Home » Jazz Articles » Michael Jefry Stevens
Jazz Articles about Michael Jefry Stevens
Generations Quartet: Oliver Lake/Joe Fonda/Michael Jefrys Stevens/Emil Gross: Flow
by Karl Ackermann
As the name would imply, the Generations Quartet spans the ages of its personnel. An off-shoot (of sorts) from the Trio Generations group, it's a semantic difference as saxophone legend Oliver Lake was a guest in the lineup that performed in 2015. From that same tour, we get Flow, a festive exercise of freedom and comradery that could only be realized by a team with the wealth of experience and talent gathered here. Recorded live (but non-sequentially) in Germany, it ...
Continue ReadingMichael Jefry Stevens: Flow
by Budd Kopman
Pianist Michael Jefry Stevens has been involved in many projects in his career over the past forty years. The Generations Quartet started out as a trio six years ago, consisting of Stevens with his long-time musical partner, bassist Joe Fonda and newcomer, drummer Emil Gross. The trio became a quartet with the addition of saxophonist (and Renaissance Man) Oliver Lake, perhaps best known for founding the World Saxophone Quartet with saxophonists David Murray, Julius Hemphill and Hamiet Bluiett.
Continue ReadingMichael Jefry Stevens: Brass Tactics
by Budd Kopman
Anyone remotely interested “creative improvised music" (aka jazz) that intersects with the Classical aesthetic should take the time to listen closely to pianist Michael Jefry Stevens' latest release Brass Tactics. Stevens is a thinking man's player mostly known for his work in the Fonda/Stevens group (see Folk Five) and Conference Call, (with Gebhard Ullmann) as well leading his own group, for example For The Children. The instrumentation on Brass Tactics stems from Stevens' fascination with brass ...
Continue ReadingMichael Jefry Stevens, Eliot Wadopian: Mountain Song
by Alberto Bazzurro
Album non privo di sottigliezze, di logica, di una visione coerente del dialogo a due voci, ma neppure di frequenti fasi di stanca, ripetitività e modesto appeal emozionale, questo Mountain Song, che vede uno di fronte all'altro due musicisti avvezzi alla libera improvvisazione così come a forme di interazione più definite. L'incisione risale all'aprile 2012 e si sviluppa da subito su un piano paritario nelle dinamiche, quanto guidato dal pianoforte sul versante concettuale (tutti di Michael Jefry ...
Continue ReadingJon Hemmersam - Michael Jefry Stevens: Dear Jonas
by AAJ Italy Staff
La collaborazione tra il pianista americano Michael Jefry Stevens e il chitarrista danese Jon Hemmersam risale almeno alla seconda metà degli anni '90, documentata da un'incisione in trio con la violoncellista Karen Valeur, e prosegue tuttora con vari progetti comprendenti anche un quintetto con Dave Liebman e Ken Filiano. In questo recente lavoro si trovano per la prima volta faccia a faccia, per un dialogo che sottolinea le numerose affinità del loro approccio alla musica. Favoriti gli strumenti acustici, retaggio ...
Continue ReadingIn Transit: Shifting Moods
by AAJ Italy Staff
Nata dall'incontro tra il pianista statunitense Michael Jefry Stevens e tre musicisti svizzeri, questa formazione presenta il suo secondo lavoro, dopo il debutto di Moving Stills (Unit Records). Quel disco pubblicava con qualche anno di ritardo una session del 2004 e la stessa cosa accade oggi per questo Shifting Moods, registrato dal vivo il 26 ottobre 2007 al Moods Jazz Club di Zurigo. L'estetica del quartetto non è mutata: i brani sono libere improvvisazioni o, per meglio dire, improvvisazioni istantanee ...
Continue ReadingIn Transit: Shifting Moods
by Glenn Astarita
Well-regarded for his co-leadership of the perennially progressive Fonda/Stevens group, pianist Michael Jefry Stevens is an accomplished solo artist and a much in demand session musician, who extends his reach globally. Featuring three European instrumentalists, the In Transit group devises a comprehensive playbook amid budding expansions into the free dominion. However, the modern jazz component underscores the improvisational factors. It's not about wanton cacophony. Conversely, the quartet's synchronicity instills a sense of perpetual motion, executed at various frequencies, throttling pulses, ...
Continue Reading
