Ian Underwood


Ian Robertson Underwood is a woodwind and keyboards player, perhaps best known for his work with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention.

Biography

Underwood graduated from The Choate School in 1957 and Yale University with a bachelor's degree in composition in 1961 and a master's degree in composition at UC Berkeley in 1966. He began his career by playing San Francisco Bay Area coffeehouses and bars with his improvisational group, the Jazz Mice, in the mid 1960s before he became a member of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention in 1967 for their third studio album, We're Only in It for the Money. He speaks on Uncle Meat; on the track "Ian Underwood Whips It Out" he relates how he first met Zappa and demonstrated his capabilities on the saxophone at Zappa's invitation. Underwood later worked with Frank Zappa on his solo recordings, most notably on 1969's Hot Rats. He married Ruth Komanoff, marimbist/percussionist from the Mothers of Invention in May 1969. Underwood left the Mothers of Invention in September 1973. He and Ruth divorced in 1986.
After his lengthy career with Frank Zappa, he pursued a career as a session keyboardist. Underwood has since been proficient on the Minimoog synthesizer, mostly in film. He has been credited in recordings for Quincy Jones, Barbra Streisand, Ronee Blakley, Hugh Cornwell, Freddie Hubbard, Jean-Luc Ponty, Herb Alpert, Hugh Masekela, Peggy Lee, Dolly Parton, Chicago, Janet Jackson, Dave Grusin, Jefferson Airplane, Frankie Valli, the Carpenters, James Ingram, and Barry Manilow. Underwood was also one of the musicians who played the main title theme for the 1980s hit series Knight Rider. Underwood was the uncredited producer of the debut album by Alice Cooper, Pretties For You, in 1969.
Underwood has also been a featured performer with James Horner on numerous James Horner film scores including Titanic and Sneakers.

Discography

Lenox School of Jazz Concert, 1959 w/ Ornette Coleman, Herb Pomeroy
With Frank Zappa/The Mothers of Invention
With Sandy Hurvitz
  • Sandy's Album Is Here At Least
With Captain Beefheart
With Alice Cooper
  • Pretties for You
With Jean-Luc Ponty
With Freddie Hubbard
  • High Energy
  • Liquid Love
With Quincy Jones
  • Mellow Madness
  • Roots
  • The Dude
  • Back on the Block
With Gábor Szabó
  • Macho
With Alphonse Mouzon
  • The Man Incognito
With Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
With Flo & Eddie
  • Illegal, Immoral and Fattening
  • Moving Targets
With Spirit
  • Farther Along
With Carmen McRae
  • Can't Hide Love
With Seawind
  • Seawind
With Alphonso Johnson
  • Moonshadows
With Chunky, Novi & Ernie
  • Chunky, Novi, & Ernie
With Ambrosia
  • Somewhere I've Never Travelled
With Lalo Schifrin
  • Gypsies
  • No One Home
With Herb Alpert
  • Herb Alpert / Hugh Masekela
With Barbra Streisand
  • Songbird
With Peggy Lee
  • Close Enough for Love
With Chicago
  • Chicago XIV
With Janet Jackson
  • Janet Jackson
Jefferson Airplane
  • Jefferson Airplane Loves You
Some of his work on Film Scores