Jeremy Steig (September 23, 1942 – April 13, 2016)Peter Keepnews, "Jeremy Steig, Flutist Who Bridged Jazz and Rock, Dies at 73"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', June 2, 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2016 was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

flutist.

Biography

Steig was born in Manhattan, the son of Jewish '' New Yorker'' cartoonist

William Steig William Steig ( ; November 14, 1907 – October 3, 2003) was an American cartoonist, illustrator and writer of children's books, best known for the picture book ''Shrek!'', which inspired the Shrek (franchise), film series of the same name, as we ...

and Elizabeth (Mead) Steig, head of the fine arts department at Lesley College. Steig was a maternal nephew of

Margaret Mead Margaret Mead (December 16, 1901 – November 15, 1978) was an American cultural anthropologist, author and speaker, who appeared frequently in the mass media during the 1960s and the 1970s. She earned her bachelor's degree at Barnard Col ...

and

Leo Rosten Leo Calvin Rosten (Yiddish: ; April 11, 1908 – February 19, 1997) was an American writer and humorist in the fields of scriptwriting, storywriting, journalism, and Yiddish lexicography. Early life Rosten was born into a Yiddish-speaking famil ...

, and was also the cousin of Mary Catherine Bateson. Steig began flute studies from age 11. He was taught by Page Brooks of the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

. By the age of 15, he was playing jazz professionally in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

coffee houses. He came to the attention of music producer and critic John Henry Hammond, a Greenwich resident who would go on to produce Steig`s debut album, Flute Fever (Steig consequently created the album`s cover art). In 1962, Steig was involved in a motorcycle accident which left his face paralyzed with loss of hearing in one ear. Despite an operation, the right side of his face was still partially paralyzed leaving him unable to play flute. He took up drawing and contemplated becoming a muralist where he could make a steady living. According to Steig, he took one "tortured" week to decide whether to be musician again. Upon deciding to become a musician full-time, he crafted a "blinder-like" mouthpiece which he inserted into his mouth to blow air. He relied on this device in order to play flute. Steig also composed the music for animated film adaptations of his father's books for Weston Woods, including '' The Amazing Bone'', '' Brave Irene'' and ''

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble ''Sylvester and the Magic Pebble'' is a children's book, children's picture book written and illustrated by William Steig, and published in 1969. It won the Caldecott Medal in 1970. Plot Sylvester Duncan, a young donkey from the fictional commu ...

''. His song "Howlin' For Judy", from his 1970 album ''Legwork'', was sampled in the

Beastie Boys The Beastie Boys were an American Hip-hop, hip hop and Rap rock, rap rock group formed in New York City in 1979. They were composed of Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Mike D, ...

' 1994 single " Sure Shot", providing the main instrumental part of the song. Steig performed the role of "The Pied Piper", exclusively on flute, in the film '' Shrek Forever After'', based on the character created by his father. He lived in Japan with his wife Asako. He died in

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

from cancer on April 13, 2016. Four years after his death, Byroad Press published his memoir, ''Get Me Out of Here'',Byroad Press, Yokohama, April 1, 2020 fulfilling his final wish. The book is illustrated with Jeremy's ink drawings and, at his request, contains three final chapters and an epilogue by Asako.

Discography

As leader

* 1963: '' Flute Fever'' ( Columbia) Quartet with Denny Zeitlin * 1968: '' Jeremy & The Satyrs'' (

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any re ...

) * 1969: '' What’s New'' ( Verve) with

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, block chords, innovative chord voicings, a ...

Trio * 1969: '' This Is Jeremy Steig'' ( Solid State) * 1970: '' Legwork'' (Solid State) * 1970: '' Wayfaring Stranger'' (Blue Note) * 1970: ''

Energy Energy () is the physical quantity, quantitative physical property, property that is transferred to a physical body, body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of Work (thermodynamics), work and in the form of heat and l ...

'' ( Capitol) * 1971: ''An Open Heart - Warriors Of The Rainbow'' (Akashic Records) with Fantazzi & Friends; a limited edition-private pressing release. * 1974: '' Monium'' (Columbia) with Eddie Gómez * 1975: '' Temple of Birth'' (Columbia) with Richard Beirach and Johnny Winter * 1976: '' Leaving'' (Trio apanRecords; reissued on Storyville in 1988) with Richard Beirach * 1976: '' Outlaws'' ive( Enja) with Eddie Gómez * 1977: ''

Firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...

'' ( CTI) * 1978: '' Lend Me Your Ears'' (Creative Music Productions/CMP) with Eddie Gómez and

Joe Chambers Joe Chambers (born June 25, 1942) is an American jazz drummer, pianist, vibraphonist and composer. In the 1960s and 1970s, Chambers gigged with many high-profile artists such as Eric Dolphy, Charles Mingus, Wayne Shorter, and Chick Corea an ...

* 1979: '' Music for Flute & Double-Bass'' (CMP) with Eddie Gómez * 1980: ''

Rain Forest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

'' (CMP) with Eddie Gómez * 1992: '' Jigsaw'' (Triloka) * 2002: '' What's New at F'' (Tokuma apanRecords) with Eddie Gómez Quartet * 2003: ''Jam'' (Steig-Gomez Records) with Eddie Gómez * 2004: ''Improvised'' (Moonbeams Records) * 2005: ''Flute On The Edge'' (Steig Music Company) * 2007: ''Pterodactyl'' (Steig Music Company) * 2021: ''Liberty'' (Steig Music Company)

Compilations and other appearances

* 1969: ''Jazz Wave, Ltd. - On Tour'' ive( Blue Note) 2LP set; various artists * 1971: ''Portrait'' (

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

) 2LP compilation of the albums: ''This Is Jeremy Steig'', ''Legwork'' and ''Wayfaring Stranger''. * 1972: '' Fusion'' ( Groove Merchant) 2LP set; reissue of ''Energy'', with a second album (=7 tracks) of previously unreleased material. * 1973: ''Mama Kuku'' ive( MPS/BASF Records) with Association P.C. * 1974: ''Flute Summit - Jamming At Donaueschingen Music Festival'' (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

) with James Moody, Sahib Shihab, Chris Hinze * 2008: ''Howlin' For Judy'' (Blue Note's "Rare Grooves" series) CD compilation of the albums: ''Legwork'' and ''Wayfaring Stranger''.

As sideman

With Walter Bishop, Jr. Trio *'' Illumination'' (Denon apanRecords, 1977) With Tommy Bolin *''From The Archives - Vol. 1'' (Rhino Records, 1996) a collection of "grade-A" previously unreleased "rock-jazz-fusion" material. *''From The Archives - Volume 2'' (Zebra Records, 1998) another collection of previously unreleased material; even better than the first volume. With

Hank Crawford Bennie Ross "Hank" Crawford, Jr. (December 21, 1934 – January 29, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist, pianist, arranger and songwriter whose genres ranged from R&B, hard bop, jazz-funk, and soul jazz. Crawford was musical director for ...

*'' Hank Crawford's Back'' (Kudu, 1976) *'' Tico Rico'' (Kudu/CTI, 1977) With

Art Farmer Arthur Stewart Farmer (August 21, 1928 – October 4, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet–flugelhorn combination especially designed for him. He and his identical twin brother, doub ...

*'' Crawl Space'' (CTI, 1977) With Urbie Green *'' The Fox'' (CTI, 1976) With Mike Mainieri *'' Journey Thru an Electric Tube'' (Solid State, 1968) With

Idris Muhammad Idris Muhammad (; born Leo Morris; November 13, 1939 – July 29, 2014) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He had an extensive career performing jazz, funk, Rhythm and blues, R&B, and Soul music, soul music and recorded with musicians s ...

*'' Turn This Mutha Out'' (Kudu/CTI, 1977) *''Boogie To The Top'' (Kudu/CTI, 1978) With

Lalo Schifrin Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger, and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film and TV scores since the 1950s, incorporating jazz and Music of Latin America, Lati ...

*'' Towering Toccata'' (CTI, 1976) With Peter Walker *''Rainy Day Raga'' (Vanguard, 1966) With Johnny Winter *'' Still Alive and Well'' (Columbia, 1973) *'' Saints & Sinners'' (Columbia, 1974) note: Jeremy plays on "Dirty", a previously unreleased instrumental track recorded for but left-off the original album release; it is included on the CD reissue. With

Paul Winter Paul Winter (born August 31, 1939) is an American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. He is a pioneer of world music and earth music, which interweaves the voices of the wild with instrumental voices from classical, jazz and world music. The ...

Sextet *''Jazz Meets The Folk Song'' (Columbia, 1964) With Montreal *''A Summer's Night'' (Stormy Forest, 1970)

References

External links

Tribute page to Jeremy Steig on his official web site Celeste Sutherland
"Jeremy Steig", ''All About Jazz'', April 17, 2004 *
Discogs entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steig, Jeremy 1942 births 2016 deaths Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Jazz fusion musicians American jazz flautists Blue Note Records artists Jazz musicians from New York City Plastic Ono Band members Columbia Records artists Solid State Records artists CTI Records artists Capitol Records artists Reprise Records artists