Early life and musical beginnings DeJohnette was born in
Chicago, Illinois, on August 9, 1942, to Jack DeJohnette (1911–2011), a labourer, and Eva Jeanette DeJohnette (née Wood, 1918–1984). Although of predominantly
African-American heritage, DeJohnette stated that he had some
Native American ancestry, specifically
Seminole and
Crow. His parents moved to California to find work and he was raised by his grandmother Rosalie Ann Wood. and practised three hours on drums and three hours on piano each day. DeJohnette played
R&B,
hard bop, and
avant-garde music in Chicago. He led his own groups in addition to playing with
Richard Abrams,
Roscoe Mitchell and other eventual core members of the
Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (founded in 1965). In 1966, DeJohnette moved to
New York City, where he became a member of the
Charles Lloyd Quartet, DeJohnette was not the only drummer involved in the project, as Davis had also enlisted
Billy Cobham,
Don Alias, and
Lenny White, but he was considered to be the leader of the rhythm section. He played on the live albums that followed the release of
Bitches Brew, assembled from recordings of concerts at the
Fillmore East in New York and
Fillmore West in
San Francisco. These ventures were undertaken at the suggestion of
Clive Davis, then president of
Columbia Records. DeJohnette continued to work with Davis for the next three years, which led to collaborations with Davis band members
John McLaughlin,
Chick Corea, and Holland. DeJohnette also drew Keith Jarrett into the band. was released in 1968; on the album, he played
melodica as well as drums, often allowing his mentor,
Roy Haynes, to sit behind the set. DeJohnette also recorded, in the early 1970s, the albums
Have You Heard,
Sorcery, and
Cosmic Chicken. He was also featured on
First Light, an album by trumpeter
Freddie Hubbard, released by
CTI in 1971. The musical freedom he had while recording for ECM offered DeJohnette many dates as a sideman and opportunities to start his own groups. DeJohnette's work with Special Edition was interrupted regularly by other projects, the most significant of which were his recordings in 1983 and tours from 1985 as a member of Keith Jarrett's trio, which was totally devoted to playing
jazz standards. In 1981, DeJohnette performed at the
Woodstock Jazz Festival, held in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the
Creative Music Studio.
1990s onwards DeJohnette continued to work with Special Edition into the 1990s, but did not limit himself to that. In 1990, he toured in a quartet consisting of himself,
Herbie Hancock,
Pat Metheny, and his long-time collaborator Holland, In 2004, he was nominated for a
Grammy award for his work on Keith Jarrett's live album
The Out-of-Towners, and continued to work with that group into 2005. The other two new projects were the Jack DeJohnette Quartet, featuring Harris again alongside
Danilo Perez and
John Patitucci, and the
Trio Beyond, a tribute to DeJohnette's friend
Tony Williams and his trio
Lifetime (consisting of Williams,
Larry Young and
John McLaughlin), featuring
John Scofield and
Larry Goldings. DeJohnette also founded his own label, Golden Beams Productions, in 2005. That same year, he released
Music in the Key of Om on his new label, an electronic album that he created for relaxing and meditative purposes, on which he played synthesizer and resonating bells, and which was nominated for a Grammy Award in the
Best New Age Album category. The same year, he was awarded an
NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship for his "significant lifetime contributions [which] have helped to enrich jazz and further the growth of the art form." In 2016 he released a solo piano album titled 'Return'. ==Style==