A classicist with an edge, this inventive artist revolutionized the violin’s role in jazz and has collaborated with Elton John and Frank Zappa.

• Ponty began playing the violin at age 5 and was accepted into the Paris Conservatoire at age 15. After winning the premier prix at age 17, he found his calling in jazz during his 3-year stint with the Concerts Lamoureux Orchestra.
• Ponty decided to amplify his sound and turned his violin into an electric jazz-rock instrument, incorporating swing, country, bop, and country styles into his recent album The Atacama Experience (2007).