John Laporta

American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, author & educator

Born 1 April 1920 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, died 12 May 2004 in Sarasota, Florida, USA

He played alto, tenor and baritone saxophones. He was a founding member of the Jazz Composers Workshop. He played with [a=Bob Chester], [a=Charlie Parker], [a=Lennie Tristano], [a=Woody Herman], [a=Duke Ellington], [a=Neal Hefti], [a=Bill Harris], [a=Charles Mingus], [a=Stan Getz], [a=Bill Evans], [a=Billy Eckstine] and many others. In the 1980 he was a featured soloist with [a=Herb Pomeroy]'s big band.

After earning his Master's degree, LaPorta joined the faculty of Berklee School of Music in 1963 and remained there for over thirty years until he retired to Florida. He played a pivotal role in the earliest stage of formalized American jazz education, shaping the Berklee curriculum and influencing the artistic lives of thousands of students. He wrote fifteen books on music education and over two hundred compositions, and assisted with Stan Kenton's jazz camps. In 1985 he returned to the recording studio to wax [i]Alone Together[/i]. His last album was [i]Life Cycle[/i] in 1999.