steve hall

Steve Hall is a saxophonist/composer from New York City who is originally from Montreal. He has worked and/or recorded with Jaki Byard, Gil Evans, Machito, Lionel Hampton, Bob Mover, Kevin Hays, Wallace Roney, Ralph Penland, Billy Hart, Lenny White, Geri Allen. As a leader his own recordings and engagements have featured K Hays, Billy Hart, Cindy Blackman, Geri Allen, Mulgrew Miller, James Genus, Steve Davis, Benny Green, Dave Kikoski, Ira Coleman. Press quotes on Steve Hall “ to these ears the most unsung musician in jazz-a cutting-edge player with his own sound.” (Len Dobbin ) "Hall has an utterly distincive sound, acid-toned with a somewhat limpid attack that creates a marvelous tension, especially on ballads, at which he excels. Accessible yet not comfortable-melancoly is rarely such a delicious treat. (Mike Chamberlain) “...has managed to do what increasingly seems like the near-impossible in the modern jazz idiom-taken a highly personal tangent on the predominant line of influence, out of John Coltrane(in Halls’ case via Wayne Shorter), that has shaped tenor saxophone playing over the past 30 years. Halls’ originality is a function of several things, not least his alternation of a lazy rhythmic drawl with sputtery, almost staccato patterns that simply ricochet through his improvisations. Actually, he’d risk stylization were his melodic thinking not so consistently fresh-were he not so intent on avoiding the tried and true of the tenor tradition. “ (Mark Miller) “Steve Halls’ unusual mix of Coltrane and what sounds like an injection of early Warne Marsh may be an aquired taste, but it is intriguing.” ...”shows a warmly glistening, open sound as he works through every bar of melody in a manner both muscular and mystical. “ (Geoff Chapman) “ Tres vivant. C’ est tres dynamique. D’autant plus que Steve Hall, c’est le style coule` dans l’urgence. Celle qui consiste notamment a signaler “Hey! J’existe!” (Serge Truffaut)