Jazz Articles about Steve Swell

Steve Swell/Gebhard Ullmann Live at Leeds, Nov. 1

by John Sharpe
December 20, 2006

German reed player Gebhard Ullmann is a busy man, splitting his time between Berlin and New York. Like an increasing number of jazz musicians he minimizes the down time by running a series of parallel projects ranging from trios to his ten piece Ta Lam ensemble. Tonight's grouping found him in the front line alongside one of NYC's most inventive trombonists: Steve Swell, with a seasoned rhythm pairing of Hilliard Greene on bass and drum maestro Barry Altschul. The group, ...

Steve Swell: Fire Into Music

by Andrey Henkin
March 29, 2006

The fascinating thing about this album is that trombonist Steve Swell, ostensibly the leader of the Fire Into Music Quartet with saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc, bassist William Parker and drummer Hamid Drake, didn't know this record (an LP) was being made until he received a copy. Business issues subsequently were worked out and the release is official but the backwards methodology might actually have worked in the group's favor. Knowing a record is being recorded for release, particularly ...

Steve Swell: Slammin' the Infinite

by AAJ Staff
November 18, 2005

By Ken Waxman

A note from New York's Lower East Side underground, this fine session shows that the spirit of experimentation still shines brightly whether the sounds are called avant-garde, the new thing, or ecstatic jazz.

Two Little Huey Creative Orchestra members, trombonist Steve Swell and reedist Sabir Mateen, are featured on Slammin' the Infinite. Matt Heyner, the bassist on the date, is in the TEST collective with Mateen. Only German-born drummer Klaus Kugel isn't a ...

Steve Swell: Slammin' the Infinite

by Brian P. Lonergan
June 13, 2005

Trombonist Steve Swell's latest album is an appealing free jazz set, by turns reflective and raucous. Swell's original compositions are brought to life by the animated playing of his quartet, which includes Sabir Mateen on reeds and flute, Matthew Heyner on bass, and Klaus Kugel on drums.

The opening track of Slammin' the Infinite, “With the Morning, Hope, typifies the approach of the quartet throughout the album. An unaccompanied trombone solo begins the piece, gradually joined by the other instruments. ...

Steve Swell's Slammin' The Infinite Quartet at Cafe Wilhelmina in Eindhoven

by John Sharpe
April 26, 2005

Steve Swell's Slammin' The Infinite Quartet Café Wilhelmina Eindhoven, Netherlands April 18, 2005

Without fanfare, Steve Swell has become one of the leading proponents of the trombone in free jazz circles and a fixture of the NY Lower East Side scene, featuring in bands such as William Parker's Little Huey Orchestra and Jemeel Moondoc's Jus Grew Orchestra, among others. Having paid his dues with Buddy Rich, Jaki Byard and Lionel Hampton, Swell is now ...

Steve Swell/Perry Robinson: Invisible Cities

by Clifford Allen
July 6, 2004

With Invisible Cities, trombonist Steve Swell and clarinetist Perry Robinson have created a unique snapshot of duo improvisation that, as much as it sounds like a Saturday afternoon loft rehearsal when the rhythm section was too busy, is a compelling document of the affinity between improvisers.

Robinson, of course, is the veteran of the two, having recorded his first LP, Funk Dumpling, with Henry Grimes for Savoy over forty years ago, as well as working with Gunter Hampel, Archie Shepp, ...

Steve Swell: Suite for Players, Listeners and Other Dreamers

by Derek Taylor
January 22, 2004

Countless men and women find themselves seduced by the lure of unfettered musical expression only to find their efforts greeted by ambivalent ears. The creative hinterlands of jazz are notorious for swallowing talented players up in a fog of anonymity. Trombonist Steve Swell knows this reality well. He’s been working his way in from the fringes for years, in the process amassing a body of work that stands strong in the company of his progenitors on the instrument such as ...