Jeremy Steig, Cornelia Street Cafe w/Vic Juris, Anthony Pinciotti, Bill Moring
NY Jazz Report’s Thad Kawecki and Will Wolf stopped by the Cornelia Street Cafe on Friday 11, February 2005 to catch the Jeremy Steig Quartet. Steig’s recent CD with guitarist Vic Juris is entitled “Improvised.”
Set List: Friday the 13th, Solar, You Don’t Know What Love Is, All Blues, Samba de Orpheus
Wolf: On stage Jeremy Steig is not a man of many words. And throughout this performance at the Cornelia Street Cafe he was mostly silent. (On two separate occasions he thanked the audience for their applause, and when the show ended he introduced his bandmates.) However, he became completely energized, totally animated whenever he communicated through the magic of his flute, letting everyone in the room know exactly what was on his mind. Steig’s playing brings him to life, and on this night of “Rough Jazz” with his quartet, he was very much alive.
Kawacki: Indeed. Steig displayed an extroverted style marked by explosive springs in double-time, soaring wide-ranged flights, and the frequent use of a vocalized intonation that added edge to concept steeped in blues, pop, and modal jazz. With the exception of the spare, freely improvised intros to “Solar” and “All Blues” (essentially duets with the introspective Vic Juris) his playing was intense and florid…
Wolf: …Nothing bland was going on here. This was an evening of high energy with Steig and his quartet lighting up the room. And when it was all over, the audience left revitalized. And like Steig, very much alive.