Biography - Jeremy Steig Official Site

Jeremy was born in Greenwich Village, New York in 1942. His mother, Liza Mead, was an art teacher and oil painter. His father William Steig was a cartoonist, who illustrated for The New Yorker, and later wrote the children’s picture book “Shrek”.

When Jeremy was two years old, his parents divorced. He then lived with his mother and his sister on Charles Street in the West Village. His childhood was influenced by his aunt, Margaret Mead, a cultural anthropologist, his grandfather Joseph Steig, who painted in oil as a hobby (both of whom lived nearby), and his father William, who was devoted to the psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich.

Music Lessons

At six, Jeremy began playing the recorder as part of his music lessons. When he turned eleven, at his mother’s suggestion, he began his flute lessons with Paige Brook of the New York Philharmonic. Around this time, he attended a music camp in Indian Hill, where he heard live jazz for the first time. It was a performance by a band of senior students (Chuck Israels, Perry Robinson, Jon Mayer, and Arnie Wise).

High School and Gigging

At High School of Music and Art (now LaGuardia High School of Music and Art & Performing Arts), jazz was not taught, but there, Jeremy met other students who later became a jazz musician, such as Larry Willis and Eddie Gomez. Jeremy asked his mom to take him to the legendary Five Spot club. After hearing Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane perform, he decided to become a jazz musician. At the age of 16, he started gigging in the neighborhood. Bobby Jaspar, who was also a Villager, was a good friend and mentor.
In 1962, while visiting Bermuda with his amateur band, Jeremy was involved in a motorbike accident that left him paralyzed on the left side of his face. He also lost his left hearing, but devised his own mouthpiece and continued to play the flute.

Flute Fever and the 1960s

John Hammond offered to record him, which led to the release of his first leader album, “Flute Fever” (Columbia) in 1964. He then briefly worked with Paul Winter’s band. Around this time, Jeremy was also active in anti-Vietnam War concerts, and frequently played on “Radio Unnameable” by DJ Bob Fass at WBAI Radio.

During a gig with Junior Wells, Jimi Hendrix sat in. Jeremy and Jimi got on and jammed at the Gaslight on MacDougal Street and other venues.
In 1967, he formed the pioneering jazz-rock band Jeremy & The Satyrs, and played at the Fillmore in SF. In New York, he sat in with the Bill Evans Trio at the Village Gate. In 1969, Bill invited Jeremy to record with his trio on “What’s New” (Verve).

Jazz Rock (Fusion)

In the 1970s, he released many albums, including “Energy” (Capitol) and “Temple of Birth” (Columbia). In 1972, he joined Art Blakey’s band in the Munich Olympics. He often performed in Europe, including tours with Eddie Gomez and Joe Chambers, and concerts with European musicians in jazz festivals.

Another Accident, Jazz in Decline

Just before turning 40, Jeremy was riding his bicycle near his home when he was hit by a cab that ran a red light and broke his neck. It took him six months to recover, and he disappeared from the scene.
With the advent of the rock and pop era, jazz music went into decline.
Homebound at his West Village apartment, Jeremy worked on the “flute band” project, overdubbing his original flute music.
For sheet music, visit https://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/www.jeremysteig.info
In the late 1990s, he accompanied Eddie Gomez’s trio on a tour of Japan as a featured artist. In 1998, he met Asako, when he bought a fountain pen at a department store in Morioka, Japan.

From New York to Yokohama

Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York in 2001, Jeremy’s phone was dead for 3 months. With ashes falling from the sky, he kept the windows tightly closed. He composed “People Dust”, which he later recorded on his quartet album.
Married Asako in New York in 2003.
In 2004, he started playing with his own band for the first time in about 20 years. He performed monthly at the Cornelia Street Cafe in the West Village and played with Vic Juris at the Yokohama Jazz Promenade in Japan.
In 2007, he compiled the fruits of years of home-recording since the 1990s into the solo album “Pterodactyl”,