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Steve Lacy (born Steven Norman Lackritz; July 23, 1934 – June 4, 2004) 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 ...
saxophonist and composer recognized as one of the important players of
soprano saxophone The soprano saxophone is a small, high-pitched member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented in the 1840s by Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax. Built in B♭ an octave above the tenor saxophone (or rarely, slightly small ...
. Coming to prominence in the 1950s as a progressive dixieland musician, Lacy went on to a long and prolific career. He worked extensively in experimental jazz and to a lesser extent in
free improvisation Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any general rules, instead following the intuition of its performers. The term can refer to both a technique—employed by any musician in any genre—and as a recognizable genre of ...
, but Lacy's music was typically melodic and tightly-structured. Lacy also became a highly distinctive composer, with compositions often built out of little more than a single questioning phrase, repeated several times. The music of
Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk ( October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the Jazz standard, standard jazz repertoire, includ ...
became a permanent part of Lacy's repertoire after a stint in the pianist's band, with Monk's works appearing on virtually every Lacy album and concert program; Lacy often partnered with trombonist
Roswell Rudd Roswell Hopkins Rudd Jr. (November 17, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an American jazz trombonist and composer. Although skilled in a variety of genres of jazz (including Dixieland, which he performed while in college), and other genres of musi ...
in exploring Monk's work. Beyond Monk, Lacy performed the work of jazz composers such as
Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz Double bass, upright bassist, composer, bandleader, pianist, and author. A major proponent of collective Musical improvisation, improvisation, he is considered one of ...
,
Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...
and
Herbie Nichols Herbert Horatio Nichols (January 3, 1919 – April 12, 1963) was an American jazz pianist and composer who wrote the jazz standard " Lady Sings the Blues". Obscure during his lifetime, he is now highly regarded by many musicians and critics. Lif ...
; unlike many jazz musicians he rarely played standard popular or show tunes.


Early life and career

Lacy began his career at sixteen playing
Dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...
music with much older musicians such as
Henry "Red" Allen Henry James "Red" Allen Jr. (January 7, 1908 – April 17, 1967) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist whose playing has been described by Joachim-Ernst Berendt and others as the first to fully incorporate the innovations of Louis Armstr ...
,
Pee Wee Russell Charles Ellsworth "Pee Wee" Russell (March 27, 1906 – February 15, 1969) was an American jazz musician. Early in his career he played clarinet and saxophones, but he eventually focused solely on clarinet. With a highly individualistic and sp ...
, George "Pops" Foster and
Zutty Singleton Arthur James "Zutty" Singleton (May 14, 1898 – July 14, 1975) was an American jazz drummer. Career Singleton was born in Bunkie, Louisiana, United States, and raised in New Orleans. According to his ''Jazz Profiles'' biography, his unusual ...
and then with
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...
jazz players like
Buck Clayton Wilbur Dorsey "Buck" Clayton (November 12, 1911 – December 8, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter who was a member of Count Basie's orchestra. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong, first hearing the record " Confessin' that I Love You" ...
,
Dicky Wells William Wells (June 10, 1907 or 1909 – November 12, 1985), known professionally as Dicky Wells (sometimes Dickie Wells), was an American jazz trombonist. Early life Wells was born in Centerville, Tennessee. Early in his life, he lived in Cent ...
, and
Jimmy Rushing James Andrew Rushing (August 26, 1901 – June 8, 1972) was an American singer and pianist from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., best known as the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948. Rushing was known as " Mr. Five by ...
. He then became involved with the
avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
, performing on ''
Jazz Advance ''Jazz Advance'' is the debut album by pianist Cecil Taylor, recorded for the Transition label in September 1956. The album features performances by Taylor with Buell Neidlinger, Denis Charles and Steve Lacy. Music The album contains three ...
'' (1956), the debut album of
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 comple ...
, and appearing with Taylor's groundbreaking quartet at the 1957
Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...
; he also made a notable appearance on an early
Gil Evans Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian Americans, Canadian–American jazz pianist, Music arranger, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators i ...
album. His most enduring relationship, however, was with the music of
Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk ( October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the Jazz standard, standard jazz repertoire, includ ...
: he recorded the first album to feature only Monk compositions ('' Reflections'', Prestige, 1958) and briefly played in Monk's band in 1960 and later on Monk's ''
Big Band and Quartet in Concert ''Big Band and Quartet in Concert'' is a live album by American jazz musician Thelonious Monk, released in March 1964 by Columbia Records. Recorded at the Lincoln Center's Philharmonic Hall on December 30, 1963, it features a large ensemble with ...
'' album (Columbia, 1963).


Europe and sextet

Lacy's first visit to Europe came in 1965, with a visit to Copenhagen in the company of
Kenny Drew Kenneth Sidney "Kenny" Drew (August 28, 1928 – August 4, 1993) was an American-Danish jazz pianist. Biography Drew was born on August 28, 1928, in New York City, United States, and he received piano lessons from the age of five. Feather, ...
; he went to Italy and formed a quartet with Italian trumpeter
Enrico Rava Enrico Rava (born 20 August 1939), is an Italian jazz trumpeter. He started on trombone, then changed to the trumpet after hearing Miles Davis. Career He was born in Trieste, Italy. His first commercial work was as a member of Gato Barbieri's ...
and the South African musicians
Johnny Dyani Johnny Mbizo Dyani (30 November 1945 – 24 October 1986) was a South African jazz double bassist, vocalist and pianist, who, in addition to being a key member of The Blue Notes, played with such international musicians as Don Cherry, Steve L ...
and
Louis Moholo Louis Tebogo Moholo (10 March 1940 – 13 June 2025) was a South African jazz drummer. He was a member of several notable bands, including The Blue Notes, the Brotherhood of Breath and Assagai. Biography Born in Cape Town, Moholo formed The ...
(their visit to
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
is documented on '' The Forest and the Zoo'', ESP, 1967). After a brief return to New York, he returned to Italy, then in 1970 moved to Paris, where he lived until the last two years of his life. He became a widely respected figure on the European jazz scene, though he remained less well known in the U.S. The core of Lacy's activities from the 1970s to the 1990s was his sextet: his wife, singer/violinist
Irene Aebi Irene Aebi (born 27 July 1939 in Zurich, Switzerland) is a Switzerland, Swiss singer, violinist and cellist. She is noted for her work with jazz saxophonist Steve Lacy (saxophonist), Steve Lacy, her husband, from the 1960s to his death in 2004. In ...
, soprano/alto saxophonist
Steve Potts Steve Potts may refer to: *Steve Potts (jazz musician) (born 1943), American jazz saxophonist *Steve Potts (footballer) (born 1967), American-born English football coach and former professional footballer *Steve Potts (drummer), drummer with Booker ...
, pianist
Bobby Few Bobby Few (October 21, 1935 – January 6, 2021) was an American jazz pianist and vocalist. Early life Born Robert Lee Few Junior on October 21, 1935, in Cleveland, Ohio, "he was the son of Robert Senior, a maître d'hôtel at a white country ...
, bassist Jean-Jacques Avenel, and drummer Oliver Johnson (later
John Betsch John Betsch (born October 8, 1945) is an American jazz drummer. Biography Betsch was born in Jacksonville, Florida. His family belonged to the African-American upper class; his grandfather was the black millionaire Abraham Lincoln Lewis and his ...
). Sometimes this group was scaled up to a large ensemble (e.g. ''Vespers'', Soul Note, 1993, which added Ricky Ford on tenor sax and
Tom Varner Tom Varner (born June 17, 1957 in Morristown, New Jersey, Morristown, New Jersey, United States) is an American jazz French horn, horn (French horn) player and composer. Varner grew up in Millburn, New Jersey, where he started playing in the orc ...
on French horn), sometimes pared down to a quartet, trio, or even a two-saxophone duo. He played duos with pianist Eric Watson. Lacy also, beginning in the 1970s, became a specialist in solo saxophone; he ranks with
Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American retired jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, Rollins recorded over sixt ...
,
Anthony Braxton Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American experimental composer, educator, music theorist, improviser and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for playing saxophones, particularly the alto. Braxton grew up on the South Side of Chi ...
,
Evan Parker Evan Shaw Parker (born 5 April 1944) is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation. Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free ja ...
, and
Lol Coxhill George Lowen Coxhill (19 September 1932 – 10 July 2012) known professionally as Lol Coxhill, was an English free improvisation, free improvising saxophonist. He played soprano saxophone, soprano and sopranino saxophone, sopranino saxopho ...
in the development of this demanding form of improvisation. Lacy was interested in all the arts: the visual arts and poetry in particular became important sources for him. Collaborating with painters and dancers in multimedia projects, he made musical settings of his favourite writers:
Robert Creeley Robert White Creeley (May 21, 1926 – March 30, 2005) was an American poet and author of more than 60 books. He is associated with the Black Mountain poets, although his verse aesthetic diverged from that school. Creeley was close with Charle ...
,
Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish writer of novels, plays, short stories, and poems. Writing in both English and French, his literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal, and Tragicomedy, tra ...
,
Tom Raworth Thomas Moore Raworth (19 July 1938 – 8 February 2017) was an English-Irish poet, publisher, editor, and teacher who published over 40 books of poetry and prose during his life. His work has been translated and published in many countries. Rawor ...
,
Taslima Nasrin Taslima Nasrin (born 25 August 1962) is a Bangladeshi- Swedish writer, physician, feminist, secular humanist, and activist. She is known for her writings on the oppression of women and criticism of Islam; some of her books are banned in Bangl ...
,
Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works ar ...
,
Brion Gysin Brion Gysin (19 January 1916 – 13 July 1986) was a British-Canadian painter, writer, sound poet, performance artist and inventor of experimental devices. He is best known for his use of the cut-up technique, alongside his close friend, the ...
and other Beat writers, including settings for the Tao Te Ching and
haiku is a type of short form poetry that originated in Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases composed of 17 Mora (linguistics), morae (called ''On (Japanese prosody), on'' in Japanese) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern; that include a ''kire ...
poetry. As Creeley noted in the Poetry Project Newsletter, "There's no way simply to make clear how particular Steve Lacy was to poets or how much he can now teach them by fact of his own practice and example. No one was ever more generous or perceptive."


Later career

In 1992, he was the recipient of a
MacArthur Fellowship The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and colloquially called the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the MacArthur Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to typically between 20 and ...
(nicknamed the "genius grant"). He also collaborated with a wide range of musicians, from traditional jazz to the avant-garde to contemporary classical music. Outside of his regular sextet, his most regular collaborator was pianist
Mal Waldron Malcolm Earl "Mal" Waldron (August 16, 1925 – December 2, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He started playing professionally in New York in 1950, after graduating from college. In the following dozen years or so Wa ...
, with whom he recorded a number of duet albums (notably ''
Sempre Amore ''Sempre Amore'' is an album by Steve Lacy and Mal Waldron released on the Italian Soul Note label in 1987.Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...
and
Mons Mons commonly refers to: * Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium * Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone * Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain * Batt ...
. In duo he played with Fred Van Hove, Joëlle Léandre, Mikhail Bezverkhni, Irène Aebi, Frederic Rzewski, Christopher Culpo and the dancer Shiro Daimon. This recollection is published by Naked Music, Afkikker, Ghent. In Ghent he played with the classical violinist Mikhail Bezverkhni, winner of Queen Elisabeth Concours. Two of these concerts were organized by Rita De Vuyst, his last muse in Europe, to whom he dedicated his solo CD Mother Goose solo @ afkikker. This CD is published within the book, ''Bone'', a tribute to Lacy. He returned to the United States in 2002, where he began teaching at the
New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along Avenue of the Arts (Boston), the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Ha ...
in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
. One of his last public performances was in front of 25,000 people at the close of a
peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...
rally on
Boston Common The Boston Common is a public park in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest city park in the United States. Boston Common consists of of land bounded by five major Boston streets: Tremont Street, Park Street, Beacon Street, Charl ...
in March 2003, shortly before the US-led invasion of Iraq. After Lacy was diagnosed with liver cancer in August 2003, he continued playing and teaching until weeks before his death on June 4, 2004, at the age of 69.


Discography


As leader/co-leader

Compilations * ''Scratching the Seventies/Dreams'' (
Saravah Saravah is a French jazz record label founded by singer-songwriter Pierre Barouh in 1965. Saravah released the album ''50 Years'' to celebrate its anniversary in the music business. The album included Albin de la Simone, Bastien Lallemant, B ...
, 1996) * ''Associates'' (Musica Jazz, 1996) * ''
Opium Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...
'' with
Bill Dixon William Robert Dixon (October 5, 1925 – June 16, 2010) was an American composer and educator. Dixon was one of the seminal figures in free jazz and late twentieth-century contemporary music. He was also a prominent activist for artist's right ...
,
Franz Koglmann Franz Koglmann (born 22 May 1947) is an Austrian jazz composer. He performs on both the trumpet and flugelhorn in most often in avant-garde jazz and third stream. An award-winning composer, Koglmann has performed or recorded with Lee Konitz, Paul ...
(Between The Lines, 2001) – rec. 1973-76; compiles tracks from the Koglmann/Lacy album ''Flaps'' (Pipe, 1973) and the Koglmann/Dixon album '' Opium for Franz'' (Pipe, 1977) * ''The Complete Whitey Mitchell Sessions'' (Lone Hill Jazz, 2004) – rec. 1956 * ''Tao'' with Andrea Centazzo (Ictus, 2006) – rec. 1976-84 * ''Early and Late'' with Roswell Rudd (Cuneiform, 2007) – rec. 1962, 1999, 2002 * ''The Sun'' (Emanem, 2012) * ''Avignon And After Volume 1'' (Emanem, 2012) * ''Avignon And After Volume 2'' (Emanem, 2014)


With Mal Waldron

* ''
Journey Without End ''Journey Without End'' is an album by American jazz pianist Mal Waldron and soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy recorded in Paris in 1971 and released on the Japanese RCA Victor label.
'' (RCA Victor, 1971) * ''
Mal Waldron with the Steve Lacy Quintet ''Mal Waldron with the Steve Lacy Quintet'' is an album by American jazz pianist Mal Waldron and soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy released on the French America label in 1972.
'' (America, 1972) * '' Hard Talk'' (Enja, 1974) * ''
One-Upmanship Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, individ ...
'' (Enja, 1977) * '' Moods'' (Enja, 1978) * ''
Sempre Amore ''Sempre Amore'' is an album by Steve Lacy and Mal Waldron released on the Italian Soul Note label in 1987.The Super Quartet Live at Sweet Basil'' (Paddle Wheel, 1987) * '' Hot House'' (RCA Novus, 1991) – rec. 1990 * '' I Remember Thelonious'' (Nel Jazz, 1996) – rec. 1992 * '' Let's Call This... Esteem'' (Slam, 1993) – live * ''
Communiqué A press release (also known as a media release) is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing new information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public releas ...
'' (Soul Note, 1997) * ''One More Time'' (2002) * ''
Live at Dreher, Paris 1981 ''Live at Dreher, Paris 1981'' is a live album by American jazz pianist Mal Waldron and soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy recorded in Paris in 1981 and released by the Hathut label. The four-CD box set combines recordings previously released on th ...
'' (hatOLOGY, 2003) – compilation ** ''Live at Dreher, Paris 1981, Round Midnight Vol. 1'' (hat ART, 1996) ** ''Live at Dreher, Paris 1981, The Peak Vol. 2'' (hat ART, 1996) * ''Japan Dream'' (2004) * ''At the Bimhuis 1982'' (2006) * ''The Mighty Warriors Live in Antwerp'' (Elemental, 2024) – rec. 1995


As sideman

With
Area Area is the measure of a region's size on a surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an open surface or the boundary of a three-di ...
* '' Maledetti'' (Cramps, 1976) * ''
Event '76 ''Event '76'' is the seventh album of the jazz fusion band Area, and the second live album. It was recorded in Milan's Università Statale in 1976, though released in 1979. Ares Tavolazzi and Giulio Capiozzo are noticeably absent, as when this al ...
'' (Cramps, 1979) – rec. 1976 With
Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...
* ''
Miles Davis at Carnegie Hall ''Miles Davis at Carnegie Hall: The Legendary Performances of May 19, 1961'' is a live album by American jazz musician Miles Davis originally released by Columbia in 1962. In 1987, a follow up with more recordings from the concert was released ...
'' (Columbia , 1962) – rec. 1961 * '' Quiet Nights'' (Columbia , 1963) – rec. 1962–63 With
Gil Evans Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian Americans, Canadian–American jazz pianist, Music arranger, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators i ...
* ''
Gil Evans & Ten ''Gil Evans & Ten'' (also released as ''Big Stuff'' and ''Gil Evans + Ten'') is the first album by pianist, conductor, arranger and composer Gil Evans as a leader, released on the Prestige label in 1957. It features Evans' arrangements of five sta ...
'' ( Prestige, 1958) – rec. 1957 * '' Great Jazz Standards'' (World Pacific, 1959) * '' The Individualism of Gil Evans'' (Verve, 1964) – rec. 1963–64 * ''
Parabola In mathematics, a parabola is a plane curve which is Reflection symmetry, mirror-symmetrical and is approximately U-shaped. It fits several superficially different Mathematics, mathematical descriptions, which can all be proved to define exactl ...
'' (Horo, 1979) – rec. 1978 With
Giorgio Gaslini Giorgio Gaslini (; 22 October 1929 – 29 July 2014) was an Italian jazz pianist, composer and conductor. He began performing aged 13 and recorded with his jazz trio at 16. In the 1950s and 1960s, Gaslini performed with his own quartet. He was ...
* ''Nuovi Sentimenti'' (La Voce Del Padrone, 1966) * ''Il Grido: Big Band Live'' (Durium, 1968) * ''Fabbrica Occupata'' (Produttori Associati, 1974) – rec. 1973. also with
Jean-Luc Ponty Jean-Luc Ponty (born 29 September 1942) is a French jazz and jazz fusion violinist and composer. He is considered a pioneer of jazz-rock, particularly for his use of the electric violin starting in the 1970s. He rose to prominence for his colla ...
With
Globe Unity Orchestra The Globe Unity Orchestra is a free jazz ensemble. Globe Unity was formed in autumn 1966 with a commission received by Alexander von Schlippenbach from the Berlin Jazz Festival. It had its debut at the Berliner Philharmonie on 3 November combinin ...
* ''Evidence, vol.1'' (FMP, 1976) – rec. 1975 * ''Into the Valley, vol.2'' (FMP, 1976) – rec. 1975 With
Roswell Rudd Roswell Hopkins Rudd Jr. (November 17, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an American jazz trombonist and composer. Although skilled in a variety of genres of jazz (including Dixieland, which he performed while in college), and other genres of musi ...
* '' Blown Bone'' (Philips, 1979) – rec. 1976 * '' Broad Strokes'' (Knitting Factory, 2000) With Dick Sutton * ''Jazz Idiom'' (Jaguar, 1954) 0"* ''Progressive Dixieland'' (Jaguar, 1954) 0" With
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 comple ...
* ''
Jazz Advance ''Jazz Advance'' is the debut album by pianist Cecil Taylor, recorded for the Transition label in September 1956. The album features performances by Taylor with Buell Neidlinger, Denis Charles and Steve Lacy. Music The album contains three ...
'' (Transition, 1957) – rec. 1956 * '' At Newport'' (Verve, 1958) – also with
Gigi Gryce Gigi Gryce (born George General Grice Jr.; November 28, 1925 – March 17, 1983), later in life changing his name to Basheer Qusim, was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, and educator. While his performing ...
. rec 1957. With Giovanni Tommaso * ''Indefinitive Atmosphere'' (SR, 1970) – rec. 1968 * ''La Banda Del Cibo Salutare'' (RCA, 1970) With others * Tom Stewart, ''Quintet/Sextet'' (ABC-Paramount, 1956) *
Whitey Mitchell Gordon "Whitey" Mitchell (February 22, 1932 – January 16, 2009) was an American jazz bassist and television writer/producer. He was born in Hackensack, New Jersey. Life and career Mitchell was the brother of bassist Red Mitchell. He began on ...
Sextette, ''Whitey Mitchell Sextette'' (Sparton, 1956) *
Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk ( October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the Jazz standard, standard jazz repertoire, includ ...
, ''
Big Band and Quartet in Concert ''Big Band and Quartet in Concert'' is a live album by American jazz musician Thelonious Monk, released in March 1964 by Columbia Records. Recorded at the Lincoln Center's Philharmonic Hall on December 30, 1963, it features a large ensemble with ...
'' (Columbia, 1964) – rec. 1963 *
Bobby Hackett Robert Leo Hackett (January 31, 1915 – June 7, 1976) was a versatile American jazz musician who played swing music, Dixieland jazz and mood music, now called easy listening, on trumpet, cornet, and guitar. He played Swing with the bands ...
, ''Hello Louis'' (Epic, 1964) *
Kenny Burrell Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige Records, Prestige, Blue Note, Verve Records, Verve, CTI Records, CTI, Muse Records, Muse, and Concord Records, Conco ...
, '' Guitar Forms'' (Verve, 1965) – rec. 1964 * Jazz Composers Orchestra, ''
Communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...
'' (Fontana, 1965) – rec. 1964–65 *
Gary Burton Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American jazz Vibraphone, vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused ...
, '' A Genuine Tong Funeral'' (RCA, 1968) – rec. 1967 *
Alan Silva Alan Lee da Silva (born 22 January 1939, in Bermuda) is an American free jazz multi-instrumentalist, best known as a double bassist. He has recorded on keyboards, violin, cello and trumpet among other instruments. Biography Silva was born a ...
, ''
Seasons A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...
'' (BYG Actuel, 1971) – rec. 1970 *
Maria Monti Maria Monti (born 26 June 1935) is an Italian film actress and singer. Life and career Born in Milan, Monti started her career as a singer in the mid-1950s, performing in the nightclubs of her hometown, soon achieving local success.Gianfranco ...
, ''Il Bestiario'' (Rifi, 1974) *
Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He wo ...
&
Abbey Lincoln Anna Marie Wooldridge (August 6, 1930 – August 14, 2010), known professionally as Abbey Lincoln, was an American jazz vocalist and songwriter. She was a civil rights activist beginning in the 1960s. Lincoln made a career out of delivering dee ...
, ''Sounds as a Roach'' (Joker, 1977) – rec. 1968 * Derek Bailey's Company, ''Company 4'' (Incus, 1977) – rec. 1976 *
Musica Elettronica Viva Musica Elettronica Viva (MEV) is a live acoustic/electronic improvisational group formed in Rome, Italy, in 1966. Defined as "something of an irregular institution, a band that has come together intermittently through the years", Musica Elettroni ...
, ''United Patchwork'' (Horo, 1977) *
Kenny Davern John Kenneth Davern (January 7, 1935 – December 12, 2006) was an American jazz clarinetist. Biography He was born in Huntington, Long Island, to a family of mixed Jewish and Irish-Catholic ancestry. His mother's family originally came from Vi ...
, ''Unexpected'' (Kharma, 1978) * Laboratorio della Quercia, ''Laboratorio della Quercia del Tasso'' (Horo, 1978) *
Globe Unity Orchestra The Globe Unity Orchestra is a free jazz ensemble. Globe Unity was formed in autumn 1966 with a commission received by Alexander von Schlippenbach from the Berlin Jazz Festival. It had its debut at the Berliner Philharmonie on 3 November combinin ...
, ''Compositions'' (Japo, 1980) – rec. 1979 * V.A., ''Amarcord Nino Rota'' (Corbett Vs. Dempsey, 1980) * Tiziana Ghiglioni, ''Somebody Special'' (Soul Note, 1986) *
Company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...
, ''Company'', vol. 5, 6, 7 (Incus, 1991) – rec. 1977 * V.A., ''Interpretations Of Monk'' (DIW, 1994) – rec. 1981 *
Joe Puma Joe Puma (August 13, 1927 – May 31, 2000) was an American jazz guitarist. Puma was born in the Bronx, New York. His first professional experience came with Joe Roland in 1949–50. He played in the band led by Cy Coleman. He acted as a session ...
, ''Wild Kitten'' (Dawn, 1998) – 2 tracks in reissued version *
Hans Koller Antonio Hans Cyrill Koller (12 February 1921 in Vienna – 21 December 2003 in Vienna) was an Austrian jazz tenor saxophonist and bandleader. Koller attended the University of Vienna from 1936 to 1939 and served in the armed forces from 1940 to ...
, ''London Ear'' (33 Records, 2005) featuring Steve Lacy - rec. 2003


References


External links


Discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lacy, Steve 1934 births 2004 deaths MacArthur Fellows Avant-garde jazz musicians Dixieland jazz musicians American jazz soprano saxophonists American male saxophonists Jazz soprano saxophonists Deaths from cancer in Massachusetts Candid Records artists BYG Actuel artists ESP-Disk artists Novus Records artists Verve Records artists Tzadik Records artists Prestige Records artists RCA Records artists Cavity Search Records artists 20th-century American saxophonists American male jazz musicians Globe Unity Orchestra members Black Lion Records artists Improvising Artists Records artists FMP/Free Music Production artists Sunnyside Records artists 20th-century American male musicians Intakt Records artists Jewish jazz musicians Emanem Records artists Fontana Records artists Label Bleu artists Silkheart Records artists Leo Records artists Sigma Alpha Epsilon members DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame members