Jazz Articles about Chip Stephens

Chip Stephens Trio: Chip Stephens Trio: Relevancy

by Carlo Wolff
October 29, 2013

Chip Stephens is an impeccable technician, a clever, even daring composer, and a restless explorer of melody. Adept at swing and complexity, he unfurls piano lines with a restless authority that marries brawn to delicacy in this collection of originals and transmogrified standards. Bracketed by a brisk, darting take on Carla Bley's angular “Syndrome" and a breakneck rendition of Bill Evans' “34 Skidoo," Stephens' second Capri CD never flags. It traverses the blues ("Somewhere Before the End"), swing ...

Chip Stephens Trio: Relevancy

by Dan Bilawsky
July 14, 2013

Pianist Chip Stephens' self-penned liner notes to Relevancy are both reflective and pragmatic, dissecting life, touching on the bond between parents and their children, and sussing out the meaning of relevancy in several contexts. This writing reveals a rare balance between the down-to-earth everyman's insight and the profound, so it should come as no surprise then that his playing possesses that same even-handedness. Stephens' second album for the Capri label, Relevancy is a trio album worth treasuring. ...

The Chip Stephens Trio: Holding On To What Counts

by Jerry D'Souza
October 14, 2007

Pianist Chip Stephens shows his fine sense of melody and improvisation on this recording that strikes the right balance between original material and standards. They work well within the trio format, particularly with Ken Walker (bass) and Todd Reid (drums) providing solid support.

Stephens is colorful in his improvisations and gives harmony and dynamics a firm voice. This helps him navigate tunes from pianist Thelonious Monk and trumpeter Horace Silver with the same facility performed in his own ...

Chip Stephens: Holding on to What Counts

by AAJ Italy Staff
October 9, 2007

Ancora la classica formula del trio con contrabbasso e batteria da parte di un pianista che, oltre a frequentare club e festival, insegna alla Illinois University. Un artista esperto quindi, Chip Stephens, che ha lavorato ed inciso con molti nomi importanti del mainstream odierno e che anche su questo disco si allinea lungo la strada maestra. Da un disco del genere è chiaro che non ci si aspettano innovazioni importanti, però tutto quello che un pianista moderno dovrebbe sapere fare ...