Newton Highland Jazz Artist Returns for Hometown Gig

Sorry this is late, but it sounded great!
Former Newtonite returns for a Highland Jazz gig
By Ed Symkus/Senior Staff Writer
Tue Oct 28, 2008, 11:25 AM EDT

When pianist Steve Kuhn performs at Highland Jazz on Saturday — both as a soloist and as accompanist for his longtime singing partner Sheila Jordan — it’ll be quite the homecoming for him. The Brooklyn native spent his teen years based in Newton, often playing at fabled hot spots such as Storyville and The Stable, while attending Newton High School and Harvard.
Kuhn, 70, whose most recent album is the “Promises Kept,” had always been told that he showed a musical ability even before he could walk. Though he started piano lessons at 5, he began lessons with the renowned Margaret Chaloff at 12, and had to “unlearn everything I had learned, in terms of piano technique.”
A brief stint at the Lenox School after graduating from Harvard put him together with an incredible faculty (Gunther Schuller, Bill Evans, Kenny Dorham) some up-and-coming students (Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry), and led him to a great first regular gig when he moved to New York and became part of trumpeter Dorham’s quintet.
A gutsy cold call to John Coltrane got him the piano seat in Trane’s newly formed quartet, after which Kuhn went on to play with Stan Getz and Art Farmer, live and work in Sweden for a few years, then settle into a career of group and solo and duet work. He’s been collaborating with Sheila Jordan for close to 40 years.

What do you recall of being attracted to music as a young child?

“My father had a collection of 78 jazz recordings — Benny Goodman and Count Basie and Duke Ellington. I responded viscerally to that music when he put it on. I had a photographic memory, and I would crawl to the Victrola, and by looking at the record label, I could tell you, in baby talk — like Benny Goo-man — the title of it, and I would put it on.”

How long have you been playing professionally?

“The first job I ever had was at a high school dance in the gym when I was around 13. I think I got $6 for it. Then I was taken under the wing of George Wein, who owned Storyville at the time in Boston. I worked solo piano at Storyville, and I also got in with the guys who worked at The Stable. I would sit in and work there when someone else took the night off. This was all through high school.”

When did you start thinking about making music your career?

“I never thought of doing anything else. I had people telling me that right along: ‘You’re crazy; do it as an avocation, but study to be a doctor or whatever.’ I’m glad I didn’t listen, but they were right. It is hard, and it continues to be challenging. With a few exceptions in this business, it’s really a struggle for most musicians. But if it’s in your heart of hearts to do it, you pursue it, and at some point in the journey, you’ll know if it’s not for you.”

How did you get hooked up with Kenny Dorham?

After the Lenox School, I moved to New York, checked into the Bryant Hotel, and started calling everybody I knew. It turned out that Kenny needed a piano player at that time, and asked me if I would join the band.

Did you really make a cold call to John Coltrane and ask to join his group?

“I called John Coltrane because he had just left Miles [Davis]. I said my name is such and such, I’m currently playing with Kenny Dorham, and I heard you were looking to put a quartet together. I would like it if we could meet sometime, and just talk and play. A few weeks went by, and he called me, and we got together in a little studio one afternoon, and spent two or three hours there talking and playing. About a week later, he called me and asked if I’d come out to his house on Long Island. I took the subway out there, and again we just talked and played. Maybe a week or two later he called and asked if $135 a week would be OK to start. I was with him for a little over two months, and then McCoy Tyner joined, but it was quite a learning experience.”

“Promises Kept” features a very different sound for you, with all of the string arrangements. Do you have to approach that project with a whole different mindset than other situations?

“I suppose you do, but for me it was a life’s dream to be able to do this. It was about playing kind of sparsely, and to really get the emotion — and transmitting that emotion to the audience. It’s about reaching people’s hearts. The worst thing for me to hear is someone saying, ‘Oh, that’s interesting.’ I’d rather they have a strong feeling. People have come up to me and said the music makes them cry or it makes them laugh and feel great. That’s what I want to hear.

What’s the difference for you between playing solo and accompanying someone?

“I like playing solo, but it’s very challenging, because it all rides on you. If it goes well, it’s on you, and if it doesn’t, it’s on you as well. The essence of accompanying is that it’s literally just accompanying. It’s about supporting a horn player or a singer, and not doing too much. But when I play at Highland Jazz with Sheila, at some point she’ll leave the stage, and I’ll do some solo playing.”

Are you ever totally comfortable when you’re sitting at the piano?

“I’ve been playing for 65 years, and it’s always a challenge.Anytime I sit down there, it’s as if it’s the first time. I think if I became complacent about it, then the edge would be lost, and why bother. I love what I’m doing, but I don’t love the traveling. If I could be virtually transported to the bandstands, that would be great. But to do the music is wonderful. I’m very blessed to be out here.”

Steve Kuhn and Sheila Jordan perform at Highland Jazz, Newton South High School, on Nov. 1 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20; students, $10. Call 781-237-1917.

Ed Symkus can be reached at esymkus@cnc.com.

From the Minuteman OPAC:

Home [sound recording]. Swallow, Steve. [München] : ECM ; [New York : Manufactured and distributed by BMG Music], p1980. 1 sound disc : digital ; 4 3/4 in. + 1 insert.


Live at Birdland [sound recording] Steve Kuhn Trio. New York : The Blue Note Label Group, p2007. 1 sound disc : digital ; 4 3/4 in.

Mostly ballads [sound recording] Kuhn, Steve. New York, NY : New World Records, p1987. 1 sound disc : digital, stereo. ; 4 3/4 in.

Oceans in the sky [sound recording] Kuhn, Steve. France : Owl Records/Sunnyside Communications, c2003, p1989. 1 sound disc : digital ; 4 3/4 in.

The Great jazz pianists : speaking of their lives and music New York : W. Morrow, 1983. 321 p. : ports. ; 25 cm. 1st ed. Chapter interviews Steve Kuhn.