(Jazz / Fusion / Post-Bop) Jeremy Steig - Fusion - 1970, MP3 tracks, 320 kbps

 

Jeremy Steig - American jazz flutist.
Born: 23 September 1942, New York, NY, USA
In his entire career as an improvisational flutist Steig has challenged the boundaries of conventional categories in music. In his first album Flute Fever (Columbia Records 1963) Steig established himself as one of the most important voices in contemporary music, setting new standards in the performance and appreciation of the flute as improvisational instrument.
Steig's openness to all kinds of music is the key that attracts audience to his music. In his newest CD, Steig teams up as a duo with the prominent guitarist and composer, Vic Juris. Their collaboration covers everything from jazz, blues, rock, free music and even some classical pieces that have been reworked to include improvisation. Improvised, Steig and Juris' first CD together, is a dynamic sonic adventure. They have been invited to the 2004 Yokohama Jazz Promenade, one of the biggest jazz festivals held in Japan.
Steig has also been active as Free Folk, a trio with Perry Robinson (clarinet) and Ed Schuller (bass). The music they play contains elements of folk, classical and jazz.
Steig studied flute with Paige Brook, who played in the New York Philharmonic. He went on to study at the High School of Music and Art in New York. Paige encouraged Steig to play “jazz” while providing him with classical tools. Emerging as a leader of the first jazz-rock band, “Jeremy and the Satyrs,” followed by the release of What's New (Verve 1969) with the legendary Bill Evans, proved Steig's versatility as a young musician.
Steig has played and recorded with a wide variety of musicians, such as Jimi Hendrix, Tim Hardin, Jim Hall, Big Joe Williams, Junior Wells, Eddie Gomez, David Amram, Art Blakey, Paul Bley, Joe Chambers, Jan Hammer, Johnny Winter and Tommy Bolin. The Beastie Boys have shaped their hit Sure Shot around Steig's flute.

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Jeremy Steig's personal site

Fusion pairs the entirety of Jeremy Steig's landmark 1971 Capitol release Energy alongside unreleased material from the same sessions. Energy is a miracle of alchemy -- Jeremy Steig transforms his flute from the ethereal to the elemental, forging a heavy, deeply funky jazz-rock record that defies gravity. Paired with keyboardist Jan Hammer, bassists Gene Perla and Eddie Gomez, and drummer Don Alias, Steig creates Technicolor grooves that float like butterflies and sting like bees. His music doesn't so much fuse jazz and rock as it approaches each side from the perspective of the other, exploring their respective concepts and executions to arrive at a sound all its own. If anything, the tonal restrictions of Steig's chosen instrument push him even farther into the unknown, employing a series of acoustic and electronic innovations to expand the flute's possibilities seemingly into the infinite. While some of the unissued content here is no less astounding, as a whole Fusion feels like too much of a good thing; one can't help but miss the focus and shape of Energy in its original incarnation.

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Sam Alexander Art Direction
Barry Berenson PhotographyEdwin H. Kramer Engineer
Sonny Lester Producer
Robert Matichak Digital Remastering

Don Alias - Clap Drums, Conga, Drums, Percussion
Eddie Gomez - Bass (Electric), Electric Upright Bass (tracks: 4, 6)
Jan Hammer - Chinese Gong, Composer, Gong, Piano (Electric)
Gene Perla - Bass, Bass (Electric), Electric Upright Bass
Jeremy Steig - Flute, Flute (Alto), Flute (Bass), Piccolo