Mark Stryker über Steve Grossman:
One That Got Away: Steve Grossman, 1951-2020
(by Mark Stryker)I was saddened to learn that tenor and soprano saxophonist Steve Grossman died last week at 69. Yet I also confess to thinking that, given the broad outlines of his peripatetic life and issues with substance abuse, it was also an honest victory that he almost made it to 70.
Grossman was one of the most remarkable prodigies in jazz history. Lee Morgan is an apt comparison for a horn player who also had a personalized sound and command of the musical language of his day while still a teenager. Born in Brooklyn, Grossman started on alto at 8. Under the tutelage of his older brother, Hal, who played trumpet, Steve shot out of the blocks like a jackrabbit. At 10, he was transcribing Charlie Parker solos. At 16, he was fluent in Coltrane’s language, from “Giant Steps” though “Impressions” and “Afro-Blue.” At 17, he was studying at Juilliard with Joe Allard, a guru of the mechanics of the saxophone sound (who also taught Dave Liebman, Michael Brecker, and Bob Berg). At 18, Grossman recorded on soprano with Miles Davis at the Big Fun sessions in November 1969. He turned 19 in January 1970 and was back in the studio with Miles in February, March, and April. Grossman recorded A Tribute to Jack Johnson with Miles on April 7 and made his debut in the trumpeter’s working band, replacing Wayne Shorter, at the Fillmore West in San Francisco from April 9-12.
Grossman was baptized in Bird and Trane but came of age at the dawn of fusion. Like many of his peers, he was comfortable in multiple sound worlds, from the swinging post-bop he played with Elvin Jones on Live at the Lighthouse, to the progressive jazz-rock of his own records like Terra Firma and the similarly eclectic spirit that animates his work with the underrated co-operative Stone Alliance with bassist Gene Perla and drummer-percussionist Don Alias.
Weiterlesen:
https://ethaniverson.com/one-that-got-away-steve-grossman-1951-2020-by-mark-stryker/
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"Don't play what the public want. You play what you want and let the public pick up on what you doin' -- even if it take them fifteen, twenty years." (Thelonious Monk) | Meine Sendungen auf Radio StoneFM: gypsy goes jazz, #151: Neuheiten aus dem Archiv – 09.04., 22:00 | Slow Drive to South Africa, #8: tba | No Problem Saloon, #30: tba