Jazz Articles about Steve Heckman

Steve Heckman Quintet: Search for Peace

by Dan McClenaghan
September 26, 2014

Saxophonist Steve Heckman has been dishing up rock solid mainstream jazz in the quartet and quintet settings since 2003's For John (World City Music), a tribute disc to the legendary saxophonist John Coltrane. That debut and his two subsequent offerings, Live at Yoshi's (World City Music, 2005) and Born to Be Blue (Jazzed Media, 2013), held in common Matt Clark in the piano chair. This time around, with Search For Peace, Heckman once again employs Clark, with the keyboard man ...

Steve Heckman: Born to be Blue

by Nicholas F. Mondello
May 18, 2013

The Great American Standard is a nourishing Mother. No matter how far away one might stray, or who has mined there before, the Canon always welcomes further improvisatory exploration. The challenge, of course, is for the artist to honor the source appropriately.With Born to Be BlueBay Area saxophonist, Steve Heckman takes us on yet another tour of familiar GAS workhorses. In doing so, he displays a formidable ability to wring new juice from seasoned fruit. It's an enjoyable ...

Steve Heckman Quartet / Quintet: Born To Be Blue

by Dan Bilawsky
May 6, 2013

Saxophonist Steve Heckman often intentionally stands in the shadow of John Coltrane, as demonstrated on With John In Mind {World City Music, 2003) and Live At Yoshi's (World City Music, 2005), but he's no Coltrane clone. Heckman has absorbed bits and pieces of many masters, so a less exuberant, matte finished take on Sonny Rollins, a fondness for Zoot Sims ("I Remember Zoot") and a hint of Coleman Hawkins merge with the Trane influence to create something all together different, ...

Steve Heckman: Born to be Blue

by C. Michael Bailey
May 3, 2013

Much is made of the influence of John Coltrane on multi-reedist Steve Heckman. His third recording, Born to be Blue finds Heckman delving deeper into the standards territory, Coltrane's residual influence showing up in Heckman's slightly raspy, dry tone, but not anything as caustic as Coltrane's take-no-prisoner timbre. This is not Heckman's pass at Ballads (Impulse!, 1963) What this recording reduces to is a very pleasant mainstream exercise performed by professionals at the top of their game. ...

Steve Heckman Quartet: Live at Yoshi's

by John Kelman
September 15, 2005

What separates a good jazz artist from a great one? Clearly, you've got to have certain essentials to be a credible player: good time, a strong command of the language, the ability to navigate changes, and a good set of ears in order to be a responsive improviser. But to be a great player you've got transcend common denominators. It might be through innovation (pushing the boundaries of convention) or something subtler: finding new things to say within the context ...

Steve Heckman: With John in Mind

by Ken Hohman
November 4, 2003

With John In Mind, Oakland-based multi-saxophonist Steve Heckman's debut, pays heartfelt homage to his foremost influence ' John Coltrane ' with exceptionally played originals and pair of standards. It probably wasn't a wise decision to invite comparisons to the most influential saxophonist in recent jazz history with his opening salvo, but Heckman's genuine feeling toward Coltrane's music and his obvious talents quickly erase any preconceptions.

In contrast to his primary influence, Heckman's real strength on this debut release ...