Stephanie "Steph" Richards (born May 2, 1982) is a Canadian-American composer, trumpeter, bandleader and producer known for her contributions to the contemporary jazz and experimental music scenes. [1] Her multidisciplinary approaches to composition, including her Supersense [2] project for scent and music with Jason Moran, Kenny Wollesen and Stomu Takeishi, have earned critical acclaim. [3] In 2014 Richards was appointed to the music faculty at the University of California, San Diego. [4]
Richards was born in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada, and grew up in Calgary, Alberta. She studied music at the Interlochen Arts Academy (Interlochen, MI), the Eastman School of Music (BMus. and Performance Certificate Honors), McGill University (MMus.), California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) (MFA).[ citation needed ]
Upon moving to New York City in 2008, Richards recorded and performed with notable pioneers of the avant-garde, ranging from composers Henry Threadgill, [5] Anthony Braxton, Lawrence D. "Butch" Morris and John Zorn to art-pop oriented artists Laurie Anderson, Yoko Ono, David Byrne and St. Vincent and contemporary composers John Luther Adams, Helmut Lachenmann, Nico Muhly and Louis Andriessen. [6] [7] [8]
As an ensemble collaborator Richards is founding member of Bang on A Can's Asphalt Orchestra [9] and has also worked with the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Anthony Braxton's Tricentric Orchestra, Henry Threadgill's Kestra and alongside the Kronos Quartet. As an improviser she has worked with Ravi Coltrane, Jason Moran, Nicole Mitchell, Mark Dresser, Anthony Davis, Vijay Iyer, Tyshawn Sorey, Mary Halvorson, Ingrid Laubrock, Tom Rainey, Gerald Cleaver, Stomu Takeishi, JT Lewis, Tomeka Reid, Kenny Wolleson, Wayne Horvitz, John Hebert, Oscar Noriega, Liberty Ellman and Sylvie Courvoisier. Richards' work as a composer includes interdisciplinary elements including choreography, [10] [11] film, [12] [13] [14] scents [15] and site specific works. [16] [17] [18] As a conductor, she has worked with orchestras in Mexico, [19] Europe and the US [20] employing the musical language of "Conduction," which she gained under the mentorship of the late Butch Morris and J.A. Dino Deane.
The New York Times calls Richards "an emerging maestro of extended technique" [21] and "boldly inventive." [22] Downbeat says that Richards has proven herself "a virtuoso of nonlinear trumpet playing." [23]
Richards is a Yamaha artist. [30]
Henry Threadgill is an American composer, saxophonist and flautist. He came to prominence in the 1970s leading ensembles rooted in jazz but with unusual instrumentation and often incorporating other genres of music. He has performed and recorded with several ensembles: Air, Aggregation Orb, Make a Move, the seven-piece Henry Threadgill Sextett, the twenty-piece Society Situation Dance Band, Very Very Circus, X-75, and Zooid.
Joseph Jarman was an American jazz musician, composer, poet, and Shinshu Buddhist priest. He was one of the first members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and a member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago.
Pi Recordings is a jazz record label founded by Seth Rosner in 2001. He was soon joined as partner by Yulun Wang. Pi specializes in avant-garde jazz. Its first two albums were by Henry Threadgill.
Jason Kao Hwang is a Chinese American violinist and composer. He is known for his unconventional and improvisational jazz violin technique as well as his chamber opera The Floating Box: A Story in Chinatown which premiered in 2001 and was released in 2005 on New World Records.
Fred Hopkins was an American double bassist who played a major role in the development of the avant-garde jazz movement. He was best known for his association with the trio Air with Henry Threadgill and Steve McCall, and for his numerous performances and extensive recordings with major jazz musicians such as Muhal Richard Abrams, Arthur Blythe, Oliver Lake, and David Murray. He was a member of the AACM, and a frequent participant in the loft jazz scene of the 1970s. He also co-led a number of albums with the composer and cellist Diedre Murray. Gary Giddins wrote that Hopkins' playing "fused audacious power with mercuric reflexes." Howard Reich, writing in the Chicago Tribune, stated that "many connoisseurs considered [Hopkins] the most accomplished jazz bassist of his generation" and praised him for "the extraordinarily fluid technique, sumptuous tone and innovative methods he brought to his instrument."
Liberty Ellman is a jazz guitarist born in London and raised in the United States, beginning in New York City. In the early 1980s, Ellman's family moved to California. Before leaving New York, he attended City and Country School in Greenwich Village.
Pheeroan akLaff is an American jazz drummer and percussionist. He began playing in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan and Ann Arbor, with R & B keyboardist Travis Biggs, funk keyboardist Nimrod “The Grinder” Lumpkin, The Ebony Set and The Last Days. He moved to New Haven, Connecticut, and formed a group with saxophonist/flautist/percussionist Dwight Andrews. He debuted with saxophonist Bill Barron in 1975, followed by a tenure in Leo Smith's ‘New Dalta Ahkri’ (1977-1979).
Thurman Barker is an American jazz drummer.
Steve McCall was an American jazz drummer.
Ari Brown is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and pianist.
Ming is an album by David Murray, released in 1980 on the Italian Black Saint label and the first to feature his Octet. It features performances by Murray, Henry Threadgill, Olu Dara, Lawrence "Butch" Morris, George E. Lewis, Anthony Davis, Wilber Morris and Steve McCall.
Home is an album by David Murray, released in 1982 on the Italian Black Saint label and the second to feature his Octet. It features performances by Murray, Henry Threadgill, Olu Dara, Lawrence "Butch" Morris, George E. Lewis, Anthony Davis, Wilbur Morris and Steve McCall.
1-OQA+19 is an album by Muhal Richard Abrams released on the Italian Black Saint label in 1977 which features performances by Abrams, Anthony Braxton, Henry Threadgill, Steve McCall and Leonard Jones.
James Emery is an American jazz guitarist. He grew up in Willoughby, Ohio and Shaker Heights, Ohio. Emery plays archtop guitar, semi-acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and soprano guitar.
For Trio is an album by American jazz saxophonist and composer Anthony Braxton recorded in 1977 and released on the Arista label. The album features two recordings of the same composition by Braxton in two separate trios and was subsequently included on The Complete Arista Recordings of Anthony Braxton released by Mosaic Records in 2008.
For Four Orchestras is an album by American jazz saxophonist and composer Anthony Braxton recorded in 1978 and first released on the Arista label a triple LP. The album features a composition by Braxton written for four separate orchestras recorded in quadraphonic sound which was subsequently rereleased on CD on The Complete Arista Recordings of Anthony Braxton released by Mosaic Records in 2008.
Mark Thomas Taylor is an American jazz French horn player.
Reginald "Reggie" Nicholson is an American jazz drummer.
Taylor Ho Bynum is a musician, composer, educator and writer. His main instrument is the cornet, but he also plays numerous similar instruments, including flugelhorn and trumpet.
Chris Jonas is a Santa Fe, New Mexico-based composer, conductor, soprano and tenor saxophone player, filmmaker, and video artist.