Steve Hudson Music

you, me, and the piano

steve — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 19:13:15 +0000

I remember seeing this cartoon in the New Yorker pinned to a bulletin board where there is this guy with a tux walking out to a bare stage except for a grand piano.

He’s kind of has his head down as if he is thinking “Oh boy, here we go.” That cartoon captures the daunting task of of playing solo, but it doesn’t capture the other half of the coin which is exhilaration! Looking forward to performing solo tomorrow and next week.

news and quotes

steve — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:19:35 +0000

will be recording a new album in February with the collective, the outer bridge ensemble.

the group is normally a 5′tet (sax, piano, bass, drums, percussion) but we are going to add trombone, trumpet, guitar to this recording…stay tuned!

Here’s a great quote from the guitarist Jeff Buckley I have been wanting to share…..if it was shorter I would consider making it a tattoo…

be the best,

no negativity,

no weakness,

no acquiescence to fear or disaster,

to errors of ignorance,

no evasion from reality.

All About Jazz feature article

steve — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 06:01:34 +0000

Nice article on the cover of the All About Jazz website regarding the making of the Mary Joyce album I cowrote with Claire Daly.

It really gets into the nitty-gritty process of making the album.

best of 2011

steve — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 05:06:32 +0000

Nice to see the album Claire Daly and I wrote/performed on, Mary Joyce: Nothing to Lose, made it on the Night Train Best of 2011.

You can hear the music at, www.clairedalymusic.com.

Onward with 2012!!!

NIGHT TRAIN

KMUW FM 89.1, Wichita – Ranked Top 20 nationally AQH Share/Top 30 Cume Rating

Mediaguide Monitored/Roots Music Report Jazz Chart Reporter

Chris Heim – Host/Producer

More information at: http://www.kmuw.org/index.php/programs/night_train/

January Feature: Best of 2011

NIGHT TRAIN BEST OF 2011

1. Various – Miles Español: New Sketches of Spain (E One)

2. Fred Hersch – Alone at the Vanguard (Palmetto)

3. John Scofield - A Moment’s Peace (EmArcy)

4. New Gary Burton Quartet – Common Ground – (Mack Avenue)

5. Miguel Zenon – Alma Adentro (Marsalis Music)

6. Vijay Iyer – Tirtha (Act Music + Vision)

7. Joshua Redman, Aaron Parks, Matt Penman, Eric Harland – James Farm (Nonesuch)

8. Burgstaller Martignon 4 – Bach’s Secret Files and Other Crossover Dreams (Summit)

9. Karl Seglem – Ossicles (Ozella)

10. Jessica Williams Trio – Freedom Trane (Origin)

11. Ezra Weiss – Shirley Horn Suite (Roark)

12. Terrell Stafford – This Side of Strayhorn (MaxJazz)

13. John Brown, Adonis Rose, Cyrus Chestnut- Dancing with Duke: An Homage to Duke Ellington (Brown Boulevard)

14. Aaron Goldberg/Guillermo Klein – Bienestan (Sunnyside)

15. Keith Jarrett – Rio (ECM)

16. Steve Khan – Parting Shot (Tone Center)

17. Claire Daly Quintet – Mary Joyce Project: Nothing to Lose (Daily Bread)

18. Rene Marie – Black Lace Freudian Slip (Motema)

19. BANN – As You Like (Jazz Eyes)

20. Geoffrey Keezer, Joe Locke, Tim Garland – Via (Origin)

21. Julian Lage Group – Gladwell (EmArcy)

22. Sonny Rollins – Road Shows 2 (EmArcy)

23. Swingadelic – The Other Duke: Tribute to Duke Pearson (Zoho)

24. Antonio Adolfo – Chora Baião (AAM)

25. Nilson Matta/Roni Ben-Hur – Mojave (Motema)

What a year

steve — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:19:53 +0000

Thank you everyone for making 2011 such a great year!

We charted new ground musically, and reached new friends in Europe and the US, all with your help….we drove through the night to reach friends in Virginia in which I gained a new appreciation for caffeine and that yes googlemaps may not be that accurate, but it is pretty accurate. We shared some magical moments with you in concert, times when folks danced in the back, and hilarious moments (Martin’s electric toothbrush). 2012 will bring new musical projects, recordings, interesting blogs, interviews, videos and a whole a lot more. see ya in the new year!

Steve

jazztimes review

steve — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:05:12 +0000

Hey gang,

The December issue of Jazztimes has a nice review of the album, “Mary Joyce Project: Nothing to Lose, which I cowrote and played piano on with saxophonist Claire Daly. Here’s a bit,

“On this beautifully realized album, Daly captures Joyce’s adventurous spirit, determination, and love of her surroundings while radiating similar qualities herself… it’s unusual storyline and supplemental effects make it unique.”

good times

steve — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 04:28:34 +0000

The crew had a blast in brooklyn (thank you Helen!) last Friday.

It was great meeting new friends after the show. Plus it was cool to debut new music…….playing new music is like a first date and test driving a car with no cops around, all in one.

myths, movies and music

steve — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:52:37 +0000

When I was starting out as a teenager playing coffee shops, I saw countless Hollywood movies where musicians were portrayed as talented, misunderstood, sometimes crazy, bohemian, and poor. I heard countless anecdotes from friends and music magazines, that seemed to give ceratin high profile musicians an almost mythological aura….the miles davis mystique. I remember this older musician saying to me while we walked down the sidewalk, “You know Duke Ellington said to his son that he thought he played better before he went to music school.”I have no idea if that was true or not, but after hearing that I did not make reading music a priority at that time (that changed a few years later). Countless musicians bought into the myth of charlie parker and heroin, unfortunately.

And then I read this book called Notes and Tones by the drummer Arthur Taylor where he interviewed many great musicians asking them questions like how they practiced, what they ate, and what they did for fun. Very refreshing. Then I later learned how JS Bach was just a work horse, writing everyday, and treated his job as if he was a baker or a builder. A brilliant, genius of a baker, but nevertheless a regular person. Now that’s inspiration, not the glossy kind!

Feel free to share any comments or times when you have had a wizard-of-oz-pull-away-the-curtain moments.

Brooklyn Bound – Friday Dec 9

steve — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:14:15 +0000

All of us in the chamber group, jody, martin, zach, and your truly are psyched to play the Brooklyn House Series on Friday, Dec. 9.

We’ll be exploring some new music and sounds for this show in this intimate setting, including a new piece called “Be with Me.”

Seating is limited, so reserve your spot now!

see ya in a bit,

Steve

Baltimore Concert

steve — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:47:46 +0000

Everyone in the band is excited for our Friday November 18 show at An Die Musik. Our last concert about a year and a half ago was a special night, so we are psyched to see some old friends and new ones. Percussionist Richie Barshay will be performing with us for this show. He has done amazing work with Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Fred Hersch and others. We will be performing new music as well as pieces from our album Galactic Diamonds. There will be an 8 pm and 9:30 set.

Tickets are $10, and to make a reservation just click here.

See you at the show!

Steve