Nomad

January a year ago American born Danish tenor saxophonist Niels Vincentz made CD debut from SteepleChase with his American trio of Cameron Brown on bass and Billy Hart on drums (“Early Reflections SCCD 31737) to critical acclaim. Vincentz presents here the follow-up set with Brown and Hart right after their tours in USA and Denmark. “Beautiful SteepleChase debut …so remarkable that it will open the door for Vincentz to the wider jazz audience.. ” (Ivan Rod - GAFFA, Denmark) “There’s perfect equilibrium here: no overreaching, no underreaching, either…You hear how centered Vincentz is, and why these Americans dig him.” **** (M. Jackson – DownBeat)

Andrew Rathbun’s fourth leader album on SteepleChase reflects his musical ideas inspired by fellow Canadian Glenn Gould and looks into the implication of his homeland Canada on his music. “… he displays his growing maturity as a player and more of his acclaimed talents as composer/arranger.” (Mark Corroto, Allabout Jazz–NY on his previous release SCCD 31665 Where We Are Now) “The result is consistently thoughtful, well-crafted music in a mature idiom.” (Ken Dryden, Allabout Jazz–NY on SCCD 31589 Shadow Forms)

Ron McClure, veteran bassist and accomplished composer, has also keen eyes to spot talents. A year ago McClure introduced a young (then 17), very gifted jazz violinist Gabe Terracciano in his 15th album “Crunch Time” (SCCD 31736). Here on his latest release McClure gives another young (22) exceptional tenor talent Chad Leftowitz-Brown a chance to shine alongside of Terracciano. “…it is at once a band of substance and style, McClure’s powerful bass and terrific tunes stimulating the young players.” (Donald Elfman – The New York City Jazz Record on SCCD 31736) “… fans of McClure’s mainstream fare will no doubt revel in this latest set to see an American release. “ (C. Andrew Hovan – AAJ on “Dream Team” SCCD 31435)

Shades Of Blue

Reincarnation

Gregory Tardy comes back to the recording scene with this strong performance after three-year hiatus. On Tardy’s earlier release “Truth” (SCCD 31583), AAJ-NY’s Matthew Miller commented: “Of the many stars to have emerged on the jazz horizon during the '90s, one of the most disciplined, emotive and perhaps underrated is the multifaceted Gregory Tardy .… With this release, his first on SteepleChase, Tardy takes another step toward establishing himself as one of the most important saxophonists of his generation.

Danish-born tenor saxophonist Martin Jacobsen resides in Paris, France and performs all over the world. Martin frequently gives concerts in many of the Asian countries including Japan, Korea and China. This release is a live recording of a very successful concert performed at Japan’s national public radio/TV network NHK’s “fureai” (contact) hall in 2011 only a few days after that devastating earthquake and tsunami which hit the north-east coast of Japan. The Martin Jacobsen Quartet which consists of Danish tenor, Japanese piano, German bass and English drummer revisited Japan later the same year to give support to the Japanese jazz fans. “…Jacobsen seems well aware of what makes jazz a vital music. It’s the constant sense of growth and discovery, taking the old and making it new. While this is a fine debut, there’s little doubt that future endeavors will prove even more impressive as the both Jacobsen and the band continue to mature.” (Derek Taylor- All About Jazz “Current State” SCCD 31548)

The winner of First-Place Category of Great American Song Contest 2019 Allegra Levy debuted 6 years ago with Lonely City (SteepleChase LookOut SCCD 33118) produced by the legendary trumpeter/arranger John McNeil who was Allegra’s mentor at the New England Conservatory where she graduated from in 2011. The album instantly put her name on the luminary jazz singer list all over the world. After two more highly acclaimed albums on the label: SCCD 31827 Cities Between Us showcasing her enormous talent as composer/lyricist and SCCD 31852 Looking At The Moon focusing on Levy the singer/interpreter, Levy and McNeil collaborated again to present this new album of McNeil compositions with lyrics written by Levy. Allegra leads this time all-women quartet which serves as a dynamic and exemplary part of women in jazz today. “Lonely City is an excellent and mature first effort from Allegra Levy and will put the music world on notice that she is a musician that has established herself as a winner and future superstar.” (Music Man) “All the vocal skills expressed in the debut are confirmed: elegant timbre clarity, interpretations that alternate lightness and emotional intensity, highlighting register flexibility, colloquial warmth and good interpretative taste … Everything flows to the end with a good balance between the vocal and instrumental dimensions, with interventions always sought after and attentive to melodic values.” (Angelo Leonardi, AAJ on Cities Between Us) “… Levy is a very gifted writer who has absorbed the language and style of the Great American Songbook without sounding retro … Levy is a fresh new voice, with songs steeped in the tradition and primed to join the canon.” (Jim Motavalli, NYC Jazz Record on Cities Between Us) “Throughout, Levy’s distinctive warm-cool vibe … and flawless articulation shine through.” (Christopher Loudon, JazzTimes on Looking At The Moon - Editor’s Pick) “In Looking At The Moon Levy has assembled tunes, musicians, and arrangements that generally maximize her strengths” (Steve Provizer, The Arts Fuse)

No Rush

Since his recording debut (1995) with Activism (SCCD 31382), George Colligan has proven to be a leading instrumentalist / composer of the younger generation, whose prolific outputs since received international acclaim from both critics and public. On this new release – third solo album on the label, Mark Gardner remarks, “…this particular release, to my ears, is of greater significance as it reveals the unalloyed core of his music and the man's ultimate self-reliance.“

What Is This?

Fountainhead

Award-winning American saxophonist/composer Bob Rockwell grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota and after touring the USA with various rock and r&b bands in the late 60s and early 70s Rockwell settled in New York to seek his place in jazz. He established himself quickly playing with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, Tito Puente, Ben Sidran, Freddie Hubbard, Ray Drummond, Billy Hart, Tom Harrell, Richie Beirach, among others, demonstrating his immense skills and versatility. Since 1983 Rockwell calls Denmark his home where he leads his band and performs and records all over Europe. Rockwell recorded eight leader albums for SteepleChase. This his second release features the late pianist Butch Lacy (1947-2018), another American expatriate of his generation. "Rockwell is simply one of the heaviest players in his genre anywhere." (Thomas Conrad – JazzTimes) “Bob Rockwell is a warm-toned tenor player whose love of Coltrane becomes most apparent at higher intensity levels. For most of the time this is spirited but non-too-aggressive modern tenor playing.” (John Robert Brown – Jazz Journal on On The Natch)

Stephen Riley’s new album stands out as his first ever ensemble with piano. Riley, a true individualist with an amazing, warm and soft sound selects the classic jazz repertoire to assemble this outstanding display of personal statement. “Stephen is an impressive player, with his own approach, his own sound and the conviction to keep it that way: he shows that it's possible to create something unique at this time. 5 Stars." (Lew Tabackin / Downbeat Blindfold Test April 2009 )

As Thomas Conrad (allaboutjazz) once observed Bill Mays as “a literate, polished, mainstream jazz pianist (who) likes to do concept albums”, Bill Mays chose to build his first album on SteepleChase on the concept of movie themes. Mays’s mastery of color and touch superbly illustrates those silver screen memorable moments.

Ballad Round The Left Corner

Following the impressive rendition of Coltrane’s music by the pianist on SCCD 31477 “Compassion”, LeeAnn Ledgerwood dedicates this CD to Bill Evans whose music changed her life. As she puts it in the linernote: “ … Art, the art that jazz is, is an experience. Anyone can have it, participate in it, and revel in the rage of emotions that leave us in awe. I owe my life’s work to such an experience. It happened when I was a child of eleven. I heard my first recording by Bill Evans….”

Birdtown Birds

Landscape With Open Door

Here’s the 11th output by the pianist whose steady collaboration with this label was described by the Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD as “The move to SteepleChase has been nothing but positive for Danko. Producer Nils Winther has an intuitive feel for piano players and he gives Harold a well-rounded, spacious sound that enhances his increasingly positive and resonant playing.” Trilix comprises nine jazz compositions including Duke Jordan’s classic “Flight To Jordan” immaculately performed.

With the successful debut album (SCCD 31545 “Major Incident”) in place Joshua returned to studio this time supported by three veteran sidemen: Ben Monder (guitar), his mentor and teacher Ron McClure (bass) and Billy Hart (drums). “Still not yet 22 – he was born in New York on August 24, 1982 - Joshua displays his rapidly growing confidence and maturity…The outcome is an invaluable, focussed snapshot of his artistic development … ” (Mark Gardner)

Red Snapper

Tenor saxophonist Brew Moore (1924 - 1973) made only a small number of recordings and this is one of the very few on CD. Moore was greatly influenced by Lester Young and was a lyrical swinging player. This recording is from the Danish Radio’s bi-weekly broadcasting in the mid 60s. “...it is straightforward and honest music...from the heart.” (T. Sjøgren)

Since 1992 composer/bassist Steve LaSpina has been regularly releasing constantly high quality leader albums with consistently high quality. For his 7th CD on SteepleChase Steve returned to the studio with the same group as his 1997 recording of “When Children Smile” (SCCD 31410) of which JazzTimes’ reviewer Bill Bennett wrote, “This is an impressively thoughtful offering from a bassist often found in the company of thoughtful musicians. As a bassist, LaSpina evokes a wonderful sound, bent to the task by a solid time concept and intonation….”