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Steve Coleman facts for kids

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For the American football player, see Steve Coleman (American football).
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Steve Coleman
Steve Coleman 1611.JPG
Steve Coleman in Paris, July 2004
Background information
Birth name Steven Douglas Coleman
Born (1956-09-20) September 20, 1956 (age 68)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genres Jazz, avant-garde, M-Base
Occupation(s) Musician, composer, bandleader
Instruments Saxophone
Labels JMT, Pangaea, Novus, BMG, Label Bleu, Pi
Associated acts Five Elements, M-Base Collective, Strata Institute

Steve Coleman (born September 20, 1956) is a talented American musician. He plays the saxophone, writes music, and leads his own bands. He is also a music thinker who studies how music works. In 2014, he received a special award called a MacArthur Fellowship for his amazing work.

Early Life and Music Journey

Steve Coleman grew up in South Side, Chicago. He started playing the alto saxophone when he was 14 years old. He went to college for two years at Illinois Wesleyan University. After that, he studied music at Roosevelt University in Chicago.

In 1978, Steve moved to New York City. There, he played in big bands with famous musicians. He worked with groups like the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. He also played with Sam Rivers and Cecil Taylor.

Soon, Steve started playing with other great musicians. These included David Murray and Abbey Lincoln. For his first four years in New York, Steve played music on the streets. He also played in small clubs with his own band. This band grew into Steve Coleman and Five Elements. This group became his main band. With them, he created a new way of playing jazz. He used repeating musical patterns called "loops" in his improvisations.

Steve also worked with other young African-American musicians. These included Cassandra Wilson and Greg Osby. Together, they started a new music style called M-Base.

Exploring Music and Culture

Steve Coleman believes that his music comes from African traditions. He thinks that many African ideas are still strong in modern African-American music. He wanted to learn more about these roots.

To do this, he traveled to Ghana in 1993. There, he met the Dagomba people. They play very complex drum music. Their drumming is so special, it's like they are speaking through music. This made Steve think about how music shares information in different cultures.

He also became very interested in the Yoruba tradition. This tradition comes from West Africa. It is also part of other cultures like Santería in Cuba and Vodou in Haiti.

In Cuba, Steve found a group called Afrocuba de Matanzas. They keep many Cuban and African music traditions alive. In 1996, Steve and 10 other musicians worked with Afrocuba de Matanzas. They performed at the Havana Jazz Festival and recorded an album called The Sign and the Seal.

Steve continued his travels to learn about music. In 1997, he took musicians from America and Cuba to Senegal. They shared music and culture with a local group called Sing Sing Rhythm. In 1998, he also took his band Five Elements to India. There, they learned about carnatic music traditions.

In September 2014, Steve Coleman received the MacArthur Fellowship. This award recognized him for "refreshing traditional templates to create distinctive and innovative work in ... jazz." It means he uses old ideas in new and exciting ways in jazz music.

Music Albums

Steve Coleman has released many albums as a bandleader. He has also played on albums with other musicians.

As a Bandleader

  • Motherland Pulse (JMT, 1985)
  • On the Edge of Tomorrow (JMT, 1986)
  • World Expansion (JMT, 1987)
  • Sine Die (Pangaea, 1988)
  • Rhythm People (The Resurrection of Creative Black Civilization) (RCA Novus, 1990)
  • Black Science (RCA Novus, 1991)
  • Phase Space with Dave Holland (Rebel-X, 1991)
  • Drop Kick (RCA Novus, 1992)
  • Rhythm in Mind (Novus, 1992)
  • The Tao of Mad Phat (RCA Novus, 1993)
  • We Beez Like That! (InfoMatin, 1995)
  • Myths, Modes and Means (BMG, 1995)
  • The Way of the Cipher (BMG, 1995)
  • Def Trance Beat (BMG, 1995)
  • Curves of Life (BMG, 1995)
  • Steve Coleman's Music: Live in Paris (BMG, 1995)
  • The Sign and the Seal (BMG, 1996)
  • Genesis & the Opening of the Way (BMG, 1997)
  • The Sonic Language of Myth (RCA Victor, 1999)
  • The Ascension to Light (BMG, 2001)
  • Resistance Is Futile (Label Bleu, 2001)
  • On the Rising of the 64 Paths (Label Bleu, 2002)
  • Lucidarium (Label Bleu, 2004)
  • Weaving Symbolics (Label Bleu, 2006)
  • Invisible Paths: First Scattering (Tzadik, 2007)
  • Harvesting Semblances and Affinities (Pi, 2010) – recorded in 2006–07
  • The Mancy of Sound (Pi, 2011) – recorded in 2007
  • Functional Arrhythmias (Pi, 2013)
  • Synovial Joints (Pi, 2015)
  • Morphogenesis (Pi, 2017)
  • Live at the Village Vanguard Vol. I (The Embedded Sets) (Pi, 2018)
  • Live at the Village Vanguard Vol. II (MDW NTR) (Pi, 2021)
  • PolyTropos / Of Many Turns (Pi, 2024)

As Part of a Group

M-Base

  • Anatomy of a Groove (DIW, 1992)

Playing with Other Artists

Steve Coleman has also played as a "sideman" (a supporting musician) on many albums. Here are some of the artists he has worked with:

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Steve Coleman para niños

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