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Rick Stepton
Rick Stepton: The Placebone Effect
by Nicholas F. Mondello
On an August day and in midst and darkness of a global pandemic, five New England jazz musicians under the leadership of trombonist Rick Stepton entered a Massachusetts studio and let it all fly. The result? The Placebone Effect, a fine collection of workhorse standards along with a Stepton original, performed with verve, style, taste and sly good humor. Stepton has long been a recognized figure in the jazz world both as a fine, swinging trombone player ...
read moreTranscendent Trombone - Jazz Survivor: The Rick Stepton Story
by Nicholas F. Mondello
Transcendent Trombone Frank McGowan Self Published 2017 “Jazz Luck"--a phrase I pull out of the hat every so often that aptly describes those oddball and, in some cases, unfortunate events which practitioners of the art encounter in the business. It's a more apropos term that the commonly-used “Stuff Happens," because in more cases than not a jazz musician's journey can be fraught with the truly unexplainable, the oddball, and the weirdly aleatoric. I've occasionally ...
read moreRick Stepton: Off-The-Cuff Trombone
by Nicholas F. Mondello
There's a fascinating--almost stunning--moment mid-way through Off-the-Cuff Trombone wherein the late Buddy Rich is accompanying and intently observing trombonist Rick Stepton as Stepton solos with great intensity and zeal. Perceptive eyes can see that Rich, the toughest of tough customers, is visibly and physically moved at what he's heard. It's a not-so-subtle acknowledgement of the utmost respect of one musician to another. It is also one of the many intriguing moments in this videographic re-telling of Stepton's marvelous career in ...
read moreBuddy Rich: Birdland
by Glenn Astarita
There's usually a reason why previously unreleased material was never initially offered for consumer consumption, whether it's due to subpar sound quality, less than adequate material or blasé musicians' outtakes and so on. However, these tracks by the Buddy Rich Killer Force band were recorded at various venues through the years when saxophonist Alan Gauvin--who also penned the album notes --was in the band and recorded these performances for posterity and not initially intended to be sold. Gauvin doesn't recall ...
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Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson
