Paul Motian

Welcome to the Paul Motian Archive, the official site for iconic American jazz drummer and composer Paul Motian (1931-2011). Motian’s life is a timeline of the history of jazz. He played with the greats of Bebop and Cool Jazz, and helped to form Modern Jazz and Free Improvisation. Mid-career, Motian began composing and led his own bands which are still an influence on the current Jazz scene.

Here you can listen to the podcast Uncle Paul’s Jazz Closet , explore the Archive with downloadable documents from Paul Motian’s papers, and purchase Motian’s Songbooks.

This site is hosted by his niece and caretaker of his archive, Cindy McGuirl.