Steve Kuhn & Toshiko Akiyoshi – The Country & Western Sound of Jazz Pianos (Remastered) (1963/2020) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Steve Kuhn & Toshiko Akiyoshi – The Country & Western Sound of Jazz Pianos (Remastered) (1963/2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 40:21 minutes | 766 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Dauntless Records

Steve Kuhn and Toshiko Akiyoshi are relatively unknown outside of jazz circles. Both are modernists and have styles that are quite different. Toshiko’s playing is more of Bud Powell school, with long lines and explosions of notes in the right hand, and a more percussive, brittle approach than Steve. On the other hand, Steve has a more introspective, reflective way of playing -more behind the beat than Toshiko. The two styles compliment and offset each other beautifully.

I wrote the arrangements for this album knowing that with these musicians it had a good chance of being successful. After conducting the sessions, I knew that my faith had been well-founded. I think their playing is great. I think you will too.” (Edgar Summerlin from the inside liner-notes)

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Steve Kuhn – To and from the Heart (2018) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Steve Kuhn – To and from the Heart (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 46:42 minutes | 938 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sunnyside

Having just celebrated his 80th birthday, pianist Steve Kuhn has continued to get to the heart of things with his long-standing trio of bass guitarist Steve Swallow and drummer Joey Baron. The ensemble’s deeply resonant relationship can be heard on their new recording, To and From The Heart, a poignant collection of pieces that showcases these masters’ highly wrought abilities in wringing emotion from the ether.

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Steve Kuhn – Non-Fiction (1978//2019) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Steve Kuhn – Non-Fiction (1978//2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 40:06 minutes | 871 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © ECM

Steve Kuhn is the all-purpose element: his presence heightens any musical concoction. Like no jazz pianist I know, he is aware of the negative spaces between his notes and shapes those spaces to suit the emotional needs of the tune. And what a set of tunes we have in Non-Fiction, a sorely out-of-print firecracker in dire need of a digital fuse. Speaking of conflagration, nothing singes our brow in any Kuhn project quite like “Firewalk,” which, despite its characteristically spacious feel, is clear and present (I bow to the uncredited engineer on this one). Kuhn accolades aside, it’s the sopranism of reedman Steve Slagle that really sets these coals to glowing and cradles every assured step in the liberation of play. Bob Moses and Harvie Swartz—an ideally suited rhythm section if there ever was one—lock the “Random Thoughts” that follow into lively traction. Slagle opts for flute and alto sax over a constantly shifting sonic palette. Whenever he isn’t breathing, he keeps his hands busy with additional percussion. (Unfortunately, the latter comes across as intrusive to my ears during headphone listening. External speakers will remedy this.) “A Dance With The Wind” and “The Fruit Fly” reverse the scales with a collective dose of whimsy and nostalgia. Swartz is simply fantastic here, weaving deftly through Kuhn’s canvas of vamps with distinct yet harmonious brushstrokes of its own. If anything has been missing so far, we find it all collected in “Alias Dash Grapey,” which has it all: a sweeping piano intro, replete with unrestrained cries from Kuhn, a spirited collage of solos (Moses ever palpable), and a deep sense of communication.

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Steve Kuhn – At This Time… (2016) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Steve Kuhn – At This Time… (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 58:50 minutes | 1,19 GB | Genre: Contemporary Jazz, Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sunnyside

Any chance that one has to hear a master musician in his or her preferred setting is a gift. For all the one-offs and ensemble by committee type of gigs that spring up, it is the reunion with familiar collaborators for a stint of a few nights that really becomes integral for the best performances. On his new recording, At This Time, pianist Steve Kuhn found himself just in the right time and place to record a trio record that feels timeless and truly inspired. The ensemble, which features legendary bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Joey Baron, was happy to find itself in an extended engagement at Birdland Jazz Club in New York in September 2015 and found time to get into the recording studio before heading to Europe on tour.

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Steve Kuhn, Steve Swallow, Joey Baron – Wisteria (2012) [Official Digital Download 24bit/88,2Hz]

Steve Kuhn, Steve Swallow, Joey Baron – Wisteria (2012)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 1:07:02 minutes | 1,15 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks.com | Digital Booklet | © ECM

Having collaborated in the past, jazz virtuosos Steve Kuhn, Joey Baron and Steve Swallow team up once again for the astounding jazz release, Wisteria. The trio exposes the emotional core of some familiar Kuhn classics including “Adagio,” “Morning Dew” and “Pastorale.” Complementing the yearning balladry is the exciting hard bop-track “A Likely Story” and the gospel-inspired “Permanent Wave.” This historic trio sails effortlessly creating a compelling set full of divine synergy.

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Steve Kuhn, Steve Swallow, Joey Baron – Wisteria (2012) [Official Digital Download 24bit/88,2kHz]

Steve Kuhn, Steve Swallow, Joey Baron – Wisteria (2012)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 67:35 minutes | 1,2 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: AcousticSounds | Artwork: Digital booklet | © ECM

2012 release from the Jazz pianist joined by bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Joey Baron. Wisteria takes a fresh look at several pieces last heard on record in Kuhn’s orchestral Promises Kept collection – “Promises Kept” itself, “Adagio”, “Morning Dew” and “Pastorale”. Kuhn’s compositions, few in number but robust and adaptable, have often lent themselves to quite different interpretations. If anything, these small group versions emphasize the emotional core of the material. Counterbalancing the yearning balladry, the album also includes driving, exciting hard bop (on “A Likely Story”, for instance, and Swallow’s “Good Lookin’ Rookie), Carla Bley’s gospel-tinged “Permanent Wave”, and the Brazilian “Romance” by Dori Caymmi… It’s a varied program which the trio seems to sail through effortlessly, musicians secure in their craft, beyond the need to prove anything, creating the agreeable illusion that this demanding music is playing itself. (more…)

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