Jazz Articles about Dayna Stephens
About Dayna Stephens
Instrument: Saxophone
Article Coverage | Calendar | Albums | Photos | Similar ArtistsKarl-Henrik Ousbäck: Confluence
by C. Andrew Hovan
Drummers do not always get the respect they deserve and yet, in a jazz context, their contributions are an integral part in the overall success of the music. Aside from genre leaders such as Tony Williams, Elvin Jones, and Art Blakey, relatively few drummer-led sessions have entered into the upper echelon of recorded jazz history. However, those who cast a wider net will probably remember that drummers Art Taylor, Bill English, Grady Tate, Joe Chambers, and Roy Brooks ...
read moreBilly Drummond and Freedom of Ideas: Valse Sinistre
by Jack Bowers
As one of the world's foremost jazz drummers, Billy Drummond manages to keep busy--so much so that Valse Sinistre, recorded in November 2021, is his first album as leader in more than twenty-five years, following the critically acclaimed Dubai from 1996. This time around, Drummond is at the helm of his Freedom of Ideas quartet: Micah Thomas on piano; Dezron Douglas on bass; and Dayna Stephens on saxophones. Even though he is the nominal leader, Drummond doesn't ...
read moreVicki Burns: Lotus Blossom Days
by Richard J Salvucci
Who knew “Del Sasser" had lyrics? Part of the joy of listening to new recordings is finding such things out. And Vicki Burns does a convincing job of it. In this intriguing compilation of standards--yes, musicians can record from the Great American Songbook (GAS) without disgracing themselves, no matter what anyone says--bop heads and originals, Vicki Burns acquits herself admirably. She is solid evidence that the singer makes the song, rather than the other way around. ...
read moreVicki Burns: Lotus Blossom Days
by Jeff Winbush
Whatever else can be said about jazz, there is little disagreement that it is best experienced in a live setting. Listening to Vicki Burns' Lotus Blossom Days is as close to a front-row seat in a New York nightclub as many of us are likely to get in these times of high fuel costs and crowded airports. Burns is not attempting to blow the roof off with vocal gyrations and tricks. She never oversings as she tries to ...
read morePluto Juice: Pluto Juice
by Glenn Astarita
The EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument) was popularized in the 1980s by the late sax great Michael Brecker, and allegedly is a difficult instrument to learn because the buttons are touch sensitive and its sound bank possesses the characteristics of multiple woodwind instruments. Moreover, the EWI contains a controller and a sound module and is not simply an electronic sax device. But highly regarded saxophonist Dayna Stephens seems to have surmounted any hurdles and conveys a rather all-inclusive scope on this ...
read moreJohannes Wallmann: Elegy for an Undiscovered Species
by Angelo Leonardi
Poco noto in Italia, Johannes Wallmann è un 47enne pianista e compositore nato in Germania ma cresciuto in Canada e formatosi musicalmente negli Stati Uniti (al Berklee College of Music di Boston e alla New York University). Vive a New York dal 1995 e ha pubblicato nove CD compreso il presente dove affianca un'orchestra d'archi a un quintetto jazz con la trombettista Ingrid Jensen e il sassofonista Dayna Stephens. È forse il suo lavoro più ambizioso, realizzato ...
read moreJohannes Wallmann: Elegy For An Undiscovered Species
by Friedrich Kunzmann
Supported by the Artemis supergroup members drummer Allison Miller and trumpeter Ingrid Jensen as well as by long-time collaborator Dayna Stephens and bassist Nick Moran, Johannes Wallmann can count himself lucky to have a celebrity packed core band behind him to present six new cuts fresh off the pianist's pen. In addition to the celebrity lineup, a sumptuous string orchestra (15-strong) adds harmonic depth and ornamental brushstrokes along the way, expanding crescendoing build-ups with further dynamic width and embellishing soloistic ...
read moreContest Giveaway
