestra Workshop Society and frequent collaborator with the bassist Lisle Ellis. He was well-versed in classical music and in all styles of jazz; he was one of the first and most convincing interpreters of Ornette Coleman's music on the piano (an instrument usually seen as antithetical to Coleman's music).

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Plimley studied classical piano under Kum-Sing Lee at the University of British Columbia (1971–73). In 1978–79 he studied with Karl Berger and Cecil Taylor at the Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, NY. In 1977, he founded the New Orchestra Workshop (NOW), and he has been active in many of the ensembles associated with NOW, including the NOW Orchestra.^[1]

His work with Lisle Ellis is extensive, and includes the duo CD Both Sides of the Same Mirror (Nine Winds, 1989); When Silence Pulls, with Andrew Cyrille (Music & Arts, 1990); Noir, with Bruce Freedman and Gregg Bendian (Victo, 1992); Density of the Lovestruck Demons with Donald Robinson (Music & Arts, 1994); and Safecrackers with Scott Amendola (Victo, 1999). He made two recordings for Hat Art: the collection of Ornette Coleman interpretations, Kaleidoscopes (1992), and (under Joe McPhee's leadership), a revisiting of Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite called Sweet Freedom, Now What? (1994).^[2] In May 2000, he recorded a live act at the 17th International Festival of New Music in Victoriaville, Quebec with John Oswald, Marilyn Crispell and Cecil Taylor. The album was released at Victo Records.^[3] He was a regular performer at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival.^[4]

Plimley died in Vancouver at the age of 69 on 18 May 2022 from lung cancer.^[5]^[6]

Discography

Solo albums

1995: Everything in Stages (Songlines)

As band leader

With Lisle Ellis

1991: When Silence Pulls with Andrew Cyrille (Music & Arts)
1992: Kaleidoscopes (Hat Art)
1993: Noir (Les Disques Victo) with Gregg Bendian

With Barry Guy

1997: Sensology (Maya)
2012: Hexentrio (Intakt), with Lucas Niggli

With Trichy Sankaran

1998: Ivory Ganesh Meets Doctor Drums (Songlines)

With John Oswald, Marilyn Crispell and Cecil Taylor

2001: Complicité (Les Disques Victo)

Collaborations

With Joe McPhee

1995: Sweet Freedom - Now What? (Hat Hut)

With Henry Kaiser

1999: Passwords (Spool), with Danielle DeGruttola
2012: The Starbreak Splatterlight (There), with Weasel Walter and Lukas Ligeti

With Mei Han

2006: Ume (ZA Discs)

With Anthony Davis

2016: Past Piano Present | Live at Western Front 1985 - 2015 (Western Front New Music), including with Al Neil and John Kameel Farah^[7]

With Glenn Spearman

Free Worlds (Black Saint, 2000)

TV appearances

In the Key of Eh! Canadian Jazz Piano (1996)
Duos: the jazz sessions (2000)
Solos: the jazz sessions (2004)

References

^ Review by Scott Yanow. "New Orchestra Workshop Now You Hear It". All Music. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
^ Dave Lynch. "Paul Plimley biography". All Music. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
^ Bill Bennett (March 2002). "Paul Plimley/John Oswald/Marilyn Crispell/Cecil Taylor Complicite". JazzTimes reviews. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
^ Brianna Girdler (16 June 2014). "Paul Plimley listens for the transformative experience in jazz". Vancouver Observer. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
^ "Paul H. Plimley Obituary (2022) New York Times". Legacy.com.
^ Smith, Janet (19 May 2022). "Jazz community mourns as Vancouver pianist and vibrophonist Paul Plimley dies at 69". Stir: Arts and Culture, Vancouver. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
^ "Paul Plimley". Discography. Discogs.com. Retrieved 30 March 2016.