Don Preston  

Don Preston was born in Flint, Michigan in 1932.

His father was the composer-in-residence for the Detroit Symphony.

Born into a family of musicians Don studied music at an early age.

1950's, bassist with Elvin Jones, pianist with Herbie Mann and bassist with Tommy Flanagan, bassist with Yusef Lateef. Toured with Nat King Cole, Nelson Riddle. (1958) Worked with Charlie Haden for one year, bassist with Paul Bley and Carla Bley. Bassist with Shorty Rogers.1960's Preston joins with Don Ellis.

Pianist with The Lighthouse All Stars and forms group with Putter Smith, Jack Lake, Bunk Gardner and Frank Zappa. They audition at ABC television.

Later Frank Zappa asks Don to join the Mothers of Invention in 1966.

He tours and records with Meredith Monk, performing at the Guggenheim Museum and colleges on the east coast.

1970's performance with John Lennon appears on album “Sometime in New York City” and later acting in the film “200 Motels” with Ringo Starr. 1975 - 1985 Projects include:

Vocalist on “Escalator Over the Hill”, with Carla Bley, Linda Ronstadt and Jack Bruce. He played Synthesizer on “Where Flamingos Fly” by Gil Evans. Toured US and Europe with Gil Evans. Preston also toured and recorded with Robby Krieger and John Densmore of the Doors. He went on to perform and orchestrate Apocalypse Now and composed 20 other filmscores. 1981-2007 Co-founds the Grandmothers, with former Mothers of Invention band members. Performs with Bobby Bradford, appears on Bradford's "Comin' On". Forms a jazz trio with Art Davis and Tootie Heath. Tours Europe as lead vocalist for The Grandmothers. 1996 Signs with Echograph Records, begins recording solo piano CD “Hear Me Out”. Vocalist in the opera "School of Understanding" by Michael Mantler, which premiered in Copenhagen, Denmark. Composes "The Bride Stripped Bare", commissioned by the California Ear Unit, performed at The Bing Theater, LA.

1998-2000 Forms new trio with Joel Hamilton (bass) and Alex Cline (drums)

Records new CD “Transformation” on Cryptogramophone Records.

Preston composes “Of No Consequence” for string orchestra and is performed at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig Germany. The Grandmothers’ video is shown thru-out Europe. In 2006 Preston produces “L’Histoire du Soldat” by Igor Stravinsky at The Disney Music Center in Los Angeles and lectures at Yale, Cornell and Massachusetts Universities also the Berkeley School Of Music and University Of Arizona.

Selected list of artists Don has performed with: