Loren Stillman Press Kit

LOREN STILLMAN

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“Loren Stillman is one of New York best alto saxophonists, and has gained that distinction well before reaching age 30.” -David Adler, Jazz Times Magazine

 

 

     

“a writer and a stylist that has found a previously unoccupied slot in the jazz spectrum” - Jazz Review UK  

“The magic, that which entrances, is not technique, although Stillman obviously can play anything his mind hears. He is that special player, one who is totally free. -Budd Kopman, Cadence Magazine

  -Budd Kopman, Cadence May 2004 The music of Brooklyn-based saxophonist and composter, Loren Stillman, hasMagazine, found acclaimed reviews in such publications as The New York Times, Downbeat Magazine, Jazziz, Jazz Times, and National Public Radio, marking him as an innovative voice of modern jazz. With his training stemming from Lee Konitz and David Liebman, Stillman has performed, recorded, and educated throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan. Alongside an impressive record of performances, recordings, and masterclasses with his own ensembles, Stillman has performed alongside Charlie Haden, Paul Motian Trio 2000+2, Carla Bley, John Abercrombie, Andy Milne’s DAPP Theory, Michele Rosewoman Quintessence, Joe Lovano, Eivind Opsvik, John McNeil, Brad Shepik, Russ Lossing, Vic Juris, and The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra.

An early start to his musical career found Stillman as recipient of two Outstanding Performance Awards (1996 & 1998) and the Rising Star Jazz Artist Award (2004) from Down Beat Magazine. Stillman attended Manhattan School of Music (1998) and The New School (2002) on full music scholarship, and was a semifinalist in the 2002 Thelonious Monk Saxophone Competition. In 2005, Stillman received the CMA/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming and the ASCAP Young Jazz Composers Award. Stillman’s original recordings, It Could Be Anything (Fresh Sound, 2005), The Brothers’ Breakfast (Steeplechase, 2006), and Blind Date (Pirouet, 2006), received critical acclaim from The New York Times and four star recognition in BBC Jazz Review, Jazz Man Magazine and Downbeat Magazine. Stillman has been featured on WKCR, Weekend America Public Broadcasting, and LIU Radio programming. Loren Stillman endorses Rico products and AMT Microphones.

LOREN STILLMAN Bad Touch: Like a Magic Kiss Self-Released, w/ Nate Radley (gt.) Gary Versace (B3) Ted Poor (dr)

Blind Date: Pirouet Records, w/ Joey Baron (dr) Drew Gress (bs) Gary Versace (pn)

 

Trio Alto Vlm 2: Steeplechase Records, w/ Take Toriyama (dr) John Hebert (bs)

The Brothers Breakfast: Steeplechase Records, w/ Gary Versace (B3) Vic Juris (gt) Jeff Hirshfield (dr)

Trio Alto Vlm 1: SteepleChase Records, w/ Steve Laspina (bs) Jeff Hirshfield (dr)

It Could Be Anything: Fresh Sound Records, w/ Gary Versace (pn) Scott Lee (bs) Jeff Hirshfield (dr)

Jackalope “Saltier Then Ever!”: Challenge Records, w/ John Abercrombie (gtr) Bob Meyer (dr)

Gin Bon: Fresh Sound Records, w/ John Abercrombie (gtr) Russ Lossing (pn) Scott Lee (bs) Jeff Hirshfield (dr)

How Sweet It Is: Nagel-Heyer Records, with Russ Lossing (pn) Scott Lee (bs) Jeff Hirshfield (dr)

Cosmos: Soul Note Records, with Russ Lossing (pn) Scott Lee (bs) Bob Meyer (dr)   

 

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L OREN STILLMAN

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“Loren Stillman is one of New York's best alto saxophonists, and has gained the distinction well before reaching age 30…Stillman can evoke the lyrical alto of Lee Konitz and the multi-phonic attack of post-Coltrane tenors. You'll never hear a stock lick, even over the most lick friendly progression.” -David Adler, JazzTimes Magazine “Mr. Stillman writes music that’s intricate but unforced and devoid of pretension…just as important, he has a distinctive sound on his instrument — full but dry, with only the slightest intimation of vibrato — and he shows restraint and consideration in his solos. When a song opens up rhythmically, as happens often here, he sets an agenda without closing off alternative options. He’s a watchful sort of improviser, rigorous about everything, including the unknown.” -Nate Chinen, NY Times Review Blind Date “The magic, that which entrances, is not technique, although Stillman obviously can play anything his mind hears. He is that special player, one who is totally free. Stillman projects a searching intelligence far beyond his years with every note…” -Budd Kopman, Cadence Magazine

 

“…In this first hearing I believe that as a writer and a stylist, he (Stillman) has found a previously unoccupied slot in the jazz spectrum, which is a very rare thing in deed…” -Anthony Troon, Jazz Review UK "Still, one need only look to the plethora of independent labels to realize that jazz is hardly on its death bed. It's thriving and, if not seeing grand developmental leaps, there are inescapable steps forward day-by-day, release-by-release. That a twentysomething musician like saxophonist Loren Stillman can release an album as mature, well-conceived and personal as It Could Be Anything is clear evidence that creative jazz with a difference is still being made and that it's premature to be ringing its death-knell." -John Kelman, AllAboutJazz "...in jazz music where players carry on into their 80's, Loren Stillman at 23 is like a ten year old playing major league baseball. But what an arm (so to speak). It Could Be Anything features the leader's sweet tone matched with fluid soloing, satisfying melodies, clever countermelodies, and taut rhythmic interplay." -Jeff Stockton, AllAboutJazz “Bad Touch is a young group facing the usual embarrassment of riches. It’s looking at 60 or so years of style and temperament in American jazz: soft, loud, fast, slow, in tempo, out of tempo, free, composed, cluttered, sparse, swinging and non-. And it has chosen all of them.” -Ben Ratliff, New York Times "Occasionally a totally new CD finds its way to the player, and from the music’s very first notes, just totally entrances both mind and body. These magical times are rare, but this is really what jazz is about. Furthermore, a CD that manages to make this kind of impression almost always remains able to over time, even years later. How Sweet It Is is one such effort. It is one of those rare releases that draws one in willingly without demanding anything, yet is so seductive and powerful that time seemingly stops for its duration." -Budd Kopman, AllAboutJazz "Lee Konitz on steroids" is how John Abercrombie once assessed Loren Stillman, referencing the then 21-year-old alto saxophonist's ability to conjure long, lucid melodic lines out of abstract raw materials with on-top-of-the-beat, across-thebarline phrasing and resonant tone. Now 25, Stillman has extrapolated improvi-sational derring-do into a detailed compositional vision, expressed in eight originals on It Could Be Anything (Fresh Sound/ New Talent 230; 58:08) ****. Keyboardist Gary Versace, here on acoustic piano, matches the leader's virtuosic execution. New York vets Scott Lee (bass) and Jeff Hirschfield (drums) dance elegantly through the shifting meters.” -Ted Pankin, Downbeat Magazine “He has whole tracts of America’s jazz tradition in his playing and writing, however, and at 22 is a pleasantly frightening prospect.” -Rob Adams, the Herald UK

“…He does not throw his chops around; instead, he proceeds with forethought, abstraction and gracefulness. Perhaps Stillman’s greatest asset at this point is his decision (and capacity) to play introspectively as well as livelier. He expresses his ideas in a mature, nuanced manner.” -Owen Cordle, JazzTimes Magazine “A blind date can be risky, cause apprehension and kindle a sense of adventure. Anticipating Loren Stillman’s foray into his own Blind Date stirs all those feelings.” -Jerry D'Souza, AAJ “The thoroughly modern, mysterious, beautiful, and yet tough Like A Magic Kiss is the debut of Bad Touch; a collective made up of players who, though still young, have each established themselves as an original with a unique voice.” -Budd Kopman, AAJ “Stillman's unique identity derives from both his playing and his compositions. His exquisite tone and superb technique at times sound like those of a virtuoso classical saxophone recitalist (the two-minute "Vignette: Ghost Town" might be well received in a Parisian recital hall). But at other times his sound and mannerisms evoke such jazzmen as Lee Konitz and even more forceful players.” -David Franklin, Jazz Times Magazine “Loren Stillman Quartet, with his new album, "It Could Be Anything" (Fresh Sound New Talent) Mr. Stillman reinforces his reputation as an alto saxophonist with an inquisitive relationship to jazz tradition.” -Nate Chinen, NY Times “...Perhaps Stillman's greatest asset at this point is his decision (and capacity) to play, like Konitz, quietly and intuitively. He expresses his ideas and emotions in a mature, nuanced manner. He's off to a good start, distinctive among the pack of young saxophonists today and headed for a bright future - if people will listen.” -Owen Cordle, Correspondent "Loren Stillman shows so much facility as a young jazzman it's scary. The alto players debut on the Nagel-Heyer label may be one of the most accomplished in the history of jazz. He brings the whole package to the table: maturity of conception; lightly worn assimilation of the tradition; glorious tone; song writing genius; small band leadership." -Jan P. Dennis 2003 “Loren Stillman a 21-year old from Croton-on-Hudson, NY, hears it (jazz) as a rare, exotic form whose notes inflate and wilt and trill, almost a kind of meditation on texture.” -Ben Ratliff of the NY Times "...At 16, Loren Stillman is destined to drop countless jaws. His excellent alto work on Cosmos sure doesn't sound like the work of a kid, but Stillman is one big anomaly..." -John Sekerka, CD World "His future, in my opinion, is so bright it’s almost blinding. If he follows that light through, we will benefit from his creative exploration along with him. I love this beautiful world of music we live in. It has given us another wondrous gift: Loren Stillman." -Joe Lovano “Age, or lack of same, has been an overworked element in the mythology of any so-called current jazz renaissance. But imaginative vision rather than precocity of technique plays the major role in Stillman’s story. In other words, what we’re dealing with here isn’t just another bebop baby spewing forth Parker and Coltrane licks on command. Rather Stillman-who’s strikingly fluid, assured command of his horn is never in question…” -Steve Futterman, Jazziz Magazine

LOREN STILLMAN

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Phone: (917) 374‐7298  Email: [email protected]  Website: www.lorenstillman.com  Myspace: www.myspace.com/lorenstillman