Jazz Articles about Steve Blanco

Take Five With Steve Blanco

by AAJ Staff
October 11, 2009

Meet Steve Blanco:I play piano, compose, make films, write scripts and do odd jobs for dough ($$).Instrument(s):Piano, drums.Teachers and/or influences?There are too many to list.Two piano teachers that I feel I learned from would be George Mancini, Charles Blenzig and Jean-Michel Pilc. They were giants of help and wisdom at times when I needed much help with many aspects of my life. I will never forget ...

Steve Blanco Trio: Piano Warrior

by AAJ Italy Staff
June 4, 2009

Ormai è una tendenza - inaugurata con ottimi risultati da formazioni come Bad Plus ed Esbjorn Svensson Trio - alla quale sembra che nessun piano trio che si rispetti riesca a sottrarsi. Ci riferiamo naturalmente alla prassi di inserire in un repertorio di composizioni originali una manciata di hit della musica pop, rock, soul,etc. Anche Steve Blanco non sfugge alla regola e “Us and Them" dei Pink Floyd e “Black Dog" a firma Led Zeppelin entrano di gran carriera tra ...

Steve Blanco Trio: Piano Warrior

by Glenn Astarita
May 2, 2009

A true piano warrior in every sense, Steve Blanco's second solo release offers an expansion to applications previously encountered via Contact, his independent 2006 trio debut. He offers the antidote to the customary trio format with an abundance of jazz-based thematic forays that project a contrasting spell to the typical ballad-bop-swing concepts.

Blanco combats any semblance of piano trio listening fatigue with explosive themes, subtle nuances and unanticipated shifts in tempo. The crack rhythm section abets the leader's ...

Steve Blanco / Jeremy Wilms: Semblance

by Budd Kopman
February 17, 2008

Semblance, from the duo of pianist Steve Blanco and guitarist Jeremy Wilms, is an intriguing, multifaceted and ambitious work. Of the fourteen tracks, fully half are improvised, demonstrating lightning-sharp musical reflexes. Blanco and Wilms share the compositional credits on six tracks, with the remaining track being Marvin Gaye's “What's Goin' On." In any duo, regardless of instrumentation, the interaction between the players is especially critical to the success of the music. There is literally no place to ...

Steve Blanco Trio: Contact

by Budd Kopman
September 20, 2006

Do you like your music white hot and intense, even during quieter passages? Do you value individual interplay that creates a total group sound? Do you pine for compositions and interpretations that change the very space around you when you listen? Then Steve Blanco's Contact is for you. This trio, however, is not really a piano trio, in the sense of a piano lead with a rhythm section. Bassist Adam Roberts and drummer Sunny Jain are Blanco's ...