Steve Lacy /Jazz, Avant-Garde/

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Born :Steven Norman Lackritz on Jul 23, 1934 in New York, NY

One of the great soprano saxophonists of all time (ranking up there with Sidney Bechet and John Coltrane), Steve Lacy's career was fascinating to watch develop. He originally doubled on clarinet and soprano (dropping the former by the mid-'50s), inspired by Bechet, and played Dixieland in New York with Rex Stewart, Cecil Scott, Red Allen, and other older musicians during 1952-1955. He debuted on record in a modernized Dixieland format with Dick Sutton in 1954. However, Lacy soon jumped over several styles to play free jazz with Cecil Taylor during 1955-1957. They recorded together and performed at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival. Lacy recorded with Gil Evans in 1957 (they would work together on an irregular basis into the 1980s), was with Thelonious Monk's quintet in 1960 for four months, and then formed a quartet with Roswell Rudd (1961-1964) that exclusively played Monk's music; only one live set (for Emanen in 1963) resulted from that very interesting group.

Lacy, who is considered the first "modern" musician to specialize on soprano (an instrument that was completely neglected during the bop era), began to turn toward avant-garde jazz in 1965. He had a quartet with Enrico Rava that spent eight months in South America. After a year back in New York, he permanently moved to Europe in 1967 with three years in Italy preceding a move to Paris. Lacy's music evolved from free form to improvising off of his scalar originals. By 1977 he had a regular group with whom he continued to perform throughout his career, featuring Steve Potts on alto and soprano, Lacy's wife, violinist/singer Irene Aebi, bassist Kent Carter (later succeeded by Jean-Jacques Avenel), and drummer Oliver Johnson; pianist Bobby Few joined the group in the 1980s. Lacy, who also worked on special projects with Gil Evans, Mal Waldron, and Misha Mengelberg, among others, and in situations ranging from solo soprano concerts, many Monk tributes, big bands, and setting poetry to music, recorded a countless number of sessions for almost as many labels, with Sands appearing on Tzakik in 1998 and Cry on SoulNote in 1999. His early dates (1957-1961) were for Prestige, New Jazz, and Candid and later on he appeared most notably on sessions for Hat Art, Black Saint/Soul Note, and Novus. Lacy, who had been suffering with cancer for several years, passed away in June of 2004. His legacy continues to grow, however, as various live shows from throughout his career are issued.

[1987] The Window



Tracks:
1. The Window
2. Flakes
3. Twilight
4. The Gleam
5. A Complicated Scene
6. Retreat

Credits:
Steve Lacy - soprano saxophone
Ronnie Boykins - bass
Denis Charles - drums

Review: Since the 1950s, Steve Lacy's name has instantly conjured images of his sole instrument, "the straight horn." Lacy's decision to focus exclusively on the soprano saxophone could have made him a novelty act in an era when the instrument was scarcely played, but his creative breadth over four decades has solidified his position as a relentless innovator. *The Window* presents a fairly conventional Lacy, playing in a bounding trio with drummer John Betsch and bassist Jean-Jacques Avenel. Where Lacy's music for his longstanding sextet can be angular and sometimes sharply dissonant, his trio here demonstrates a lovely power and, even in their most skewered melodic swerves, a latent sense of harmonic dexterity that the soprano sax shows off well.

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[1979] N.Y. Capers and Quirks


Tracks:
1. Quirks
2. Bud's Brother
3. Capers
4. We Don't
5. Kitty Malone

Credits:
Steve Lacy - soprano saxophone
Ronnie Boykins - bass
Dennis Charles - drums

Цитата:

Steve Lacy's long recording career has been one of uncommon consistency of thoughtful, risk taking jazz. Steve Lacy Three: N.Y. Capers & Quirks is a trio recording adding to this great soprano saxophonist's body of work an excellent often free jazz performance recorded live in 1979. Still in his early twenties, Lacy was recognized as a featured soloist on a classic recording of the Gil Evans Orchestra in 1957 ( Gil Evans & Ten ). Over the years, Lacy has been celebrated as one of the outstanding Monk interpreters on the basis of a series of brilliant group, duet, and solo recordings focusing on Monk compositions. Since the early 1980's, his various recordings with pianist Mal Waldron have provided the jazz world with a striking example of the subtlety and the depth of thought and emotion that jazz improvisation can reveal. N.Y.Capers & Quirks finds Lacy with Ronnie Boykins on bass and Dennis Charles on drums performing a long set of five of his own compositions. This is a trio that can expand and contract from the seemingly wide open spaces of simultaneous improvisation down to tight backup counter statements that often seem to unbalance Lacy's lyricism. At times the roles reverse and then reverse again with each musician playing a shifting part. This interesting asymmetrical interplay is what keeps this recording a listening challenge. Throughout, Charles and Boykins sustain a complex dialogue with Lacy and with each other that is at times spare and at times strident, but rarely predictable. There are many ways of improvisational intensity and Lacy's trio seems to have been determined to explore many of the possibilities. This is a very interesting recording by a very curious and lively trio.

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