About
“Exquisite compositions…there is a quest for beauty in his lines that evoke the masters.” - Keyboard Magazine
“If jazz is the sound of surprise, then this is it!” - All About Jazz
Steve Hudson is a pianist and composer based in New York City whose style embraces the history of jazz, blues, folk, and modern classical music, all with a free spirited love of improvisation. His latest release,“Galactic Diamonds,” features Hudson’s genre bending compositions for violin, cello, piano, and drums. He tours the US, Canada, and Europe with the Steve Hudson Chamber Ensemble, the Outer Bridge Ensemble, and a variety of other groups. Some of the musicians he has shared the stage with include Steven Bernstein, James Zollar, Marcus Rojas, Oscar Noriega, and Claire Daly.
The Steve Hudson Chamber Ensemble bridges and morphs jazz, classical chamber music, tango and folk music into one cohesive and individual sound. The group performed in New York and on the east coast in 2010, and tours Europe in 2011 in support of their debut album, “Galactic Diamonds.” The ensemble features Zach Brock on violin, Jody Redhage on cello, Martin Urbach on cajon/percussion, and the leader on piano/melodica.
Hudson is also cofounder of the Outer Bridge Ensemble, a collective of musicians whose experimental yet groove oriented works are featured in the recordings “Seamless” and “The Outer Bridge.” He leads a jazz ensemble that recorded the album “Shine” that featured Curtis Fowlkes, James Zollar, Marcus Rojas, vocalist Peter Eldridge and other New York artists. In May 2011 Steve will premier an extended suite dedicated to the Alaskan explorer Mary Joyce with saxophonist Claire Daly at the Juneau Jazz Festival.
Hudson was largely self taught, and learned the instrument by ear and by playing along with Ray Charles and Lou Rawls’ record, thanks to the encouragement and guidance of his teachers James Reed and Jim Ellington. He graduated from Skidmore College with a degree in English literature and divided his love of music with a teaching and writing career.
In his early twenties he met the pianist Barry Harris who introduced him to the world of bebop, and everything changed. Steve threw himself into the world of music and never looked back. He fell in love with an eclectic world of music which included Miles Davis, Gil Evans, Red Garland, Ahmad Jamal, Astor Piazzolla, James Brown, the Beatles, Ray Charles, Bach, Ravel and others. Steve went on to study with Stanley Cowell and Kenny Barron, and earn a graduate music degree from Manhattan School of Music.
PROJECT PERSONNEL:
STEVE HUDSON CHAMBER ENSEMBLE
Jody Redhage – cello/voice
Zach Brock – violin
Martin Urbach – percussion
Steve Hudson – piano
STEVE HUDSON QUINTET/SEXTET
James Zollar – trumpet
Mark DeJong/Claire Daly – saxophone
Curtis Fowlkes – trombone
Steve Hudson – piano/melodica
Mike Noordzy – bass
Jerome Jennings – drums
OUTER BRIDGE ENSEMBLE
Mark DeJong – saxophones
Steve Hudson – piano/keyboards
Mike Noordzy/Simon Fisk – bass
David Freeman – percussion
Jerome Jennings – drums
MARY JOYCE PROJECT
This project features Steve in collaboration with acclaimed saxophonist/composer Claire Daly on an extended suite about the life of a historic woman, Mary Joyce. Joyce was a nurse, actress, club owner, and a fearless explorer who was the first person to travel from Juneau to Fairbanks, Alaska, by dogsled in 1936. Stay tuned for updates and performance information on this exciting project.
