Tingen, Paul

views updated

TINGEN, Paul

PERSONAL:

Born in the Netherlands. Education: Attended Royal Conservatoire, 1985-86; Goldsmiths College, B.A., 1995. Religion: Buddhist.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Scotland; California. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Billboard Books/Watson-Guptill Publications, 1515 Broadway, New York, NY 10036. E-mail—paul.tingen@ecosse.net.

CAREER:

Music journalist and writer, 1986—. Guitarist, composer, recording artist, performer, and record producer. Meditation teacher.

WRITINGS:

Miles Beyond: The Electric Explorations of Miles Davis, Billboard Books (New York, NY), 2001.

Contributor to magazines, including Mojo, Sound on Sound, Audio Media, Jazzwise, Keyboards, Jazzthetic, Keyboard, Sound & Recording, Audio Technology, JazzTimes, Mix, and Audio Media, Music Maker, and Pro Audio Vision.

SIDELIGHTS:

A guitarist, teacher, and producer, Dutch-born Paul Tingen draws influence from a variety of music styles including, folk, rock, jazz, classical, ambient, and flamenco. He released his debut album, May The Road Rise to Meet You, in 1997, and is known as a "Zen guitarist" by those familiar with his recordings. As a writer, Tingen extends his knowledge of music through his work as a journalist, critic, and author. In Miles Beyond: The Electric Explorations of Miles Davis, 1967-1991, Tingen explores a significant period in the career of trumpet player and jazz legend Miles Davis.

Miles Beyond addresses the controversial transformation Davis made to an electric style of jazz music termed "fusion" by experts. Many traditionalists did not accept the change of styles Davis made in the late 1960s, and they began criticizing Davis after a period of twenty years in which few critics said anything negative about his music. Instead of embracing the charges that Davis sought to capitalize on potential commercial success with a more rock-and-roll sound, Tingen judges the music on its own merits through extensive research. A contributor to Kirkus Reviews wrote that he "makes a convincing case that Davis's openness to a variety of musical idioms harks back to his early days in blues-oriented bands and as a side-man to Charlie Parker." Tingen presents more than fifty interviews with Davis's collaborators, producers, friends, and others who were close to Davis in the years leading up to his death in 1991. In a review for National Public Radio Online, Paul de Barros observed that Tingen's "fascinating, 400-page tome is not only readable, but a must-have for any serious student of Davis." De Barros continued, "Tingen offers an unusually selfless pointer that steers your attention directly to the radiant heart of the music it so passionately describes."

Tingen offers a musical analysis and also describes the struggles Davis had in his personal life during his "fusion" period, after his return from retirement in 1981, and prior to his death. Despite health problems, Davis dedicated himself to returning jazz to prominence with a younger generation of music fans. In addition to an array of personal and musical insight, Miles Beyond includes a musician list, discography, and bibliography. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly called Tingen's work "A lucid, detailed and illuminating study of a generally misunderstood, often critically dismissed period in the creative life of one of the country's greatest musical innovators."