Jazz Articles about Stephan Oliva

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Stephan Oliva: Miroirs

by John Kelman
November 17, 2006

Far too many artists retread the balding tires of the Great American Songbook. Pianist Stephan Oliva's Miroirs, a pleasant exception to this rule, shows that it's still possible to breathe fresh air into songs that have been recorded hundreds of times. On this series of ten duets with five guest artists, Oliva's approach is understated and dark. Still, he traverses a broad emotional landscape, from bleak to beautiful.

Sounding more subdued than usual, Linda Sharrock opens the set with a ...

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St: Coincidences

by John Kelman
November 24, 2005

Creating music to accompany visual arts is nothing new. Soundtracks to film often act as equal partners--just imagine Hitchcock's shower scene from Psycho without Bernard Hermann's piercing strings, for example. However, adapting music to literature is an altogether rarer concept. Film leaves little of the visual to the imagination, while writing often relies heavily on one's ability to create personal imagery. And so, music for film usually serves to enhance a director's specific vision, while a musician's interpretation of literature ...

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Stephan Oliva: Itineraire Imaginaire

by John Kelman
May 22, 2004

Once again Sketch label owner and producer Philippe Ghielmetti shows his development as a producer of note; with a view to exposing the breadth of European improvised music, he is gaining a reputation not unlike ECM's Manfred Eicher in his ability to focus the musicians and derive challenging work that pushes the boundaries of contemporary form. Pianist Stephan Oliva, who in recent years has been concentrating his efforts on works of homage to artists including Lennie Tristano, Bill Evans and ...