Steffen Kuehn Leap of Faith Trumpeter/composer
Steffen Kuehn has become a mainstay of the Bay Area jazz and Latin music scenes
since arriving from his native Germany in 1997. He won a 2014 Grammy for Best
Tropical Latin Album for the self-titled debut by the 20-piece Pacific Mambo
Orchestra, which he co-leads with pianist Christian Tumalan. An alternately
robust and warmly lyrical soloist and an on-point horn-section player, he works
regularly with bands led by Latin drummer Brian Andres and timbalero Louie
Romero and with jazz drummer Tommy Igoe's Groove Conspiracy. And he has
performed and recorded as a leader, releasing three albums on his Stefrecords
imprint: Now or Later (2002), with fellow trumpeter Tim Hagans; trumpop (2008);
and Constantine (2011).
Kuehn
considers his newest recording, Leap of Faith, "my first recording in a
way, because," he explains, "I did everything myself. On my previous
recordings maybe I had a producer or I was recording somebody else's music. I
produced this record. I wrote the horn sections. I played in the horn section,
and I'm also the soloist. I think the writing is my best writing so far."
The CD will be released by Stefrecords on July 29.
The cast of
local luminaries assembled by Kuehn includes drummer Tommy Igoe, bassist
Dewayne Pate, pianist Colin Hogan, onetime Steely Dan guitarist Drew Zingg,
former Tower of Power and Yellowjackets alto saxophonist Marc Russo, current
Tower of Power tenor saxophonist Tom Politzer, and trombonist John Gove.
Guesting on one track apiece are current Yellowjackets tenor saxophonist Bob
Mintzer (on the Afro-Cuban "Storm") and Pacific Mambo Orchestra
vocalist Alexa Weber Morales (the bossa nova "Serenity"). The 10-song
set consists of eight original compositions and arrangements by Kuehn, Aaron
Lington's arrangement of "Helen's Song" by pianist George Cables, and
John Gove's arrangement of "Geraldine" by Yellowjackets keyboardist
Russell Ferrante.
"This
is the most personal recording I've ever done and the closest to me so
far," says Kuehn. "It not only puts the spotlight on me as a
trumpeter but also on my writing, which for me was equally important."
Born (1965)
and raised in Mannheim, Germany, Steffen Kuehn was drawn to the trumpet as a
child and began lessons at age 8. Initially he was interested in hard rock and
then soul music (Earth, Wind and Fire and Chaka Khan) before getting into jazz
via the Yellowjackets and Pat Metheny. "I grew up listening to the
Yellowjackets," says Kuehn. "They're one of my biggest
influences." He cites Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis as influences as
well.
Kuehn was
writing music and active in a number of bands before he decided to leave
Germany, at age 23, to attend North Texas State University. During his five
years there, he played in the school's big bands. A roommate from Colombia
introduced him to Latin music, which would eventually become a cornerstone of
his career.
After
graduating North Texas State in 1993 with a Bachelor of Music degree, Kuehn
moved to Munich. There he hooked up with onetime Woody Herman and Stan Kenton
high-note trumpet specialist Al Porcino, which whom he played duets in private
and with his big band in public. He also played in Munich with a big band led
by Serbian bop trumpeter Dusko Gojkovic.
Steffen Kuehn Since relocating to Northern
California in 1997, Kuehn has kept busy playing gigs with such artists as the
Temptations, Four Tops, Platters, Cold Blood, John Handy, Mark Levine, Ray
Obiedo, Louie Romero, Brian Andres, Generation Esmeralda, Tommy Igoe, and many
more. His resume also includes recordings with Andres, Igoe, Obiedo, Wayne
Wallace, and onetime Stooges guitarist James Williamson.
The Pacific
Mambo Orchestra, the large ensemble he co-leads with Mexican-born, Bay
Area-based pianist Christian Tumalan, started out in 2010 as the Monday night
band at Café Cocomo in San Francisco playing music rooted in the old-school
salsa and mambo sounds of Machito, Tito Puente, and Tito Rodriguez. The band,
which sports a 13-member horn section, has since expanded its repertoire to
include more original contemporary Latin compositions and arrangements, some by
Kuehn.
Little-known
at the time outside the Bay Area, the orchestra sent shockwaves throughout the
international Latin music community when it won the 2014 Best Tropical Latin
Album Grammy over superstar nominees Marc Anthony and Carlos Vives.
"Imagine the biggest surprise you're capable of and multiply that by
100," Kuehn says of his initial reaction to the award.
Leap of
Faith may or may not win the trumpeter another Grammy, but the variety and
vitality of the 10 tracks within it seem certain to bring Kuehn greater
recognition as a jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger of the highest caliber.
No comments:
Post a Comment