Steve Swell (born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...

, December 6, 1954) is an American

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians dur ...

trombonist, composer, and educator.

Music career

Swell studied at Jersey City State Teachers College before moving to New York City in 1975 where he began his musical life, playing in top 40 bands, salsa bands, big bands (most notably those of

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York ...

and

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charle ...

) and performed on Broadway in Bob Fosse's ''Dancin' ''. He then became a member of Makanda Ken McIntyre's band which led to tours and recordings with

Tim Berne Tim Berne (born October 16, 1954) is an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist and record label owner. His primary instruments are the alto and baritone saxophones. Biography Berne was born in Syracuse, New York, United States. He has said t ...

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, Herb Robertson,

Jemeel Moondoc Jemeel Moondoc (August 5, 1946 – August 29, 2021) was a jazz saxophonist who played alto saxophone. He was a proponent of a highly improvisational style. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and studied clarinet and piano befo ...

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, William Parker, Bill Dixon, Butch Morris,

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jazz ...

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, Elliott Sharp,

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Perry Robinson Perry Morris Robinson (September 17, 1938 – December 2, 2018) was an American jazz clarinetist and composer. He was the son of composer Earl Robinson. Early life and education Robinson was born and grew up in New York City. He attended the Le ...

Ken Vandermark Ken Vandermark (born September 22, 1964) is an American composer, saxophonist, and clarinetist. A fixture on the Chicago-area music scene since the 1990s, Vandermark has earned wide critical praise for his playing and his multilayered composi ...

. He is greatly influenced by

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 ...

, with whom he studied in the mid-1970s. He was also a student of Grachan Moncur III and Jimmy Knepper. Swell has led a number of projects, including Slammin' the Infinite (w/ Sabir Mateen, Matthew Heyner, Klaus Kugel), Fire Into Music (with William Parker, Jemeel Moondoc, Hamid Drake), Unified Theory of Sound (with Cooper-Moore,

Matt Lavelle Matt Lavelle (born 1970 in Paterson, New Jersey) is a jazz trumpet, flugelhorn, alto clarinet, and bass clarinet player. Career Lavelle began his music career with Hildred Humphries, a swing era veteran who played with Count Basie and Billie Holi ...

) and his large ensemble Nation of We (aka NOW Ensemble). Swell has received a number of awards including a USArts International (NEA) travel grant in 2006, grants from MCAF (LMCC) in 2008 & 2012,

Foundation for Contemporary Arts The Foundation for Contemporary Arts (FCA), is a nonprofit based foundation in New York City that offers financial support and recognition to contemporary performing and visual artists through awards for artistic innovation and potential. It was ...

and was nominated for Trombonist of Year, 2008, 2011 & 2020 by the

Jazz Journalists Association The Jazz Journalists Association (JJA) is an international organization of all types of media professionals who document, promulgate, or appreciate jazz. As of 2016, it has approximately 250 members, including professional journalists, students, ind ...

. He was chosen Trombonist of the Year 2008-2010, 2012 & 2014-2021 by ''El Intruso'', the Argentine jazz journal. In 2008 he received a fellowship award from The Jubilation Foundation of the Tides Foundation for his work in the New York City public school system and was selected by the ''Down Beat'' Critics Poll in the Trombone category 2010-2022. He also received the 2014 Creative Curricula grant from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Steve earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from SUNY in 2016.

Discography

As leader or co-leader

* '' Observations'' ( CIMP, 1996) - Steve Swell & Chris Kelsey Duo * '' Out and About'' (CIMP, 1996) - Steve Swell Quartet featuring Roswell Rudd w/Ken Filiano, Lou Grassi * ''

Moons of Jupiter There are 82 known moons of Jupiter, not counting a number of moonlets likely shed from the inner moons. All together, they form a satellite system which is called the Jovian system. The most massive of the moons are the four Galilean moons: ...

'' (CIMP, 1997) - Steve Swell Quartet w/Mark Whitecage, Dominic Duval, Jay Rosen * '' Atmospheels'' (CIMP, 1999) - Steve Swell Trio w/Will Connell, Lou Grassi * ''Flurries Warm and Clear'' (CIMP, 1999) - Steve Swell Trio w/Ned Rothenberg, Tomas Ulrich * ''Steve Swell presents Particle Data Group'' (

Cadence In Western musical theory, a cadence (Latin ''cadentia'', "a falling") is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards. Don Michael Randel ( ...

, 2001) * ''The Implicate Order at Seixal'' (

Clean Feed Clean may refer to: * Cleaning, the process of removing unwanted substances, such as dirt, infectious agents, and other impurities, from an object or environment * Cleanliness, the state of being clean and free from dirt Arts and media Music Al ...

, 2001) - Steve Swell, Ken Filiano, Lou Grassi + Rodrigo Amado, Paulo Curado * ''Poets of the Now'' (CIMP, 2002) * Unified Theory Of Sound: ''

This Now! ''This Now!'' is an album by American jazz trombonist Steve Swell, which was recorded live in 2001 and released on Cadence Jazz. He leads the Unified Theory of Sound, a sextet with Jemeel Moondoc on alto sax, Matt Lavelle on trumpet, Cooper-Moore o ...

'' - (Cadence Jazz, 2003) - Steve Swell, Jemeel Moondoc, Cooper-Moore, Wilber Morris, Kevin Norton, Matt LaVelle * New York BrassWood Trio: ''Still in Movement'' (CIMP, 2003) * ''Suite for Players, Listeners and Other Dreamers'' (CIMP, 2003) - Steve Swell, Roy Campbell, Charles Burnham, Will Connell, Kevin Norton, Francois Grillot * ''Invisible Cities'' (Drimala, 2004) - Steve Swell/Perry Robinson Duo * ''Not Just...'' (CIMP, 2005) - Steve Swell/Dave Taylor Quintet Billy Bang, Tomas Ulrich, Ken Filiano * ''Double Dipoid'' (CIMP, 2006) - Steve Swell/Dave Taylor Quartet w/Warren Smith, Chad Taylor * ''

Swimming in a Galaxy of Goodwill and Sorrow ''Swimming in a Galaxy of Goodwill and Sorrow'' is an album by American jazz trombonist Steve Swell which was recorded in 2006 and released on the French RogueArt label. It was the debut of Fire into Music, a quartet with Jemeel Moondoc on alto ...

'' (

RogueArt RogueArt (also written Rogueart and Rogue Art) is a French independent record label based in Paris. It was founded by record producer Michel Dorbon in 2005 and specialises in jazz and improvised music. History RogueArt was founded by record p ...

, 2007)- Steve Swell's Fire Into Music w/Jemeel Moondoc, William Parker, Hamid Drake * Rivers of Sound Ensemble: ''

News from the Mystic Auricle ''News from the Mystic Auricle'' is an album by American jazz trombonist Steve Swell, which was recorded in 2007 and released on the Polish Not Two label. He presents a new band called Rivers of Sound Ensemble, extending Slammin' the Infinite with ...

'' (Not Two, 2008) - Steve Swell, Roy Campbell, Sabir Mateen, Hilliard "Hill" Greene, Klaus Kugel * ''Magical Listening Hour'' (Cadence Jazz, 2009) - Steve Swell/ Nate Wooley/Michael Attias/Louie Belogenis * ''

Planet Dream ''Planet Dream'' is an album by American jazz trombonist Steve Swell which was recorded in 2008 and released on the Portuguese Clean Feed label. He leads a trio with Rob Brown on alto sax and Daniel Levin on cello.Silkheart, 2015) * ''Soul Travelers'' (RogueArt, 2016) * ''Music for Six Musicians: Hommage À Olivier Messiaen'' (Silkheart, 2017) with Slammin' the Infinite * ''

Slammin' the Infinite ''Slammin' the Infinite'' is an album by American jazz trombonist Steve Swell, which was recorded in 2003 and released on Cadence Jazz. He leads a quartet with Sabir Mateen on reeds and flute, Matthew Heyner on bass and Klaus Kugel on drums. Rece ...

'' (Cadence Jazz, 2004)- Steve Swell, Sabir Mateen, Matt Heyner, Klaus Kugel * '' Remember Now'' (NotTwo, 2006) - Steve Swell, Sabir Mateen, Matt Heyner, Klaus Kugel * '' Live @ the Vision Festival'' (NotTwo, 2007) - Steve Swell, Sabir Mateen, Matt Heyner, Klaus Kugel, John Blum * ''

5000 Poems ''5000 Poems'' is an album by American jazz trombonist Steve Swell, which was recorded in 2007 and released on the Polish Not Two label. It was the fourth release by Slammin' the Infinite and the second as a quintet with pianist John Blum. The titl ...

'' (NotTwo, 2010) - Steve Swell, Sabir Mateen, Matt Heyner, Klaus Kugel, John Blum with Ullmann/Swell 4 * ''Desert Songs and Other Landscapes'' (CIMP, 2004) - Barry Altschul, Hill Greene * ''News? No News!'' (Jazzwerskstatt, 2010)- Barry Altschul, Hill Greene * ''Live in Montreal'' (CIMP, 2010)- Barry Altschul, Hill Greene with Nation of We * ''Live at the Bowery Poetry Club'' (Ayler, 2006) * ''The Business of Here'' (Cadence Jazz, 2012) with Inner Ear * ''Breathing Steam'' (Kilogram, 2010) Mikolaj Trzaska, Steve Swell, Per Ake Holmlander, Tim Daisy * ''Return from the Center of the Earth'' (Bocian, 2013) - Mikolaj Trzaska, Steve Swell, Per Ake Holmlander, Tim Daisy With Marshall Allen * ''

PoZest ''PoZest'' is an album by saxophonist Marshall Allen. It was recorded at The Spirit Room in Rossie, New York on May 10 and 11, 1999, and was released in 2000 by CIMP. On the album, Allen is joined by Lou Grassi's PoBand, featuring Perry Robinson (c ...

'' (CIMP, 2000)

Collaborations

* The Trascendentalists: ''Real Time Messengers'' (CIMP, 2003) - Steve Swell, Daniel Carter, Tom Abbs, Dave Brandt * The Diplomats: ''

We Are Not Obstinate Islands ''We Are Not Obstinate Islands'' is an album by The Diplomats, a collective trio consisting of saxophonist Rob Brown, trombonist Steve Swell and drummer Harris Eisenstadt. It was recorded live in Rochester, New York in 2004 and released on the P ...

'' (Clean Feed, 2006) - Rob Brown, Harris Eisenstadt * International Trio: ''Donkere Golven'' (W.E.R.F., 2011) - Joachim Badenhorst, Steve Swell, Ziv Ravitz * Platform 1: ''Takes Off'' (Clean Feed, 2012) - Ken Vandermark, Magnus Broo, Steve Swell, Joe Williamson, Michael Vatcher * ''Dragonfly Breath'' (NotTwo, 2013) - Paul Flaherty/Weasel Walter/C Spenser Yeh/Steve Swell * ''Latecomers'' (Ictus, 2013) -

Andrea Centazzo Andrea Centazzo (born 1948) is an Italian-born American composer, percussionist, multimedia artist and record label founder. Music career Centazzo was born in Udine, Italy. In the 1970s he played percussion in avant-garde jazz with John Zorn, ...

/Giancarlo Schiaffini/Steve Swell/Anthony Coleman * ''Estuaries'' (dEN, 2013) - Andrew Raffo Dewar/Garrison Fewell/Steve Swell * ''Window and Doorway'' (Driff, 2013) - Pandelis Karayorgis/Guillermo Gregorio/Steve Swell * New Atlantis Octet: ''Unto the Sun'' (NotTwo, 2013) - Ed Ricart, Roy Campbell, Steve Swell, Aaron Martin, Jason Ajemian, Vattel Cherry, Andrew Barker, Sam Lohman * ''Turning Point'' (NoBusiness, 2014) - Dave Burrell / Steve Swell Digital Release * ''Schemata and Heuristics for Four Clarinets #1'' (Relay, 2014) - Ned Rothenberg/Guillermo Gregorio/Zara Acosta-Chen/Miguel Malla - https://web.archive.org/web/20140508042901/http://timdaisyrelayrecords.bandcamp.com/track/schemata-and-heuristics-for-clarinets-1-by-steve-swell-relay-new-composers-004 * ''Steve Swell's Nation Of We'' (Ayler, 2006) - Saxes: Rob Brown, Will Connell, Saco Yasuma, Sabir Mateen, Ras Moshe Trumpets: Roy Campbell, Lewis Barnes, Matt LaVelle Trombones: Dick Griffin, Peter Zummo, Steve Swell, Dave Taylor Piano: Chris Forbes Bass: Matthew Heyner, Todd Nicholson Drums: Jackson Krall- https://ayler-records.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-the-bowery-poetry-club

As sideman

With

* ''

Tongue in Groove ''Tongue in Groove'' is an album by drummer Joey Baron, his first as leader, which was recorded in 1991 and released on the JMT label. Reception In his review for Allmusic, Scott Yanow notes that "Some of the originals find the unusual group re ...

'' ( JMT, 1992) * ''

Crackshot ''Crackshot'' is an album by drummer Joey Baron and his group Barondown, trombonist Steve Swell and saxophonist Ellery Eskelin, which was released by the Avant Records, Avant label in 1995. Reception The AllMusic review by Al Campbell said "All c ...

'' (Avant, 1995) With

* '' Pace Yourself'' (JMT, 1991) * '' Nice View'' (JMT, 1994) With

* ''Trillium R Opera'' (Braxton House, 1997) With Rob Brown * ''

Radiant Pools ''Radiant Pools'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Rob Brown which was recorded in 2004 and released on the French RogueArt label. He leads a quartet with Steve Swell on trombone, Joe Morris on double bass instead of guitar and Luther G ...

'' (RogueArt, 2005) With

Jaki Byard John Arthur "Jaki" Byard (; June 15, 1922 – February 11, 1999) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and arranger. Mainly a pianist, he also played tenor and alto saxophones, among several other instruments. He was known for hi ...

and the Apollo Stompers * '' Phantasies'' (Soul Note, 1984) With Bill Dixon * '' 17 Musicians in Search of a Sound: Darfur'' ( AUM Fidelity, 2007) With

* ''

Spirit House A spirit house is a shrine to the protective spirit of a place that is found in the Southeast Asian countries of Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. The spirit house is normally in the form of sma ...

'' ( Eremite, 2001) * '' Live at the Vision Festival'' (Ayler, 2003) * ''

The Zookeeper's House ''The Zookeeper's House'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc, which was recorded in 2013 and released on Relative Pitch Records. It was his first album leading a full band in over a decade. Music Moondoc plays the ballad "For ...

'' ( Relative Pitch, 2014) With William Parker * ''Flowers Grow in My Room'' (Centering, 1994) * ''

Sunrise in the Tone World ''Sunrise in the Tone World'' is an album by American jazz double bassist William Parker, which was recorded live in 1995 and released on the AUM Fidelity label. This is the second recording by William Parker & The Little Huey Creative Music Orc ...

'' (AUM Fidelity, 1995) * ''

Mayor of Punkville ''Mayor of Punkville'' is a double live album by American jazz bassist William Parker and his Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra, which was recorded at Tonic in New York City in 1999 and released on the AUM Fidelity label. Reception In her r ...

'' (AUM Fidelity, 1999) * '' Raincoat in the River'' (Eremite, 2001) * ''

Spontaneous Spontaneous may refer to: * Spontaneous abortion * Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis * Spontaneous combustion * Spontaneous declaration * Spontaneous emission * Spontaneous fission * Spontaneous generation * Spontaneous human combustion * Spontan ...

'' (Splasc(H), 2002) * '' For Percy Heath'' (Victo, 2005) * '' Essence of Ellington'' (Centering, 2012) With

* '' Broad Strokes'' (Knitting Factory, 2000) With Alan Silva * '' Alan Silva & the Sound Visions Orchestra'' (Eremite, 2001) * '' H.Con.Res.57/Treasure Box'' (Eremite, 2003) With

* ''All the Notes'' (DVD) Cecil Taylor and Orchestra Humane - Chris Felver Films (2005) With

* ''Resonance Ensemble: Head Above Water'' * ''Resonance Ensemble: What Country Is This?'' * ''Resonance Ensemble: Kafka in Flight'' * ''Resonance Ensemble: Live in Krakow'' * ''Resonance Ensemble: Live in the Ukraine'' With

Tom Varner Tom Varner (born June 17, 1957 in Morristown, New Jersey, United States) is an American jazz horn (French horn) player and composer. Varner grew up in Millburn, New Jersey, and studied piano in his youth with Capitola Dickerson of Summit, ...

* ''

The Mystery of Compassion ''The Mystery of Compassion'' is an album by American jazz French horn player and composer Tom Varner recorded in 1992 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.

'' (Soul Note, 1992)

References

External links

Official website

Steve Swell
@

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swell, Steve Avant-garde jazz musicians American jazz trombonists Male trombonists Musicians from Newark, New Jersey 1954 births Living people 21st-century trombonists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians RogueArt artists NoBusiness Records artists