Steve KUHN – Love Walked In 1998

Steve KUHN – Love Walked In 1998

Jazz

Pianist Steve Kuhn has played a wide variety of music throughout his career, including his own intriguing originals and collaborations with Sheila Jordan. This set, a straight-ahead swinger with bassist Buster Williams and drummer Bill Stewart, should greatly satisfy bop-oriented jazz fans, for it finds Kuhn coming up with consistently fresh ideas in a conventional but far from exhausted setting. Whether digging into Duke Jordan's "No Problem," "Love Walked In," a passionate version of "Autumn Leaves," or even "Sunny," Kuhn is heard throughout at the top of his game. The presence of Williams and Stewart in supporting but stimulating roles clearly inspired Steve Kuhn, making this an easily recommended date.
By Scott Yanow, All Music Guide.
**
Steve Kuhn- Piano
Buster Williams- Bass
Bill Stewart- Drums
**
01. No Problem (Jordan) 7:35
02. Land of the Living Dead (Gafa) 7:04
03. Sunny (Hebb) 6:14
04. Love Walked In (Gershwin, Gershwin) 6:15
05. Saharan (Kuhn) 5:21
06. Prelude to a Kiss (Ellington) 6:26
07. All Alone (Berlin) 5:27
08. Autumn Leaves (Kosma, Mercer, Prevert) 5:17
09. Lines (Storaas) 5:51
10. You’ve Changed (Porter) 7:36
**

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Steve KUHN - Quiéreme Mucho 2000

Steve KUHN - Quiéreme Mucho 2000

Jazz

Somebody might want to tell the model on the cover that nude sunbathing on a field of rocks can be tricky business  yet you'll hear none of that pain in the music of Steve Kuhn inside the cover, as the date's a perfect illustration of his lyrical genius on the piano! Many tunes have Latin roots, and Kuhn plays them with a subtle sense of drama -- none of the overblown emotion you might usually find associated with renditions of the cuts, and instead a soulful swing that's a bit different than some of his other records, but which definitely ranks right up with them in terms of greatness. David Finck is on bass and Al Foster is on drums and titles include "Duerme", "Quierme Mucho", "Tres Palabras", "Besame Mucho", and "Andalucia".
**
Steve Kuhn- Piano
David Finck- Bass
Al Foster- Drums
**
01. Andalucia (8:01)
02. Besame Mucho (8:06)
03. Siempre En Mi Corazón (6:48)
04. Duerme (5:41)
05. Quiéreme Mucho (4:55)
06. Tres Palabras (9:48)
**

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Steve KUHN Trio - Pavane for a Dead Princess 2006

Steve KUHN Trio - Pavane for a Dead Princess 2006
Label: Tokuma
Audio CD (January 13, 2008)

Jazz         

Anything that pianist Steve Kuhn does is likely to be beautifully executed and tasteful, and Pavane for a Dead Princess is no exception. Here, he and his empathic collaborators David Finck (bass) and Billy Drummond (drums) address themselves to the stock classical repertoire, jazzing up eleven popular pieces from Debussy, Rachmaninov, Tchaikowsky, Grieg, Brahms and Chopin. (There are actually two "Pavane"s—the title track, by Ravel, and Faure's version.)
The result is nothing less than terrific. These are not classical melodies sitting stiffly on a jazz beat; instead, the trio digs deep into the structure of these well-worn compositions and thoroughly explores and expands them. Who knew "Swan Lake" or "Fantasy Impromptu" could swing like that? Or that Brahms's treacly "Lullaby" would make such a moving ballad?
Listeners familiar with this music in its original form will get the biggest kick out of this release, and those who've been intimate with Chopin's piano scores will especially appreciate the brilliance of Kuhn's improvisations. But any listener can enjoy what happens to strong, beautiful melodies in expert hands like these.
The recording is clear and warm, the pacing ideal. The musicians are in peak form, sounding positively inspired, and they swing like mad. What a delight!
By Dr. Judith Schlesinger. AAJ.
**
Pianist Steve Kuhn, accompanied by David Finck and Billy Drummond, explore classical works by a number of top composers from the 19th and 20th centuries on this Japanese release, though they are used as a launching pad for improvisation. Maurice Ravel's "Pavane for a Dead Princess" is recast as a soft samba, also incorporating a bit of an earlier standard that was derived from the French Impressionist's piece, "The Lamp Is Low." Chopin is obviously one of Kuhn's favorite classical composers, as three of his features, highlighted by a dreamy setting of "Nocturne in E Flat Major, Op. 9, No. 2." He brightens the tempo of Claude Debussy's "Reverie" while retaining its lyricism, while slowing Johannes Brahms' "Lullaby" to a crawl and demonstrating how a master jazz pianist utilizes space as an element of improvisation. Classical purists are always upset with jazz arrangements of "their" music, but anyone who loves both musical worlds will appreciate Steve Kuhn's thoughtful arrangements of music that has easily stood the test of time.
By Ken Dryden, All Music Guide.
**
Steve Kuhn- Piano
David Finck- Bass
Billy Drummond- Drums
**
01. I'm Always Chasing Rainbows (7:26)
02. Pavane for a Dead Princess (6:30)
03. Moon Love - Symphony #5 2nd Movement (6:53)
04. One Read Rose Forever - Ich Liebe Dich (5:36)
05. Swan Lake (6:13)
06. Nocturne in Eb Major Op9, No2 (6:42)
07. Reverie (8:13)
08. Prelude in E Minor Op28 No4 (5:47)
09. Full Moon and Empty Arms - Piano Concerto #2 3rd movement (6:55)
10. Pavane (6:36)
11. Lullaby (3:37)
**
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Steve KUHN Trio - Three Waves 1966

Steve KUHN Trio - Three Waves 1966
Label: Fresh Sounds Spain
Audio CD: (November 16, 2004)

Jazz

Steve Kuhn has had an interesting career. A talented jazz pianist, he has worked in many types of settings through the years. He began classical piano lessons when he was five, studied with Madame Chaloff, and accompanied her son, baritonist Serge Chaloff, on some gigs when the pianist was 14. He freelanced in Boston as a teenager, graduated from Harvard, and moved to New York where he worked with Kenny Dorham's group (1959-1960). Kuhn was the original pianist in John Coltrane's Quartet, playing for two months before McCoy Tyner succeeded him. He was with the bands of Stan Getz (1961-1963) and Art Farmer (1964-1966), lived in Europe (1967-1970), and then returned to the U.S. in 1971. Kuhn doubled on electric piano in the 1970s, recorded for ECM, and co-led a group with Sheila Jordan in the latter part of the decade. After a period playing commercial music, he formed an acoustic trio in the mid-'80s, which has been his main vehicle ever since. Steve Kuhn has recorded as a leader for Impulse (1966), Contact, MPS, BYG, Muse, ECM, Blackhawk, New World, Owl, Concord, and Postcards.
By Scott Yanow, All Music Guide.
**
Five Stars are NOT enough!! SIX "JAW-DROPPING" Stars for one of Jazz' Great Trios in a Tour De Force performance. In Jazz' tumultuous and critical 1960s, this trio surfaced with this recording to issue a shot across the bow of Jazz music from the small 'Contact' jazz label. I'm sure many jazz fans who didn't 'direct order' this record from a store or by mail, completely missed it. I got mine by mail order. Now's your chance to hear it again. Don't miss it !!

Avant-garde pianist Steve Kuhn, whom I had not heard before the performance, delivered a knock-out performance on this CD that continues to amaze to this very day. Now we know what Coltrane heard that made him hire Kuhn as his first pianist. Kuhn was "avant-garde" in that he was using some advanced chords, clusters, modes and interior solo time, (but he was NOT a part of the extensive 1960's "New Thing") which are fully on display here. This music is completely accessible, but some of it is challenging stuff. Steve Swallow was one of the 'young lion' bassists (with the likes of Scottie LaFaro, Gary Peacock, Charlie Haden, and Chuck Israels) and Pete La Roca was a "drummer's drummer" associated with so many great Blue Note studio and live sessions, like "Night of the Cookers".

The CD actually builds in intensity and release as the tracks mount up. Carla Bley's ballad "Ida Lupino" quietly begins with Kuhn speaking the first and only lyric of this song "Is it not in season?" before elegantly stating the beautiful theme and thematically re-constructing it. Then comes the mellow ballad "Ah Moore" before the first uptempo sizzler "Today I Am A Man". A return to the ballad mode with "Memory" and one crystaline and swinging bossa: "Why Did I Choose You?" that shows off Kuhn's improvisational cunning and his ability to elevate a performance in mid-flight. But they're just setting the stage for...the title track....

"Three Waves" is a great descriptive title. Kuhn is calling down the huge amounts of musical thunder and lightning as Swallow's humming bass is like a hurricane gale, and La Roca lashes his drums like torrential rain, as the musical waves crash on the shore and the next set of waves ramps up the music's intensity. It 's hard to imagine where Kuhn and Co got the strength for that last charging crescendo, after the great bass and drum solos. It's almost exhausting exhilaration for the listener. A "Tour De Force", if there ever was one. Then there is one of the greatest renditions of "Never Let Me Go" you'll ever hear, completely disguised, tantalizing until they are ready to reveal it.

"Bits and Pieces", with beautiful chunks and fragments of music flying by the listener, returns to the intensity level of the previous sizzlers; and the short but tumultous "Kodpiece" (literally 'Coda' Piece) caps these great performances. Wonderfully exhilarating! Six HUGE Stars for a great performance by these stupendous musicians.

(Note: This fabulous trio surfaces again on the excellent Art Farmer ballad-laden CD "Sing Me Softly Of The Blues" ("I Waited For You" is a must-hear performance) and on the La Roca-led "Basra" CD with Joe Henderson on Tenor sax ("Malaguena" is a must-hear performance).
**
Steve Kuhn- Piano
Steve Swallow- Bass
Pete La Roca- Drums
**
01. Ida Lupino
02. Ah, Moore - Steve Kuhn Trio
03. Today I Am a Man
04. Memory
05. Why Did I Choose You?
06. Three Waves
07. Never Let Me Go
08. Bits and Pieces
09. Kodpiece
**
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