Primous Fountain

About

Primous Fountain, is a composer, trumpeter, and double bassist. Self taught, he arranged for jazz ensembles when young, and he began to compose while attending high school in Chicago.

He has won many awards, such as the BMI Composition Award, the Guggenheim Fellowship two times, and the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Goddard Lieberson Fellowship.

One of Fountain's most famous pieces, Ritual Dances of the Amaks, was taken on tour in 1977 that concluded at the Carnegie Hall. This work is characterized by atonality, the use of fragmented melodies, occasional lyrical passages and repeated rhythmic patterns that incorporate folk-jazz rhythms.

His orchestral pieces often display dramatic contrast in register and color. Some of his works share an affinity with dance: in 1995 he was commissioned by Frankfurt Ballet Company, and one of his best-known early works, Manifestation, was choreographed by Arthur Mitchell for the Dance Theatre of Harlem.

In his later years, Fountain has explored the music and indigenous instruments of West Africa, alongside the earlier influences on his style, Stravinsky and Miles Davis.

Related Information

Works by Primous Fountain