Jean-Luc Ponty Announces ‘Atlantic Years’ Tour

Jean-Luc Ponty is headed to stages across the U.S. in late spring and early summer. The legendary French violinist begins “The Atlantic Years” tour with a May 30 show in Portland, Ore.

– Jean-Luc Ponty
Courtesy Glass Onyon PR

 The tour’s name is a nod to the band accompanying Ponty on the road, who recorded several albums with the artist for Atlantic Records in the late ’70s and ’80s. Ponty will be backed by Wally Minko on keyboards, Jamie Glaser on guitar, Rayford Griffin on drums, and Baron Browne on bass. 

Ponty studied classical violin at the Paris Conservatory and then made a name for himself with his revolutionary take on jazz in the ’60s. He is known as the first bebop violinist. His pioneering work on the electric violin in the ’70s led Ponty to record with pop and rock musicians including Elton John and Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention. He also worked with John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra. Ponty went on to form his own band in 1975 and has continued collaborating with other artists on select projects.

His most recent solo album is 2007’s The Atacama Experience. Ponty teamed up with Stanley Clarke on double bass and Bireli Lagrene on guitar to record as an acoustic trio in 2014. Their joint effort, D-Stringz, came out in 2015.

Here’s the routing for the tour: 

May 30 – Portland, Ore., Aladdin Theater
May 31 – Seattle, Wash., The Neptune
June 1 – Eugene, Ore., The John G. Shedd Institute For The Arts
June 3 – Beverly Hills, Calif., Saban Theatre
June 4 – San Francisco, Calif., The Regency Ballroom
June 5 – Santa Cruz, Calif., Rio Theatre
June 7 – San Juan Capistrano, Calif., The Coach House Concert Hall
June 8 – Agoura Hills, Calif., The Canyon
June 9 – Scottsdale, Ariz., Scottsdale Ctr. For The Perf. Arts
June 10 – Las Vegas, Nev., Aliante Casino
June 14 – Boulder, Colo., Boulder Theater
June 16 – Dallas, Texas, Granada Theater
June 17 – Austin, Texas, One World Theatre
June 20 – Chicago, Ill., City Winery Chicago
June 21 – Detroit, Mich., Chene Park
June 23 – Niagara Falls, N.Y., Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino
June 24 – Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Saratoga Performing Arts Center (Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival)
June 25 – New York, N.Y., B.B. King Blues Club

Tickets are available now. Visit Ponty.com for more information about the artist.