Michael Stephans | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | June 9, 1945 Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz, avant-garde jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, author, poet, educator |
| Instrument(s) | Drums, percussion |
| Years active | 1970s–present |
| Labels | Challenge, iTi, itm, Endemik, Lunazure, Whaling City Sound, Cryptogramophone Sunnyside Records, Origin Records |
Michael Stephans (born June 9, 1945) is an American jazz drummer, writer, poet and college professor. [1]
As a jazz drummer, [2] Stephans has performed and recorded with artists including Dave Liebman, [3] Bennie Maupin, [4] Joe Lovano, Bob Brookmeyer, Don Menza, [5] and Alan Broadbent. [6]
Stephans' first solo recording, Om ShalOM, was critically lauded in 2007 by UK critic Tom Barlow as an album of the year in the December 2007 – January 2008 issue of Jazzwise . [7]
Stephans has received multiple composition grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. [8] In 1974, this association afforded him the opportunity to write the large ensemble composition "Shapes and Visions" for vibraphonist Karl Berger, which was performed at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. [9]
His poetry has been published in The Note, [10] and Inscape. [11] In 2000, he was given the Rachael Sherwood Poetry Prize by the department of English at Cal State Northridge. [12] He is the author of Experiencing Jazz: A Listener's Companion, [13] published in 2013 by Scarecrow Press. [14] and Experiencing Ornette Coleman: A Listener's Companion, published in 2017 by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
He has taught at Pasadena City College, the University of Miami, [15] and Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. [16]
| Year | Album | Personnel | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Om / ShalOM | Dave Liebman, Bennie Maupin, Munyungo Jackson, Scott Colley, Michael Stephans | Endemik |
| 2010 | Open Spaces | Zack Brock, Jim Ridl, Steve Varner, Michael Stephans | Lunazure |
| 2018 | Quartette Oblique | Michael Stephans, Dave Liebman, Marc Copland, Drew Gress | Sunnyside |
| Year | Album | Personnel | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Heads Up! | Bob Ojeda, Bob Sheppard, John Patitucci, Michael Stephans | iTi |
| 2003 | Stay Out of the Sun | Bob Brookmeyer, Michael Stephans, Tom Warrington, Larry Koonse | Challenge |
| 2009 | Nomads | David Liebman, Michael Stephans | ITM/Jazzwerkstatt |
| 2013 | Lineage | Dave Liebman, Michael Stephans, Vic Juris, Matt Vashlishan, Bobby Avey, Evan Gregor | Whaling City Sound |
With Bob Brookmeyer
With Bob Dorough
With Bennie Maupin
With Matt Vashlishan
With Don Menza
• Menza Lines (Jazzed Media, 2005)
With Larry Gelb
With Frank Strazzeri Trio & Quartet
With Julie Andrews
With Jack Jones
With Bo Lozoff
| Title | Publication date | Pages | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Experiencing Jazz: A Listener’s Companion | October 17, 2013 | 502 | Scarecrow Press |
| Brookmeyer and Me: An Odyssey of Friendship | 2014 | 5 | The Note, V. 24, No. 1, 2014 |
| Experiencing Ornette Coleman: A Listener's Companion | October 6, 2017 | 213 | Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |
Nicholas Menza was an American musician who was the drummer of the thrash metal band Megadeth from 1989 to 1998. He recorded drums on four of Megadeth's albums: Rust in Peace (1990), Countdown to Extinction (1992), Youthanasia (1994), and Cryptic Writings (1997).
Head Hunters is the twelfth studio album by American pianist, keyboardist and composer Herbie Hancock, released October 26, 1973, on Columbia Records. Recording sessions for the album took place in the evening at Wally Heider Studios and Different Fur Trading Co. in San Francisco, California.
Sextant is the eleventh studio album by Herbie Hancock, released in 1973 by Columbia. It is the last album with the Mwandishi-era sextet featuring saxophonist Bennie Maupin, trumpeter Eddie Henderson, trombonist Julian Priester, bassist Buster Williams and drummer Billy Hart. Synthesizer player Patrick Gleeson and percussionist Buck Clarke also appear.
Alan Leonard Broadbent is a New Zealand jazz pianist, arranger, and composer known for his work with artists such as Sue Raney, Charlie Haden, Woody Herman, Chet Baker, Irene Kral, Sheila Jordan, Natalie Cole, Warne Marsh, Bud Shank, and many others.
Dale Barlow is a jazz saxophonist, flute player and composer. He has a Masters of Music degree begun at City College New York under Ron Carter and completed at ANU Canberra. He has received ARIA Awards, Album of the Year/ Jazz performer of the year/ International Artist of the Year/ Bicentennial Artist of the Year, four Mo Awards and grants.
Franck Amsallem is a French-American jazz pianist, arranger, composer, singer and educator. He was born in 1961 in Oran, French Algeria, but grew up in Nice, France.
Don Menza is an American jazz saxophonist.
Serenade to a Soul Sister is an album by jazz pianist Horace Silver released on the Blue Note label in 1968, featuring performances by Silver with Charles Tolliver, Stanley Turrentine, Bennie Maupin, Bob Cranshaw, John Williams, Mickey Roker and Billy Cobham.
The Ivory Hunters is an album by jazz pianists Bob Brookmeyer and Bill Evans, originally released on the United Artists label, featuring Evans and Brookmeyer with Percy Heath, and Connie Kay, recorded in 1959.
Afternoon of a Georgia Faun is an album by American jazz saxophonist Marion Brown recorded on August 10, 1970 and released on ECM later that year. The sextet features fellow saxophonists Anthony Braxton and Bennie Maupin, pianist Chick Corea, and vocalists Jeanne Lee and Gayle Palmore, backed by two percussionists on one side and five on the other.
Multikulti is an album by jazz trumpeter Don Cherry recorded between 1988 and 1990 and released in 1991 on the A&M label.
Kansas City Revisited is an album by jazz trombonist and arranger Bob Brookmeyer featuring Brookmeyer's new orchestrations of 1920s and '30s era Kansas City jazz tunes. The album was recorded in 1958 for the United Artists label.
The Blues Hot and Cold is an album by jazz trombonist and arranger Bob Brookmeyer recorded in 1960 for the Verve label.
Jazz Is a Kick is an album by jazz trombonist and arranger Bob Brookmeyer recorded in 1960 for the Mercury label.
Message from Maynard is an album released by Canadian jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson featuring tracks recorded in early 1962 and originally released on the Roulette label.
Togetherness is a live album by trumpeter Don Cherry. It was recorded in the spring and summer of 1965 in Paris, France, and was released on LP in 1966 by Durium Records. On the album, which features a five-movement composition titled "Togetherness," Cherry is joined by saxophonist Gato Barbieri, vibraphonist Karl Berger, bassist Jean-François Jenny-Clark, and drummer Aldo Romano. In 1976, the album was reissued by Inner City Records with the title Gato Barbieri & Don Cherry.
Penumbra is an album by multi-instrumentalist Bennie Maupin. It was recorded in California in 2003 and 2006, and was released in 2006 by Cryptogramophone Records. On the album, Maupin is joined by bassist Darek Oleszkiewicz, drummer Michael Stephans, and percussionist Munyungo Jackson.
Early Reflections is an album by multi-instrumentalist Bennie Maupin. It was recorded in Warsaw, Poland, in September 2007, and was released in 2008 by Cryptogramophone Records. On the album, Maupin is joined by an ensemble of Polish musicians featuring pianist Michal Tokaj, bassist Michal Baranski, and drummer Lukasz Zyta. Vocalist Hania Chowaniec-Rybka also appears on two tracks. Maupin met the players while performing in Poland, and invited them to record with him.
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