Steve Heckman & Matt Clark Cd Release Event at The Sound Room

SOME OTHER TIME/SLOW CAFÉ is Steve Heckmans 6th album to date, and the 5th album on which Steve collaborates with piano virtuoso Matt Clark. These tracks, taken from 2 recording sessions, reflect perhaps the most intimate and reflective sides of Steve and Matts playing to date.

From the liner notes: These tracks, taken from 2 recording sessions, reflect perhaps the most intimate and reflective sides of Steve and Matts playing to date. The additional space created by the absence of bass and drums sets the stage for creative explorations of mood and textural nuance which might not have been achieved in a standard quartet/quintet setting. The album includes 4 originals (3 by Steve, 1 by Matt), as well as 8 standards, including a number of relatively rarely- heard tunes such as Monks Ugly Beauty, Duke Pearsons Is That So? and Fred Lacey/Mark Stevens moving tribute to the late alto saxophonist Ernie Henry, Theme for Ernie. Some Other Time, one of Leonard Bernsteins most beautiful popular songs (co-written with Betty Comden and Adolph Green) is the centerpiece of one of these 2 sessions, capturing the almost timeless mood evoked by the songs title. Also presented in an impressionistic fashion is Jimmy Rowles gem, The Peacocks, while interspersed among these more introspective pieces are a number of up-tempo explorations including the burners, Get Happy and Jeannine, as well as an up-tempo version of the standard I Should Care. Notable among the original tunes are 2 waltzes, including Matts haunting Foregone Conclusions and Sheilas Sunday Song, written by Steve, as well as Steves tribute to one of his influences, Lee Konitz (Admiring-Lee). Slow Café, the other centerpiece, is a funky, Gospel-influenced original by Steve, which fits well as a concluding piece. ...

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SOME OTHER TIME/SLOW CAFÉ is Steve Heckmans 6th album to date, and the 5th album on which Steve collaborates with piano virtuoso Matt Clark. These tracks, taken from 2 recording sessions, reflect perhaps the most intimate and reflective sides of Steve and Matts playing to date.

From the liner notes: These tracks, taken from 2 recording sessions, reflect perhaps the most intimate and reflective sides of Steve and Matts playing to date. The additional space created by the absence of bass and drums sets the stage for creative explorations of mood and textural nuance which might not have been achieved in a standard quartet/quintet setting. The album includes 4 originals (3 by Steve, 1 by Matt), as well as 8 standards, including a number of relatively rarely- heard tunes such as Monks Ugly Beauty, Duke Pearsons Is That So? and Fred Lacey/Mark Stevens moving tribute to the late alto saxophonist Ernie Henry, Theme for Ernie. Some Other Time, one of Leonard Bernsteins most beautiful popular songs (co-written with Betty Comden and Adolph Green) is the centerpiece of one of these 2 sessions, capturing the almost timeless mood evoked by the songs title. Also presented in an impressionistic fashion is Jimmy Rowles gem, The Peacocks, while interspersed among these more introspective pieces are a number of up-tempo explorations including the burners, Get Happy and Jeannine, as well as an up-tempo version of the standard I Should Care. Notable among the original tunes are 2 waltzes, including Matts haunting Foregone Conclusions and Sheilas Sunday Song, written by Steve, as well as Steves tribute to one of his influences, Lee Konitz (Admiring-Lee). Slow Café, the other centerpiece, is a funky, Gospel-influenced original by Steve, which fits well as a concluding piece.

I am proud to add that my 1st and 2nd CDs (With John in Mind and Live at Yoshis) received international praise, the latter selected by Andrew Gilbert of the San Francisco Chronicle as one of the top 11 CDs by a Bay Area jazz musician in 2005. My 3rd CD ,Born to be Blue (Jazzed Media)) featured New York guitar virtuoso Howard Alden, internationally acclaimed drummer Akira Tana, Bay Area icon bassist Marcus Shelby, and keyboard wizard Matt Clark; it remained on the Jazz Week charts for 12 weeks, peaking at #19 of the top 50 jazz CDs for U.S./Canada airplay, while my 4th CD, Search for Peace (same personnel as Born to Be Blue) hit #10 on the Jazz Week charts and #3 on the Roots Music Report. My 5th CD, Legacy: A Coltrane Tribute is a dedication to my primary influence, and also received national acclaim. Tim Price (Saxophone Journal), a highly-respected saxophonist himself, wrote: This is a kick-ass saxophonist with finesse Heckman's sound on tenor is world-class.

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