Steve Coleman (born September 20, 1956) is an American saxophonist, composer, bandleader and music theorist. In 2014, he was named a MacArthur Fellow.
Early life
Steve Coleman was born and grew up in South Side, Chicago. He started playing alto saxophone at the age of 14. Coleman attended Illinois Wesleyan University for two years,. followed by a transfer to Roosevelt University (
Chicago Musical College
Chicago Musical College is a division of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.
History
Founding
Dr. Florenz Ziegfeld Sr (1841–1923), founded the college in 1867 as the Chicago Academy of Music. The institution ...
).
Coleman moved to New York in 1978 and worked in big bands such as
the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra
The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra was a jazz big band formed by trumpeter Thad Jones and drummer Mel Lewis in New York in 1965.Lisik/Allen. 50 Years at the Village Vanguard:Thad Jone, Mel Lewis and the Village Vanguard Orchestra. Sky Deck ...
Sam Rivers Sam Rivers may refer to:
* Sam Rivers (jazz musician)
Samuel Carthorne Rivers (September 25, 1923 – December 26, 2011) was an American jazz musician and composer. Though most famously a tenor saxophonist, he also performed on soprano saxophone ...
' Studio Rivbea Orchestra, and briefly in
Cecil Taylor
Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet.
Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in complex ...
's big band.Steve Coleman in: Fred Jung My Conversation with Steve Coleman July, 1999, M-base.com Shortly thereafter, Coleman began working as a sideman with David Murray, Doug Hammond, Dave Holland, Michael Brecker and Abbey Lincoln. For the first four years in New York Coleman spent a good deal of time playing in the streets and in tiny clubs with a band that he put together with trumpeter Graham Haynes, the group that would evolve into the ensemble Steve Coleman and Five Elements that would serve as the main ensemble for Coleman's activities. In this group, he developed his concept of improvisation within nested
looping
Looping may refer to:
Media and entertainment
* Loop (music), a repeating section of sound material
* Audio induction loop, an aid for the hard of hearing
* a film production term for dubbing (filmmaking)
* repeating drawings in an animated cartoo ...
structures. Coleman collaborated with other young African-American musicians such as Cassandra Wilson and
Greg Osby
Greg Osby (born August 3, 1960) is an American saxophonist and composer.
Biography
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Osby studied at Howard University, then at the Berklee College of Music. He moved to New York City in 1982, where he played with J ...
Coleman regards the music tradition he is coming from as
African Diaspora
The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from native Africans or people from Africa, predominantly in the Americas. The term most commonly refers to the descendants of the West and Central Africans who were ...
n culture with essential African retentions, especially a certain kind of sensibility. He searched for these roots and their connections of contemporary African-American music. For that purpose, he travelled to
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...
at the end of 1993 and came in contact with (among others) the Dagomba (Dagbon) people whose traditional drum music uses very complex polyrhythm and a drum language that allows sophisticated speaking through music (described and recorded by John Miller Chernoff). Thus, Coleman was animated to think about the role of music and the transmission of information in non-western cultures. He wanted to collaborate with musicians who were involved in traditions which come out of West Africa. One of his main interests was the Yoruba tradition (predominantly out of western Nigeria) which is one of the Ancient African Religions underlying
Santería
Santería (), also known as Regla de Ocha, Regla Lucumí, or Lucumí, is an African diasporic religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between the traditional Yoruba religion of We ...
Candomblé
Candomblé () is an African diasporic religion that developed in Brazil during the 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between several of the traditional religions of West Africa, especially that of the Yoruba, and the Roman ...
(
Bahia, Brazil
Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest by ...
). In Cuba, Coleman found the group Afrocuba de Matanzas who specialized in preserving various styles of rumba as well as all in Cuba persisting African traditions which are mixed together under the general title of Santería ( Abakuá, Arara, Congo, Yoruba). In 1996 Coleman along with a group of 10 musicians as well as dancers and the group Afrocuba de Matanzas worked together for 12 days, performed at the Havana Jazz Festival, and recorded the album ''The Sign and the Seal''. In 1997 Coleman took a group of musicians from America and Cuba to
to collaborate and participate in musical and cultural exchanges with the musicians of the local Senegalese group Sing Sing Rhythm. He also led his group Five Elements to the south of India in 1998 to participate in a cultural exchange with different musicians in the
carnatic music
Carnatic music, known as or in the South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka. It ...
tradition.
In September 2014, Coleman was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship for "refreshing traditional templates to create distinctive and innovative work in ... jazz."
Rhythm in Mind
''Rhythm in Mind'' is an album by saxophonist Steve Coleman, recorded in 1991 and released by Novus Records.
Reception
The ''Toronto Star'' wrote that "the fluid emotional work of altoist Coleman headlines an octet gathering of post-bop conservati ...
'' (Novus, 1992) – recorded in 1991
* ''
The Tao of Mad Phat
''The Tao of Mad Phat'' (subtitled "Fringe Zones") is an album by saxophonist Steve Coleman and his band Five Elements recorded in 1993 and released on the Novus label.Functional Arrhythmias'' (Pi, 2013) – recorded in 2012
* ''Synovial Joints'' (Pi, 2015) – recorded in 2014
* '' Morphogenesis'' (Pi, 2017) – recorded in 2016
* ''Live at the Village Vanguard Vol. I (The Embedded Sets)'' (Pi, 2018) – live
* ''Live at the Village Vanguard Vol. II (MDW NTR)'' (Pi, 2021) – live
As group
M-Base
* ''Anatomy of a Groove'' (DIW, 1992) – recorded in 1991–92
As sideman
With Doug Hammond
* ''Spaces'' (Idibib, 1982) – digitally remixed and produced by Coleman (Rebel-X, 1991)
* ''Perspicuity'' (L+R, 1991)
With Dave Holland
* 1983: '' Jumpin' In'' ( ECM, 1984)
* 1984: '' Seeds of Time'' (ECM, 1985)
* 1987: ''
The Razor's Edge
''The Razor's Edge'' is a 1944 novel by W. Somerset Maugham. It tells the story of Larry Darrell, an American pilot traumatized by his experiences in World War I, who sets off in search of some transcendent meaning in his life. The story b ...
Extensions
Extension, extend or extended may refer to:
Mathematics
Logic or set theory
* Axiom of extensionality
* Extensible cardinal
* Extension (model theory)
* Extension (predicate logic), the set of tuples of values that satisfy the predicate
* Ex ...
'' (ECM, 1990)
With Thad Jones/ Mel Lewis
* ''One More Time!'' (PolJazz, 1978)
* '' Body and Soul'' (West Wind, 1990)
* ''The Orchestra'' (West Wind, 1990)
* '' A Touch of Class'' (West Wind, 1992)
With Mel Lewis
* ''Naturally'' (Telarc, 1979)
* ''Live in Montreux'' (MPS, 1981)
With Abbey Lincoln
* 1983: ''Talking to the Sun'' ( Enja, 1984)
* 1997: ''Who Used to Dance'' ( Verve, 1997)
With Errol Parker
* ''The Errol Parker Tentet'' (Sahara, 1982)
* ''Live at the Wollman Auditorium'' (Sahara, 1985)
With The Roots
* '' From the Ground Up'' (Talkin' Loud, 1994)
* '' Do You Want More?!!!??!'' ( DGC, 1995) – recorded in 1993–94
* '' Illadelph Halflife'' (DGC, 1996)
With Marvin "Smitty" Smith
* ''Keeper of the Drums'' (Concord Jazz, 1987)
* ''The Road Less Traveled'' (Concord Jazz, 1989)
With Cassandra Wilson
* '' Point of View'' ( JMT, 1986) – recorded in 1985
* ''
Days Aweigh
''Days Aweigh'' is the second studio album by American jazz singer Cassandra Wilson. It was originally released on the JMT label in 1987 and later rereleased on Winter & Winter.Shimada, T.JMT label discography accessed September 26, 2014
Recepti ...
'' (JMT, 1987)
* ''
Jumpworld
''Jumpworld'' is the fourth studio album by American jazz singer Cassandra Wilson. It was released in 1990 by JMT label.
Track listing
# "Woman on the Edge" (Cassandra Wilson) – 5:02
# "Domination Switch" (Steve Coleman, Wilson) – ...
'' (JMT, 1990)
* ''
Traveling Miles
''Traveling Miles'' is the thirteenth studio album by American jazz vocalist Cassandra Wilson. Released on the Blue Note label in 1999, it is a tribute to Miles Davis, taking many of its cues from Davis' catalog of recordings with Columbia Recor ...
Cindy Blackman
Cindy Blackman Santana (born November 18, 1959), sometimes known as Cindy Blackman, is an American jazz and rock drummer. Blackman has recorded several jazz albums as a bandleader and has performed with Pharoah Sanders, Sonny Simmons, Ron Carter ...
, '' Code Red'' (Muse, 1992) – recorded in 1990
* Bob Brookmeyer, ''Composer & Arranger'' (Gryphon, 1980)
*
Ravi Coltrane
Ravi Coltrane (born August 6, 1965) is an American jazz saxophonist. Co-owner of the record label RKM Music, he has produced pianist Luis Perdomo, guitarist David Gilmore, and trumpeter Ralph Alessi.
Biography
Ravi Coltrane is the son of sa ...
Billy Hart
Billy Hart (born November 29, 1940) is an American jazz drummer and educator. He is known internationally for his work with Herbie Hancock's "Mwandishi" band in the early 1970s, as well with Shirley Horn, Stan Getz, and Quest, among others.
Bio ...
Memorophilia
''Memorophilia'' is the debut studio album by American jazz pianist Vijay Iyer, which was recorded in 1995 and released on the Asian Improv label.
Background
The album features a solo piano piece and three different ensembles: the Vijay Iyer Trio ...
Andy Milne
Andy Milne (born January 30, 1969) is a Canadian jazz pianist, who records and performs both as a solo artist and as the leader of the ensemble Dapp Theory. He was born in Hamilton, Ontario, and raised in Kincardine and Toronto. One of ten sibl ...
Dafnis Prieto
Dafnis Prieto (born July 31, 1974) is a Cuban-American drummer, composer, bandleader, and educator.
Career
In his home town of Santa Clara, Cuba, Prieto studied percussion and guitar. During his teens, he moved to Havana to study at the Nati ...
, ''Back to the Sunset'' (Dafnison Music 2018)
*
Sam Rivers Sam Rivers may refer to:
* Sam Rivers (jazz musician)
Samuel Carthorne Rivers (September 25, 1923 – December 26, 2011) was an American jazz musician and composer. Though most famously a tenor saxophonist, he also performed on soprano saxophone ...
, ''
Colours
Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...
Culmination
In observational astronomy, culmination is the passage of a celestial object (such as the Sun, the Moon, a planet, a star, constellation or a deep-sky object) across the observer's local meridian. These events were also known as meridian tran ...
'' (BMG France, 1999)
* Michele Rosewoman, ''Quintessence'' (Enja, 1987)
* Mal Waldron, ''Soul Eyes'' (RCA Victor, 1997)