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Steve Wood

Steve Wood started his professional training at Oakland University where he studied with Marvin "Doc" Holladay and Sam Sanders. He also studied with legendary trumpeter, Marcus Belgrave in his Jazz Development Workshop. In 1990 Steve won a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship to study with jazz great, George Coleman. In his professional career Steve has performed with many of the world's finest jazz musicians. He has released two CD's as a leader, "Unanswerable Questions" on Alembic records in 1993 and "Deep Woods" on Corridor Records in 2000. A quintet co-led with tenor saxophonist Carl Cafagna released the CD "Detroit Tenors" on the Detroit Music Factory label in 2019. As a sideman, he has appeared on recordings with Don Mayberry, Ron English, Bill Heid, the Toledo Jazz Orchestra, Paul Keller, Scott Gwinnell, and others. He has toured Europe twice with the Paul Keller Orchestra, and maintains an active performance schedule at jazz clubs, concerts, and festival throughout Michigan and Ohio. Steve is currently teaching at the Cranbrook Academy in Bloomfield Hills MI and at Michigan State University Community Music School in Detroit.

Tags

28
Album Review

Sven Anderson: Doc's Holiday

Read "Doc's Holiday" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Teachers are often unaware of the impact they have on students' lives and careers. That is clearly the case with pianist Sven Anderson's album, Doc's Holiday, whose title number is dedicated to Marvin (Doc) Holladay, one of Anderson's teachers many years ago at Michigan's Oakland University. Holladay, who has been on “holiday" in Ecuador with his wife, Diane, since 2006, says that not only was he completely unaware of the dedication, at age ninety-three he was unable to recall Anderson ...

2
Album Review

Stéphane Spira, Giovanni Mirabassi: Improkofiev

Read "Improkofiev" reviewed by Thomas Fletcher


Dwelling on previous influences and past concepts to construct a fresh approach to an idea is a common approach in jazz. The title of this album indicates a pathway into the art of giving classical repertoire some jazz characteristics. Introduced to Prokofiev around 2005 by a Turkish jazz presenter and radio host, Stéphane Spira was fascinated by the Russian composer's dense and rich harmonies. “As soon as I heard the Violin Concerto," says Spira, “I was struck by ...

5
Album Review

Spirabassi: Improkofiev

Read "Improkofiev" reviewed by Jack Bowers


There haven't been many jazz quartets whose front line consists solely of a soprano saxophone (Wayne Shorter's is the only one that springs readily to mind). The cleverly named Spirabassi pairs French-born soprano saxophonist Stephane Spira with Italian-bred pianist Giovanni Mirabassi in a group whose other members are bassist Steve Wood and a second Frenchman, drummer Donald Kontomanou, with Yoann Loustalot's radiant flugelhorn added on Part 1 of the album's centerpiece, the “Improkofiev Suite." Spirabassi is also the name of ...

12
Album Review

Stephane Spira: Improkofiev

Read "Improkofiev" reviewed by Edward Blanco


French soprano saxophonist Stephane Spira and Italian-born pianist Giovanni Mirabassi recorded their first album together back in 2009. Improkofiev is the pair's first collaboration since then. After a ten-year period spent in New York, where he developed a flourishing musical career, Spira returned to France and continued his jazz career, reuniting with friend Mirabassi. This album is the duo's attempt to recapture their shared past and a provide little reinvention in both their lives and music. The co-leaders ...

250
Album Review

Brad Felt Nu Quartet Plus: First Call

Read "First Call" reviewed by John Barron


Veteran Detroit jazz musician Brad Felt has been championing the role of the euphonium and tuba as front-line instruments for over thirty years. Felt has an extensive sideman résumé, having performed with notable artists such as Roy Brooks, Martha Reeves and Howard Johnson's Gravity. First Call is an introduction to Felt's progressive jazz ensemble Nu Quartet Plus, featuring saxophonist and longtime musical associate Steve Wood.

Felt composes with an intriguing playfulness, building on rhythmic motifs and cleverly engaging euphonium and ...

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"You are a great musician, teacher, and friend! Thank you so much for all the wisdom and knowledge you have shared with me over the years." —James Hughes, former student and professional musician

"I hope you know how much I appreciated the time we spent together in assessing & upgrading my musical abilities. Without a doubt your personality & ability to communicate put you among the elite teachers." —Dennis Furman, former student and financial planner

"Steve is a consummate musician. His knowledge of the history of the art form, the dramatis personae and the repertoire is formidable

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Primary Instrument

Saxophone, tenor

Location

Detroit

Willing to teach

Intermediate to advanced

Credentials/Background

EDUCATION Steve has studied music at Oakland University and at the University of Michigan where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1975. At Oakland, he was a student in one of the country’s first jazz education programs which was directed by jazz great Marvin “Doc” Holiday. In addition to his university training, Steve studied with world famous trumpeter Marcus Belgrave and performed in his Jazz Development Workshop

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Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Doc's Holiday

Self Produced
2022

buy

Improkofiev

Self Produced
2020

buy

First Call

Launch Control
2010

buy

Improkofiev

From: Improkofiev
By Steve Wood

Videos

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guitar, electric

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