Ian Underwood

Ian Underwood (born Ian Robertson Underwood on May 22, 1939) is an American woodwind virtuoso and pioneering synthesist best known for his work with Frank Zappa’s avant‑garde ensemble the Mothers of Invention. Raised in New York City, he displayed prodigious musical talent early, graduating from The Choate School in 1957 before earning a bachelor's degree in composition from Yale University in 1961 and a master’s in composition from the University of California, Berkeley in 1966. His first professional forays involved improvisational performances with the Jazz Mice in San Francisco coffeehouses, but his career truly launched when he answered Zappa’s invitation in 1967, contributing saxophone, flute and keyboard parts to the seminal album We’re Only in It for the Money and subsequently appearing on a string of classic Zappa releases such as Hot Rats, Uncle Meat and Apostrophe (’). Underwood’s technical fluency on the Minimoog and other early synthesizers made him a sought‑after session musician throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and he played a key role in shaping the soundtracks of high‑profile films including Blade Runner (1982), Titanic (1997) and Avatar (2009), often working alongside composer James Horner. In addition to his film work, he contributed keyboards and woodwinds to recordings by a diverse roster of artists such as Quincy Jones, Barbra Streisand, Freddie Hubbard, the Carpenters, and the rock‑opera project Knight Rider. His uncredited production on Alice Cooper’s debut album Pretties for You exemplifies his behind‑the‑scenes influence on 1960s rock. Married to fellow Mother of Invention percussionist Ruth Komanoff in 1969, the couple divorced in 1986; the pair had no publicly documented children. Today, Ian Underwood remains an active figure in the music industry, his career spanning more than six decades and illustrating a rare blend of classical training, experimental rock sensibility, and cinematic sound design.