Edgar Eugene Summerlin (September 1, 1928 – October 10, 2006) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and educator known for pioneering Liturgical jazz,
avant-garde jazz, and
free jazz.
Professional career
While a graduate student at the
University of North Texas College of Music, Summerlin, in 1959, composed Requiem for Mary Jo, which is widely believed to be one of the first significant uses of jazz in a
liturgical service.[1] He and his wife, Mary Elizabeth (nee Bouknight), had a daughter, Mary Jo (b. April 2, 1958,
Denton), who died of heart disease at age nine months on January 27, 1959, in Denton.
He performed Requiem for Mary Jo May 20, 1959, during a service in the chapel at the
Perkins School of Theology,
Southern Methodist University.[2] Bill Slack, Jr., Assistant Pastor of the First Methodist Church of Denton, who had visited the Summerlins while Mary Jo was near death in the hospital, had encouraged Summerlin to compose Requiem. Dr. Roger Ellwood Ortmayer (1916–1984), then of the Perkins School, commissioned the work.[3]
That same year, still studying and teaching at North Texas, Summerlin recorded his debut LP, Liturgical Jazz, on which "Requiem for Mary Jo," was the heartbreaking centerpiece.
Saturday night, February 13, 1960, NBC's World Wide 60 (hosted by
Chet Huntley) visited Denton to air the story of Ed Summerlin's liturgical jazz (national broadcast, NBC, Friday, February 19, 1960).[4]
Summerlin's grieving and spiritual creativity inspired him to compose other liturgical jazz pieces, including
Liturgy of the Holy Spirit[6] Summerlin Music Co. (1965), piano-vocal score, 13 pgs
As the sixties progressed, Summerlin gradually established himself as an avant-garde tenor saxophonist, composer and arranger.
At the same time, his well-publicized prime time television debut was followed by several Sunday morning appearances throughout the 1960s on the long-running CBS series, Look Up and Live,[5][7][8][9] collaborating with musicians such as
Freddie Hubbard,[10]Eric Dolphy,
Don Ellis,
Slide Hampton, and
Ron Carter,[5] as well as choreographer
Anna Sokolow.[9] During this decade, Summerlin also scored two feature films, the little-known 1963
Bay of Pigs-inspired drama, We Shall Return (which, coincidentally, featured the first and only original screenplay by oft-adapted novelist
Pat Frank) and the even lesser known 1967 film Ciao (written and directed by the earlier film's editor, David Tucker),[11][12] which, after becoming the only U.S. feature film to be entered in that year's
Venice Film Festival,[11][13] failed to find a distributor and quickly disappeared from view.
The Great Quillow (Caedmon, TC 1411; 1972) –
James Thurber story read by
Peter Ustinov; background music composed and conducted by Ed Summerlin.[18]
'Curious George,' and other stories about Curious George (Caedmon, TC 1420; 1973) – read by
Julie Harris; background music composed and conducted by Ed Summerlin.[19]
'Curious George Reads the Alphabet,' and other stories about Curious George (Caedmon, TC 1421; 1973) – read by Julie Harris; music composed and conducted by Ed Summerlin.[20]
Whoever heard of a Fird? (Caedmon, TC 1735; 1984) – Othello Bach story performed by
Joel Grey; arranged and conducted by Ed Summerlin.[21]
With The Rock Generation
Saturday in the Park and Other Songs Made Famous by Chicago (RCA Camden, 1973)[22][23]
^John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme is held as one of the first manifestations of spirituality in jazz; Summerlin preceded that landmark album with a number of sacred jazz compositions in 1959.
^"Experimental Jazz Service Well Received at Premier", Denton Record-Chronicle, May 21, 1959
^"Jazz Church Service, NBC Tells Story of Ed Summerlin", Denton Record-Chronicle, February 21, 1960
^
abcSimosko, Vladimir; Tepperman, Barry (1971, 1996).
"His Musical Biography". Eric Dolphy: A Musical Biography and Discography. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press. p. 69.
ISBN0-306-80524-3.
^Feather, Leonard.
Liner notes for Hub Cap.
Blogspot. Retrieved 2013-04-01. "Freddie was featured on the Look Up and Live CBS telecasts with Summerlin, whose jazz-oriented writing for a Methodist Sunday church service created a sensation in 1959."
^
abFeather, Leonard; Gitler, Ira (1976).
"Summerlin, Edgar". The Encyclopedia of Jazz of the Seventies. New York Press: Horizon Press. p. 319. Retrieved 2013-04-15.
^"1967 Films". Bianco e Nero. Volume 29. 1968. Retrieved 2013-04-15.
^Feather, Leonard. "Summerlin, Edgar E. (Ed)". Encyclopedia of Jazz in the Seventies. New York: Horizon Press. p. 319.
ISBN0-8180-1215-3 . Retrieved 2013-05-17.