Jazz Articles about Steve Kuhn

Steve Kuhn Trio: Pavane for a Dead Princess

by Dr. Judith Schlesinger
February 6, 2006

Anything that pianist Steve Kuhn does is likely to be beautifully executed and tasteful, and Pavane for a Dead Princess is no exception. Here, he and his empathic collaborators David Finck (bass) and Billy Drummond (drums) address themselves to the stock classical repertoire, jazzing up eleven popular pieces from Debussy, Rachmaninov, Tchaikowsky, Grieg, Brahms and Chopin. (There are actually two “Pavane"s--the title track, by Ravel, and Faure's version.)

The result is nothing less than terrific. These are not classical melodies ...

Steve Kuhn Trio: Qui

by John Kelman
December 1, 2005

Why an album takes over five years from recording to release is curious, especially when it's from an established artist like pianist Steve Kuhn--perennially underappreciated to be sure, but not without a certain cachet. Still, finding a home for a session can sometimes be a challenge, and at the end of the day, whether it was recorded five years or five months ago, we should be thankful that Quiéreme Mucho--a thoroughly engaging mainstream set that turns the idea of approaching ...

Steve Kuhn Trio: Qui

by Joshua Weiner
November 21, 2005

Let's be up front about it: I'm not a huge fan of Latin music, including Latin jazz. No offense to the many fine artists or the teeming millions that are into this stuff; I'm just a northern, Arctic Circle kind of guy. Rio bathing beauties are great and all, but, call me crazy, I like Minnesota girls in parkas.

So it was with ambivalence, if not trepidation, that I approached Quiéreme Mucho, the new Sunnyside album (originally released ...

Steve Kuhn: Trance

by John Kelman
September 10, 2005

By the time pianist Steve Kuhn began his eight-year relationship with ECM in '74, his reputation was already well on its way. Since emerging in the early '60s, the classically-trained but improvisation-minded Kuhn had worked with artists like Stan Getz, Joe Henderson, and John Coltrane. He released two recordings under his own name in '66: the trio record Three Waves and The October Suite, which, with its Third Stream leanings, was surprisingly antithetical to the freer direction that its label, ...

Steve Kuhn: Promises Kept

by John Kelman
May 14, 2004

Combining jazz composition with orchestration is always a risky proposition; the outcome can often be bombastic, syrupy or melodramatic. But in the proper hands the combination can yield a result that is truly beautiful, allowing for a dramatic enhancement of the writing that, while allowing for some improvisational context, truly brings out its essence. “A life's dream," according to pianist Steve Kuhn, Promises Kept takes a life's work of material and, in the sensitive hands of conductor/orchestrator Carlos Franzetti, treats ...

Steve Kuhn: Oceans in the Sky

by Dr. Judith Schlesinger
December 13, 2003

Recorded in 1989 for Owl Records and finally reissued, Oceans in the Sky is a timeless gem from impressionistic veteran pianist Steve Kuhn. Although he was John Coltrane's original pianist and worked with Stan Getz and Art Farmer, Kuhn's detour into electric piano, commercial music and accompaniment (most notably for Sheila Jordan) has to some extent diluted his pedigree. It's good to be reminded of his gifts, which include lyricism and taste and composition; his title track is powerful and ...

Steve Kuhn: The Best Things

by C. Andrew Hovan
July 1, 2000

For the past several years, the Reservoir label’s New York Piano Series has been the forum for some of the best piano trio records in recent memory. Although earlier presenters in the cycle included Kenny Barron, Rob Schneiderman, John Hicks, and Hod O’Brien, Reservoir has really hit a gold mine by signing on Steve Kuhn. Although not as well known as let’s say Hank Jones or Tommy Flanagan, Kuhn is equally proficient at exploiting the piano trio format for all ...