Home » Jazz Musicians » Dayna Stephens

Dayna Stephens

Since the release of his 2007 disc, The Timeless Now (CTA), Dayna Stephens has emerged as one of his generation’s most distinguished modern jazz tenor saxophonists and composers. He hones a sinewy yet supple tone that unfurl poised improvisations with melodic ingenuity. As a composer, Stephens continues to build a multifaceted oeuvre filled with pieces that are cinematic in dynamic scope as they incorporate and suspenseful dialogue and interplay.

In addition to establishing himself as a leading early 21st century jazz voice, Stephens has collaborated with an impressive array of jazz musicians, including pianists Brad Mehldau, Taylor Eigsti, Muhal Richard Abrams, Kenny Barron, Theo Hill, Gerald Clayton and Aaron Parks; drummers Brian Blade, Al Foster, Idris Muhammad, Marvin “Boogaloo” Smith, Eric Harland, Matt Slocum and Justin Brown; trumpeters Roy Hargrove, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Michael Rodriguez; saxophonists Jaleel Shaw, Ben Wendel, Chris Potter, John Ellis and Walter Smith III; bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa, Joe Sanders, Linda Oh, Doug Weiss and Larry Grenadier; vocalists Gretchen Parlato, Becca Stevens and Sachal Vasandani; guitarists Julian Lage, Lage Lund and Charles Altura.

The New York Times heralded Stephens as a “must see,” and wrote, “Everything flows with unusual fluency and makes you feel rewarded,” regarding his improvisational facilities. “When I’m playing, I’m really trying to make something new happen,” explains Stephens about his approach to improvisation. “It often happens by playing unintentional notes. That leads me to somewhere. It’s always trying to come up with something singable.”

Stephens has released five discs as a leader on the CTA, Sunnyside and Criss-Cross labels. Noted producer Matt Pierson shepherd his most recent disc, Peace (Sunnyside, 2014), which featured Mehldau, Lage, Grenadier and Harland. Its follow-up, Gratitude (Sunnyside), showcasing the same lineup, is slated to release in summer 2015. Also slated for 2015, is Reminiscent (Criss Cross), featuring Smith III, Parks and drummer Rodney Green.

In collaboration with childhood friend and pianist Taylor Eigsti, Stephens penned large-scaled compositions for San Francisco’s Peninsula Symphony Orchestra. Stephens also wrote big band charts for the Berklee College of Music and a wide-screen arrangement of Dave Brubeck’s “The Duke,” for the Oakland East Bay Symphony, which premiered in 2013 at Oakland’s Paramount Theatre for its “Celebration of the Music of Dave Brubeck” concert.

For NPR’s A Blog Supreme, Eigsti said this about Stephens’ compositional acumen: “Dayna has a way of using harmonic subtleties to create unpredictable emotions throughout his compositions and arrangements. The way he composes is genuine, and he puts his personality into all of his tunes. His beautiful energy as a human being comes through his compositions very vividly and honestly.”

Read more

Tags

1
Album Review

Karl-Henrik Ousbäck: Confluence

Read "Confluence" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan


Drummers do not always get the respect they deserve and yet, in a jazz context, their contributions are an integral part in the overall success of the music. Aside from genre leaders such as Tony Williams, Elvin Jones, and Art Blakey, relatively few drummer-led sessions have entered into the upper echelon of recorded jazz history. However, those who cast a wider net will probably remember that drummers Art Taylor, Bill English, Grady Tate, Joe Chambers, and Roy Brooks ...

35
Album Review

Billy Drummond and Freedom of Ideas: Valse Sinistre

Read "Valse Sinistre" reviewed by Jack Bowers


As one of the world's foremost jazz drummers, Billy Drummond manages to keep busy--so much so that Valse Sinistre, recorded in November 2021, is his first album as leader in more than twenty-five years, following the critically acclaimed Dubai from 1996. This time around, Drummond is at the helm of his Freedom of Ideas quartet: Micah Thomas on piano; Dezron Douglas on bass; and Dayna Stephens on saxophones. Even though he is the nominal leader, Drummond doesn't ...

3
Album Review

Vicki Burns: Lotus Blossom Days

Read "Lotus Blossom Days" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci


Who knew “Del Sasser" had lyrics? Part of the joy of listening to new recordings is finding such things out. And Vicki Burns does a convincing job of it. In this intriguing compilation of standards--yes, musicians can record from the Great American Songbook (GAS) without disgracing themselves, no matter what anyone says--bop heads and originals, Vicki Burns acquits herself admirably. She is solid evidence that the singer makes the song, rather than the other way around. ...

5
Album Review

Vicki Burns: Lotus Blossom Days

Read "Lotus Blossom Days" reviewed by Jeff Winbush


Whatever else can be said about jazz, there is little disagreement that it is best experienced in a live setting. Listening to Vicki Burns' Lotus Blossom Days is as close to a front-row seat in a New York nightclub as many of us are likely to get in these times of high fuel costs and crowded airports. Burns is not attempting to blow the roof off with vocal gyrations and tricks. She never oversings as she tries to ...

21
Album Review

Pluto Juice: Pluto Juice

Read "Pluto Juice" reviewed by Glenn Astarita


The EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument) was popularized in the 1980s by the late sax great Michael Brecker, and allegedly is a difficult instrument to learn because the buttons are touch sensitive and its sound bank possesses the characteristics of multiple woodwind instruments. Moreover, the EWI contains a controller and a sound module and is not simply an electronic sax device. But highly regarded saxophonist Dayna Stephens seems to have surmounted any hurdles and conveys a rather all-inclusive scope on this ...

Album Review

Johannes Wallmann: Elegy for an Undiscovered Species

Read "Elegy for an Undiscovered  Species" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Poco noto in Italia, Johannes Wallmann è un 47enne pianista e compositore nato in Germania ma cresciuto in Canada e formatosi musicalmente negli Stati Uniti (al Berklee College of Music di Boston e alla New York University). Vive a New York dal 1995 e ha pubblicato nove CD compreso il presente dove affianca un'orchestra d'archi a un quintetto jazz con la trombettista Ingrid Jensen e il sassofonista Dayna Stephens. È forse il suo lavoro più ambizioso, realizzato ...

1
Album Review

Johannes Wallmann: Elegy For An Undiscovered Species

Read "Elegy For An Undiscovered  Species" reviewed by Friedrich Kunzmann


Supported by the Artemis supergroup members drummer Allison Miller and trumpeter Ingrid Jensen as well as by long-time collaborator Dayna Stephens and bassist Nick Moran, Johannes Wallmann can count himself lucky to have a celebrity packed core band behind him to present six new cuts fresh off the pianist's pen. In addition to the celebrity lineup, a sumptuous string orchestra (15-strong) adds harmonic depth and ornamental brushstrokes along the way, expanding crescendoing build-ups with further dynamic width and embellishing soloistic ...

Read more articles
11

Music Industry

Groupmuse Partners with All About Jazz

Groupmuse Partners with All About Jazz

Source: Michael Ricci

Groupmuse is proud to announce that we are partnering with All About Jazz to share our jazz concerts with a wider audience. For much of Groupmuse’s existence, its focus was exclusively on Western classical music. After George Floyd’s murder in 2020, the team reflected on classical music’s historical Eurocentrism, and decided to broaden Groupmuse’s musical focus. To center and support musics of the African diaspora and artists of African descent, Groupmuse launched Planetary Music Movement in 2020. As one prominent ...

5

Recording

Saxophonist Dayna Stephens Releases "Gratitude" on Contagious Music

Saxophonist Dayna Stephens Releases "Gratitude" on Contagious Music

Source: Jason Byrne, Red Cat Publicity

Featuring Dayna Stephens, Brad Mehldau, Julian Lage, Larry Grenadier, and Eric Harland. Available on Contagious Music. “Gratitude leaves a lasting impression swimming in honest emotion and beautiful sounds. Dayna Stephens' journey thankfully isn't over, and the results are something we can all be grateful for as well."—Geno Thackara, AllAboutJazz.com “To hear his music is to fall in love..."—Hot House Magazine “Tenorist Stephens emerges as an artist full of composure and imagination"—DownBeat Magazine “Within the expanse of the jazz landscape, a ...

4

Recording

Matt Slocum Presents "Trio Pacific, Vol. 1" Featuring Dayna Stephens, Steve Cardenas, and Matt Slocum

Matt Slocum Presents "Trio Pacific, Vol. 1" Featuring Dayna Stephens, Steve Cardenas, and Matt Slocum

Source: Jason Byrne, Red Cat Publicity

Available October 7, 2016 on Chandra Records U.S. Tour Dates: October 18 through November 9 “Slocum served the music with a focus on dynamic micro-detail, which in turn allowed his musicians to say even more. It’s a cerebral concept, one that comes to fruition on Black Elk’s Dream… Like Wayne Shorter’s classic Blue Note albums, Black Elk’s Dream seems to ask questions, leaving the answers open to individual interpretation.”—DownBeat Magazine “Matt Slocum has emerged as one of the ...

Recording

Matt Slocum, Black Elk's Dream Available April 1, 2014 On Chandra Records Featuring Walter Smith III, Dayna Stephens, Gerald Clayton And Massimo Biolcati

Matt Slocum, Black Elk's Dream Available April 1, 2014 On Chandra Records Featuring Walter Smith III, Dayna Stephens, Gerald Clayton And Massimo Biolcati

Source: Jason Byrne, Red Cat Publicity

US Tour April 3-10, NYC record release performance: April 24 at The Kitano Black Elk's Dream, drummer/composer Matt Slocum's most adventurous and visceral recording to date, features eleven new original works as well as Pat Metheny's “Is This America?". Inspired by the visionary Native American leader Black Elk and the book Black Elk Speaks, Slocum composed and arranged the project for an innovative cast of longtime friends and creative associates including saxophonists Walter Smith III & Dayna Stephens, pianist Gerald ...

76

Recording

Pianist/Composer Matt Baker Releases New CD Titled "Underground" (Featuring Gregory Hutchinson, Joe Sanders, Jeremy Pelt and Dayna Stephens)

Pianist/Composer Matt Baker Releases New CD Titled "Underground" (Featuring Gregory Hutchinson, Joe Sanders, Jeremy Pelt and Dayna Stephens)

Source: Two for the Show Media

"This Guy Can Play" —Herbie Hancock “Baker's piano is the axis around which it all resolves, with integrity and enjoyment." —Michael Foster, Canberra Times Australian / New York Jazz Pianist and Composer, Matt Baker has traveled far with his career, performing at festivals, clubs and concert halls in Australia, Europe, USA and the Pacific. He is now proud to call New York City his home, moving there in mid 2010. In March 2011, Baker recorded this new album in New ...

108

Recording

Dayna Stephens' Debut "A Timeless Now" Available May 15, 2007

Dayna Stephens' Debut "A Timeless Now" Available May 15, 2007

Source: All About Jazz

On May 15, 2007, CTA Records will release A Timeless Now, the debut album by tenor saxophonist Dayna Stephens. He is joined by a superb group of musicians including guitarist John Scofield, pianist Taylor Eigsti, bassist Ben Street and drummer Eric Harland. With the aid of Rale Micic, who produced the album, Stephens delivers music that is vibrantly imaginative and pure.

A fluid, vigorous soloist with a warm, soulful sound, Dayna Stephens has been described as “one of the most ...

97

Event

Rising Star Dayna Stephens to Headline at San Francisco's Jazz at Pearl's

Rising Star Dayna Stephens to Headline at San Francisco's Jazz at Pearl's

Source: Rocket Words

One of the most exciting tenor sax players and composers in the Bay Area, Dayna Stephens is a fluid, vigorous soloist with a warm, soulful sound. On Wednesday night, December 27, 2006, Stephens' talents will be on display on the Jazz at Pearl's stage in San Francisco's North Beach District. Joining Stephens will be two more young stars from the Bay Area, pianist Taylor Eigsti and guitarist Julian Lage. Over the past several months, these three have played together frequently, ...

185

Music Industry

CTA Records signs saxophonist Dayna Stephens; Debut album scheduled for Spring 2007

CTA Records signs saxophonist Dayna Stephens; Debut album scheduled for Spring 2007

Source: All About Jazz

CTA Records has signed saxophonist, bassist and composer Dayna Stephens, adding another young talent to their Jazz rosters. Stephens will be entering the studio this fall to record his debut album featuring John Scofield, Rale Micic, Taylor Eigsti, Ben Street and Eric Harland.

Dayna Stephens, 28, has been described as “One of the most exciting young tenor sax players." A fluid, vigorous soloist with a warm, soulful sound, Stephens showed serious talent early on, winning many awards and scholarships with ...

Photos

Concerts

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Listen!

Sunnyside Records
2023

buy

Confluence

Fresh Sound Records
2023

buy

Standards and Then...

Self Produced
2023

buy

Valse Sinistre

Cellar Records
2022

buy

Standing by The...

ArtistShare
2022

buy

Kuno

From: The Machine Stops
By Dayna Stephens

Videos

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.