COMPOSERS: Steve Kuhn
LABELS: ECM
WORKS: Remembering Tomorrow
PERFORMER: Steve Kuhn (p); David Finck (b); Joey Baron (d)
CATALOGUE NO: 529 035-2 (distr. New Note)
During the Sixties, Steve Kuhn made all the right career moves. From a member of Kenny Dorham’s group he preceded McCoy Tyner in John Coltrane’s legendary quartet, from there he went with trumpeter Art Farmer and spent a couple of years with Stan Getz. He seemed destined for great things but an affaire de cœur took him off to Sweden for a few years. When he returned to the New York scene he was a forgotten man and was forced to set about rebuilding his career. As lyrical as he is currently overlooked, Kuhn is a Harvard graduate and a product of the Boston Conservatory but his thorough-going technique resists gratuitous flourishes and, like his friend and contemporary the late Bill Evans, he has a touch and a remarkable projection across the whole dynamic range. Pianists with Kuhn’s depth are rare; he is able to pare a song to its emotional core, yet still retain its musical momentum. Controlled, unruffled, witty and urbane, his playing is a model of taste and lyrical imagination. SN
Steve Kuhn
During the Sixties, Steve Kuhn made all the right career moves. From a member of Kenny Dorham’s group he preceded McCoy Tyner in John Coltrane’s legendary quartet, from there he went with trumpeter Art Farmer and spent a couple of years with Stan Getz. He seemed destined for great things but an affaire de cœur took him off to Sweden for a few years. When he returned to the New York scene he was a forgotten man and was forced to set about rebuilding his career.
Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:08 pm