INTERVIEWS/REVIEWS

RADIO INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL JEFRY STEVENS (5/15/04) ON WNTI
WNTI interview part 1
WNTI interview part 2
WNTI interview part 3
WNTI interview part 4
WNTI interview part 5
BELGIAN RADIO INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL JEFRY STEVENS (2000)
About Mark Whitecage Belgian Interview About Dave Douglas/Mosaic Sextet Belgian Interview About Conference Call Belgian Interview

USA radio show on F/S Group (2005)
About F/S Group

NEW WEB ARTICLE ON MICHAEL JEFRY STEVENS
www.home20.inet.tele.dk/jazznet/stevens.html -
Danish Web Article

New Interview from Point of Departure on line jazz magazine!
www.pointofdeparture.org/PoD16/PoD16TravellinLight.html -
Read Article

NEW CD REVIEWs
MICHAEL JEFRY STEVENS QUARTET With DAVID SCHNITTER/DOMINIC DUVAL/JAY
ROSEN - For The Children (Cadence 1202; USA) Featuring David Schnitter
on tenor sax, Michael Jefry Stevens on piano & compositions, Dominic
Duval on acoustic bass and Jay Rosen on drums.
This disc was recorded in a studio in Brooklyn in 1995, so it is an early disc with Mr.
Stevens as a leader. I remember former-Newark based saxist, Dave
Schnitter, from his days with Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers in the
seventies. He had a great, big tone then, as he still has now. It is
also great to hear the Trio-X rhythm team with Dom Duval and Jay Rosen
on a more straight-ahead jazz date. "Specific Gravity" opens and has a
most memorable melody with sparkling piano from Michael and tasty warm-
toned tenor from Dave. Both Dave and Dominic take superb solos here.
"Henderson" is an older tune written by Michael and dedicated to Joe
Henderson. The rollicking interplay between the sax and piano is
especially rambunctious and Stevens takes a wonderful two-handed, hard-
swinging solo here, as does Jay Rosen on his magical drums. "Sadness
of the Madness" is a touching ballad with some exquisite sax from Dave
and poignant piano from Michael. "The Hunt" is an old-sounding blues
tune inspired by a search for an apartment in Brooklyn in the
eighties. Both Michael and Dave take great blues-drenched solos here
sounding like they mean business. "Graduation" is an amazing, uptempo
song that burns right from the first note. Michael's intense and
passion-filled piano pushes the rest of quartet into a powerful, hard-
swinging hurricane. There is an amazing tenor and drum duo that must
be heard to be believed. I dig the Latin-tinged "Patato's Song,"
written for Latin percussionist Patato Valdez and filled an exuberant,
pounding drum riff. The final piece, "Last Waltz" is actually a lovely
waltz with more sublime and tasty playing from all four members of
this superb quartet. Another gem from the consistently strong pen and
playing of Michael Jefry Stevens and his mighty fine quartet. -
Downtown Music
Bruce Gallanter


Michael Jefry Stevens Quartet - “For The Children” - CD-2008 Cadence Jazz Records
EJazz News April 26, 2008 - Glenn Astarita

It might be a tad premature to start citing top picks for 2008, but
this newly issued release led by pianist/composer Michael Jefry
Stevens is a modern jazz effort that is near flawless in delivery and
scope. No doubt, the quartet communicates a high-degree of passion amid a wondrously balanced jazz program. While the members of this quartet are perhaps better known for their free-jazz proclivities, Stevens in particular looms as an artist who possesses a commanding vernacular within variable jazz-based underpinnings.

The soloists are offered ample room to mold and reshape the overall thematic element as Stevens is notably comfortable in both the free realm and mainstream side of matters. And those familiar with the pianist’s co-leadership of the fantastic avant/progressive “Fonda/ Stevens Group,” are well aware of his rather enviable chops. Here, the band sports an upbeat mode of attack via Stevens’ memorable compositions that are often engineered upon pronounced grooves and harmonically resplendent choruses. No doubt, the musicians move forward with gobs of vigor as they hone down a stylistic approach for the duration.

Stevens’ “The Hunt,” is designed with a ballsy honky-tonk blues motif, where Duval and Schnitter bring it all back home with lyrically- charged solo spots. And in other regions, the quartet renders turbulent free-bop lines to counterbalance a few emotive ballads that are acutely interspersed among the high-impact works. In sum, it’s a glistening fusion of progressive jazz and thoroughly hip, multipart dialogues. You won’t need golden ears to hear how this unit truly makes a difference! – Glenn Astarita

David Schnitter: saxophone; Dominic Duval: bass; Jay Rosen: drums; Michael Jefry Stevens: piano/composer.

Bad Alchemy
by Rigobert Dittmann


For The Children (CJR 1202) bringt eine Einspielung des MICHAEL JEFRY STEVENS QUARTETs von 1995 zu Gehör, neun Kompositionen von Stevens, gespielt im Verbund mit Dominic Duval am Bass und Jay Rosen an den Drums sowie David Schnitter am Saxophon. Stevens hatte dabei nicht nur die Drillinge von Duval im Sinn, sondern auch einige Girlfriends von einst. ‚Henderson‘ hat der mit dem Mosaic Sextet und der Fonda/Stevens Group bekannt gewordene New Yorker Pianist natürlich im Andenken an Joe Henderson geschrieben und ‚Patato‘s Song‘ für den Perkussionisten Patato Valdez. Schnitter stammt aus Newark und spielte in den 70/80ern Hardbop bei Art Blakey‘s Jazz Messengers und mit Freddie Hubbard, bevor er sich in New York außerhalb des Rampenlichtes als Musiklehrer durchschlug. Bei Stevens konnte er mehrfach seine lyrische Seite ausspielen, speziell beim melancholischen ‚Sadness of the Madness‘, wo auch Stevens nachdenklich und träumerisch mit Glasmurmeln schussert. Auf Kerzenlichtjazz der unpeinlichen Sorte folgt ein Blues, das Tempo zieht für das quirlige und melodiöse ‚Graduation‘ deutlich an, um bei ‚Sunny‘s Song‘ doch wieder in süßen Erinnerungen zu schwelgen. Danach dann ein Latingroove mit Rosen in einer Hauptrolle, das wiegenliedhafte Titelstück und zu guter Letzt ‚Lazy Waltz‘, das sich leichtfüßig rückwärts dreht, die Farben verblassen, die Welt wird wieder schwarzweiß, eine Klaviatur der Imagination. [BA 58 rbd]

by Big Geez - Blogcriticsarchive
Published May 19, 2008


A new release on the Cadence Jazz label proves that you can sometimes stumble onto a hidden treasure, even one that's been out of sight for over a decade. For The Children, featuring the Michael Jefry Stevens Quartet, was actually recorded in 1995 but has just now been issued as part of Cadence's Historical Jazz Series.
The quartet is headed by - surprise - Michael Jefry Stevens, a respected pianist and composer with a solid record of experience in both traditional jazz and cutting-edge stuff, and he's joined by some others with similar resumes. First and foremost is his old friend Dominic Duval, a bassist who should be familiar to fans of free jazz, and who is also the father of the children mentioned in the album's title.
Filling out the quartet are two more veteran musicians, including tenor saxophonist David Schnitter, who was well-known in the post-bop era but has kept a low profile since, and drummer Jay Rosen, another fine instrumentalist. Both help give the quartet a firm footing in several different jazz disciplines.

The album is filled with a mix of music that reflects the diversity of the musicians' history, although all pieces were composed by Stevens. They range from the hard-bop sounds of "Henderson" and "Graduation," to softer and slower ballads. Some of my favorites among those included the title track, along with a nice piece called "Sunny's Song," which is dedicated to one of Stevens' old girlfriends.
Another good listen was "Lazy Waltz," although it's free-spirited sound combined with Schnitter's bop turns make it a piece that you could not waltz to unless you were double-jointed. I also enjoyed "Patato's Song," written as a tribute to Stevens' former bandmate, Latin percussionist Patato Valdez.
A nice collection, though one that will probably appeal more to fans of free jazz or hard bop, rather than traditional. More info and samples available at artist's website.

EASTERN BOUNDARY QUARTET
EASTERN BOUNDARY QUARTET [MIHALY BORBELY/MICHAEL
JEFRY STEVENS /JOE FONDA/BALAZS BAGYI] - Eastern
Boundary (Artisjus 01; Hungary) Recorded live at
Nyitott Muhely, Budapest on May 12, 2007.
Featuring Mihaly Borbely on soprano sax, Michael
Jefry Stevens on piano, Joe Fonda on acoustic
bass and Balazs Bagyi on drums.
Every few months, downtown bassist supreme, Joe Fonda leaves us
with a new CD and each time I am surprised to get
another gem. Sometimes it is another version of
great Fonda/Stevens Group and sometimes it
features lesser-known musicians. And every time,
I smile at the results. I can't say that I've
heard of either of these fine Hungarian
musicians, but again I am pleased to hear some
new, creative spirits. Joe Fonda's "Song for My
Mother" opens with some haunting piano, bowed
bass and spacious mallets. There is some strong
interplay between the members of the piano, bass
and drums, but it is the soprano sax that takes
great, serpent-like solo in the second half.
Michael Stevens' "The End Game" has a lovely,
laid back melody and more sublime soprano from
Mihaly, as well as a fine bass solo from Mr.
Fonda. By "Fire Jumping" the quartet start to
soar with some great rolling piano, amazing
jet-propelled bass and hard-swinging, Art
Blakey-like drums. "Improvisation" is just that
and all four players get a chance to stretch out
and swirl powerfully around one another. The
quartet concludes with a tasty version of Mongo
Santamaria's classic "Afro Blue." John Coltrane's
version of this song is perhaps the most revered
version and the quartet do play it in a most
spirited Trane-like way with some superb soprano
sax and a rich, lyrical, sparkling piano solo
from Mr. Stevens. -

GRIFFITH/STEVENS QUARTET Vocal Jazz at the Reutlingen Art Gallery Festl
& Maas Reutlinger Nachrichten 31.01.2007

He is whispering,
murmuring, hissing and bubbling
The voice of diversity: Miles Griffith and Michael Jefry Stevens Group

Some people in the audience were dancing in their seats:
The New York vocalist Miles Griffith and the Michael Jefry Stevens Group were delivering an extravagant,
exciting show.

Reutlingen Laughing and joking, his eyes hiding behind white-framed glasses, he is walking straight on stage while breaking out into wild scatting. Eliciting single tones from his larynx, suddenly he’s in the upper register trying to get higher. Tormenting the tone higher until it doesn’t seem to sound anymore. Very unorthodox.

We’re talking about Miles Griffith an outstanding vocalist of the young American Jazz scene, giving a performance with Michael Jefry Stevens (piano), Christian Ramond (bass), Dieter Ulrich (drums) at the Art Gallery. Unconventional is also the kind of singing by the Brooklyn artist. Crossing musical borders while he is improvising and taking a chance on his desire for vocal experimenting. The percussive phrasing of his voice and the polyphonic structures are the characteristics of his singing which is sufficient to the demand of the avant-garde and at the same time he‘s putting an impact on the audience. But what is the little man doing there on stage? Singing? No, not exactly. Rather whispering, whimpering‘, howling‘, screaming‘, murmuring, groaning, bubbling, hissing, creaking, racking, grunting. And then still: singing.

So juvenile and careless Griffith is crossing the stage, so naturally is he using his voice. In the American Press they called him:
“The voice of diversity“ That’s about it. He is growling, winding himself in tones. Praising. Being sad. Laughing. Holding himself back. Then turning inside out. His voice is unique even if his specialty is his diversity. Where other vocalists are using the special colour of their voice as a signal is Griffith using his whole spectrum. Which is an extraordinary one.
He is continuously having fun with the audience, encouraging them to join him singing and smiling. No wonder, his new album is entitled “smile again“. The black singer was influenced by the church music of Baptists and Methodists. As a motto for life it’s enough for him to say: “Think positive“.

Smile again:
A feeling that seemed to be transmitted to the audience of the Art Gallery for at least two hours. Miles Griffith has learned his Al Jarreau lessons indeed. While the idol sounds mature and easy, his sound shows detailed intensive studies and a well prepared big show. The humble working band in the background, especially the virtuoistic playing pianist Michael Jefry. Stevens is delivering a steady sound as a foundation. But most of it is getting lost behind the over-modulated singing. No question, it is always original what the singer is doing, often funny. Maybe in the long run a little too much. But at the Art Gallery almost nobody is seeing it like that: Hardly anybody is leaving earlier. The majority is staying being enchanted by the little man with the great voice.

GRIFFITH/STEVENS QUARTET- SONGBOOK
Featuring Michael Jefry Stevens on piano &
compositions, Miles Griffith on vocals, Peter
Herbert on bass, Rob Garcia on drums plus guests
Sue Terry on saxes & clarinet and Kevin McNeal on
guitar. When former downtown piano ace, Michael
J. Stevens, heard the vocalist, Miles Griffiths,
sing one song at a recital in 1994, Michael was
so inspired that he was determined to collaborate
with Miles. It took six years and finally the two
premiered a set of songs at the Greenwich House
in December of 2000. The only one player here I
know previously is the great Austrian bassist
Peter Herbert, who has a half dozen excellent
discs out under his name in solo, duo, group and
bass ensemble formations. It turns out that Miles
is a fine jazz singer and Michael a great
songwriter. Miles loves to scat and twist his
voice into all types of odd shapes with weird
sounds, reminding me of Shelley Hirsch's wacky
antics at times. Both Peter Herbert on bass and
Kevin McNeal on guitar take short yet inspired solos
on the opening songs. Many of these songs
sound like standards and are equally lovely and
at times enchanting. In a better world, this disc
would get heavy airplay on WBGO, that
straight-ahead jazz radio station from Newark,
NJ, that favors jazz singers. Perhaps some of
this was a bit too normal for me, jazz-wise, but
I have to admit that I was touched by a number of
these songs. Perhaps I'm not the free/jazz snob
that some folks think I am?!? - BLG

IN TRANSIT [JUERG SOLOTHURNMANN/MICHAEL JEFRY
STEVENS/DANIEL STUDER/DIETER ULRICH]
Moving Stills (Unit 4175; EEC)
Featuring Jurg Solothurnmann on alto & soprano saxes, Michael
Jefry Stevens on piano, Daniel Studer on
contrabass and Dieter Ulrich on drums. It is also
great to hear some strong cross-cultural
collaborations and this one is particularly
strong. Former downtown piano great, Michael J.
Stevens, can be heard on more than 3 dozen discs
in bands like Conference Call, the Fonda/Stevens
Group, as well as having number of solo & trio
discs. Saxist Jurg Solothurnmann has collaborated
with Evan Parker in September Winds and has a
trio disc on Leo. Daniel Studer & Dieter Ulrich
have both played in Day & Taxi plus Dieter has
recorded with Werner Ludi and with Co Strieff in
Objects Trouves, who have a fine CD on Intakt.
This gives you an idea of where these men are
coming from.
'Moving Stills' consists of twelve
spontaneous compositions and each one is
fascinating in its own way. "Still" is slow and
spacious with Jurg's sly soprano sprinkling notes
above the cautious rhythm team. Michael's piano
erupts powerfully on "Canto Lunatico" and the
rest of the quartet soon kick in with some
intense yet focused free explosions, Jurg's alto
screaming on top. Yeah! "Trio" is great, swirling
piano trio with all three members buzzing around
one another. On "Up-Current", Michael's piano and
Daniel's bowed bass spin as one solid force while
Jurg's sputtering alto balances in the middle of
the haze. Mr. Stevens has a special ability to
transform melodic fragments into pieces that
don't sound so free with the rest of the quartet
weaving around him and connecting on different
levels. This is what often turns improv into
something more magical and is often the case
here. Marvelous! - BLG

IN TRANSIT [JUERG SOLOTHURNMANN/MICHAEL JEFRY
STEVENS/DANIEL STUDER/DIETER ULRICH]
Auch wenn „still“ nicht mit still zu tun hat: Das erste Stück „still“ ist relativ still. Es ist die Momentaufnahme eines Aufbruchs: Die Band schickt ihre Sonden aus, orientiert sich im Substrat der akustischen Zeitlosigkeit, aus dem in den besten Fällen die magischen Momente steigen. Mit Track 2 kommt Aufruhr in das Geschehen, irrlichtert der Gesang („canto lunatico“) von vier starken Instrumentalisten. Der Track hat Kraft und eine Ausstrahlung: Näher zur „great black music“ ist bisher keine andere Schweizer Band gekommen.

In Transit ist eine klassische Free-Band mit den drei bewährten Schweizer Cracks Solothurnmann, Studer und Ulrich und dem wendigen New Yorker Pianisten Michael Jefry Stevens, der sich in diesem Quartett mit impulsiven Attacken und filigranen Gegenstrategien sehr gut ins Szene setzt. Das Rhythmusgespann Studer/Ulrich überzeugt mit seinem latent explosiven Gestus.

Eigenständig verankert im Kollektivsound ist auch Jürg Solothurnmann, der nach jahrelanger Auseinandersetzung mit verschiedenen (Jazz-)Idiomen das „instant composing“ als beglückend-herausfordernde Gratwanderung entdeckt hat. Seine Interventionen sind überlegt und zeugen von Selektion und Reduktion zugunsten des Ganzen. Es ist eine Musik deren introspektiven bis anarchische geläuterten Entwicklungslinien man auch als Zuhörender gerne folgt.

Even though "still" has nothing to do with stillness: The first piece "Still" is relatively quiet. It is the snapshot of a departure: The band sends their probes, orienting itself in the acoustic timelessness substrate, from which in the best cases, magical moments arise. With track 2 turmoil gets into the happenings with the flitting chanting (Canto lunatico) by the four strong instrumentalists. This track has a special power and charisma and is closer to the "Great Black Music" so far than any other Swiss band.

In Transit is a classic free band with the three approved Swiss cracks Solothurnmann, Studer and Ulrich and the agile New York pianist Michael Jefry Stevens who is staging himself effectively with impulsive attacks and filigree counter-strategies. With its latently explosive attitude, the rhythm team Studer/Ulrich is very convincing.

Also Juerg Solothurnmann is discreetly anchored in the collective sound. After many years of immersing himself in various (jazz)idioms he found the "instant composing" as a delightful and challenging balancing act. His contributions and interventions are intelligent and result in clever selections or fragmentations in favor of the ensemble. With its refined lines of development which fluctuate between introspection and anarchy, this music is pleasant to listen to.

Moving Stills
In Transit | Unit Records (2008)
By Larry Taylor
With roots in Ornette Coleman's music, cultivated by Keith Jarrett at his most experimental, Moving Stills branches out into terra incognita.
The musicians here are Swiss, with the exception of well-traveled New York pianist Michael Jefry Stevens. Joining him to make up In Transit are the very talented Jurg Solothurnmann (alto and soprano sax), Daniel Struder (bass) and Dieter Ulrich (drums). The music here is definitely atonal and cutting edge, but, for adventurous listeners, very much worth the listen.
The group, after time together, made the recording in 2004 Europe. In the liner notes, Solothurnmann describes meeting with like-minded musicians and creating “... out of the blue a kind of music never heard before which amazes both us and the listeners.” He calls the process “instant composition.”
Much of the content resembles conversations on instruments; one starts, the other answers and then the improvisations take off. “Still” is quiet talk, a sax softly ruminating before being joined by piano, with bass and drum unobtrusively nattering in the background.
On the other hand, “Canto Lunatico” is like a shouting match, crashing piano chords competing with the chaotic wail of the sax. The drums come in to further the musical mayhem, aided and abetted by the scraping of piano strings and dissonant bowing of the bass. Stimulating to say the least.
Often a number starts softly, building to a resounding crescendo. This characterizes the fetching dialogue between piano, bass, drum on the brief “Trio.”
The chemistry between players is palpable on “Very Spring.” Piano and soprano begin a discussion which builds to stirring climax. Stevens' hands pound the keyboard, with Solothurnmann's soprano yelling back. Bass and drums urge them on.
Some cuts are humorous, as with “Who's Knocking.” The soft rapping on drums is incessant, then tentatively answered by a wary piano, not willing to open the door. Likewise, “Underneath” has the bowed bass stealthily proceeding before it is intercepted by the assertive piano-tenor team.
With “Coming and Going,” the quartet hits its peak. Starting with what seems a vocal wail, a breathy tenor lament soon starts a lovely refrain, suggesting Coleman's “Lonely Woman.” It finishes with the explosive piano, before returning to the soft tenor.
This is improvisation at its zenith. Those willing to listen to this creative work will be rewarded.

In Transit
Moving Stills
Unit Records UTR 4175

The American pianist Michael Jefry Stevens is one of those jazz musicians of the middle generation, who didn’t succeeded yet to get their real breakthrough. In the past two decades, the man from Brooklyn has worked with an impressive list of first-class jazz people, including Dave Douglas, Mark White Cage and Mark Feldman, and he has an understanding of free improvisation, which doesn’t exclude a priori any form of harmony, melody or rhythm. His European quartet In Transit, which he leads together with Juerg Solothurnmann, weaves in an intuitive way a subtle network of impulsive motional lines. In this music „out of the blue", as Solothurnmann describes it in the CD booklet, rather quiet and sensitive actions prevail which only occasionally erupt in very vivid passages. Most often the mood is characterized by melancholy and ballad-like pensiveness. With Daniel Studer on bass and Dieter Ulrich, drummer, two of the most experienced musicians of the Swiss scene create the rhythmic foundation. However, they do not act like a classical jazz rhythm section but participate in the musical interactions as equal partners. Juerg Solothurnmann’s subtly dosed saxophone playing always seems to find the right tone in an almost somnambulistic manner. He leaves open much empty space for Stevens who knows to fill it with curling and bold piano interventions.
Christoph Wagner
Jazz Podium, 2008-02

THE FONDA/STEVENS GROUP

TRIO (Nottwo Records)


THE FONDA/STEVENS GROUP TRIO
"TRIO" on Nottwo Records CD Review
Massimo Ricci - Touching Extremes (January 2008)

A nice live set, recorded in 2006 at the Alchemia in Krakow (Poland), showcases the translucent jazz perspective of pianist Michael Jefry Stevens and bassist Joe Fonda, who penned three tunes apiece in this CD; for this particular event they were helped by Harvey Sorgen on drums. Stevens declares himself as more and more worried about the state of our planet's health, at the same time being convinced that music on the level of excellence might actively contribute to a betterment of the perceptiveness of the ones who can be reached by it. In that sense, he strives to compose scores as much evolved as he can. His interaction with Fonda is articulated, elaborately branched, the tracks mostly born from ideas that wander around a bass vamp or a brain-retainable chord sequence over which the group develops fine textures of thematic sapience spiced by Tyneresque progressions and concretely palpable lines able to transcend the canons of swinging expectancy. Fonda's interrelation with Sorgen is also noteworthy, the couple establishing a very lively duo conversation in "From the Source", while the most intense Stevens moods have to be individuated in the reminiscent melancholy of "The Search". The unit looks just handsome, complete self-command and reversing currents of conscious communication at the basis of a record that's as easily drinkable as fresh water despite its insightful correspondences.


THE FONDA/STEVENS GROUP TRIO "TRIO" on Nottwo Records CD Review
Bruce Lee Gallanter for Downtown Music Gallery (June 2007)
This is the tenth disc from the great Fonda/Stevens Group, but it is the first one to feature them as a trio. This disc was recorded live at The Alchemia in Krakow, Poland in April of 2006. I was intrigued to see that this is a rare trio date for these three musicians who have been playing together for some 20+ years, but rarely as a trio. There is no leader in the trio, as each member is integral to their sound and explorations. "Soon to Know" (by Mr. Fonda) seems to feature the amazing Joe Fonda, whose bass is central to the way this trio expands and contracts and moves. There is a constant throb going on, with the piano and drums slowly swirling around him majestically. Mr. Stevens' "The Search" has a delightful theme that is difficult to forget, with Michaels' piano playing dreamy, elegant waves that fade into the distance. Joe begins "Andrea" by plucking his strings in a unique way, making way for Michael's exquisite piano - the piece is quite lovely and sublime. "From The Source" features Michael's piano playing flurries of notes as Joe holds down the center until the trio starts swirling quickly together, the tempo speeding up and slowing down together. Throughout this disc, one gets the feeling that this trio has been together for a long time since they consistently flow together as one formidable force. Joe Fonda's bass continues to blow me away as he reaches for the impossible and achieves what he strives to do.

Glenn Astarita for Jazz Review
Recorded live in Poland and for a Polish jazz record label, this is a passionate set by one of the great (and slightly under-recognized) modern jazz outfits in the business. And while the group moniker remains the same, this is the piano trio variety sans the services of trumpet great Herb Robertson. Nonetheless, it's a democratic engagement where memorable melodies and choruses attain equal ground with dense frameworks and endearing improvisational forays.
Pianist Michael Jefry Stevens steers the rhythm section thru bumpy roads and disparate angles via hammering block chords and asymmetrical rhythmic flows. Tonal contrasts abound, where bassist Joe Fonda occasionally uses his bow to augment an abundance of motifs that stop, restart and spawn anew. Expansive and emotive, the trio seamlessly morphs staggered free-form dialogues into spiraling motifs and buoyant swing vamps. And on the piece titled "The Search," the they integrate a bouncy groove into a boisterous bop vibe.
Stevens executes a series of dreamy chords atop the rhythm section's peppery undercurrents during "The Path," which is comp that segues into a powerful jazz-waltz movement. Nonetheless, surprises abound here as this recently issued album looms as one of the top jazz-trio performances of 2007. In addition, and unlike many other units, it's quite discernible that the artists combined efforts yield an elevated sense of unity and insight.


Fonda/Stevens Group Trio
November 28, 2007 by Guillaume Belhomme for Le son du grisli

Ensemble à la physionomie changeante, The Fonda / Stevens group se faisait trio, en avril 2006, sur la scène de l'Alchemia de Cracovie.

Aux côtés du batteur Harvey Sorgen, le contrebassiste et le pianiste se partagent les titres d'un répertoire piquant, qui commande autant de déconstructions audacieuses que d'exercices de style parfaitement maîtrisés (swing incertain de The Search, orientalisme de Soon to Know, essai impressionniste de The Path).
Bien sûr, il arrive à Michael Jefry Stevens de trop en faire au piano, mais le trio parvient le plus souvent à mettre la main sur une entente rare, d'où partira l'imprécation folle de From The Source ou l'étrange danse qu'est Break Song. Et Joe Fonda, comme à son habitude, de rayonner d'un bout à l'autre d'un concert de plus.


Kurt Gottschalk - All About Jazz
It’s difficult to either match or deny the hyperbole with which Leo Feigin presented the 2000 release of the Fonda/Stevens Group’s Live at the Bunker. Calling it the recording he’d been waiting for for 20 years, Feigin called it “a truly jazz CD … They wrap up all the influences, all the sounds that came before, then they roll the universe into a ball and make it new!”
It’s bold talk, even if it was a bit of PR hype, but the description still holds true seven years later. The trio on their new disc of the same name (recorded live in Poland in 2006) is rounded out by drummer Harvey Sorgen and without a horn they boldly move into the well-trod world of the piano trio, only to find a new path to cut. It’s essentially mainstream music, confounded only by being so fresh. Michael Jefry Stevens’ piano playing is not far removed from McCoy Tyner, or Dave Brubeck for that matter, with blocky chords underlying repeated melodies. Joe Fonda pushes harder, slapping his bass and mimicking vocals with his bow. Though he’s more known as a prog drummer, Harvey Sorgen keeps pace here, backing the never-jarring, never-predictable compositions of the leaders.

THE FONDA/STEVENS GROUP Twelve Improvisations - review from Croatia!!
22 listopad, 2007
Novi nepoznanci (4) Slušna navlakuša

Fonda/Stevens Group kod nas su prili?no zapaženi zahvaljuju?i dvama usporednim nastupima na Žedno Uho Festivalu. Svojevremeno sam ih nanjušio na rasprodaji londonskog du?ana Sound 323 - ponukan prezimenima kontrabasista Joea Fonde & bubnjara Johna Stevensa. Stevensa kao suosniva?a Spontaneous Music Ensemblea & Fondu kao suradnika Anthonyja Braxtona, ?lana FAB Trio & svojedobno predsjednika Tri-Centric Foundation. «Hmmm, što je to? Side-projekt, ponata imena, mogo bi bit dobar CD», pomislio sam. Me?utim, kad sam otvorio digipack CD-a „Twelve Improvisations“ shvatio sam da sam bio žrtva slušne 'navlakuše'; Stevens se ti?e klavirista Michaela Jeffryja Stevensa. "U redu, ako nije John Stevens, možda mu je neki ro?ak?". A kad ono, ni ro?ak, ve? samo imenjak. Skladbe su me zaintrigirale srednje brzim tempima, Stevensovo sviranje bez swinganja & tenzije vrlo je blisko europskom jazzu, dok puha?i Daunik Lazro & Herb Robertson sviraju potpuno slobodne melodijske linije. Dinamika je izvježbana u fazama od pianissima do fortea, a eruptivni potencijal je diskretan. ?isto dobar ulov za jednu 'navlakušu'... U New Yorku je Stevens živio od 1981. do 2002., a Fonda je ro?en u Bronxu. Kao duet & grupa su privukli ponajbolje živu?e glazbenike s njujorške scene glazbenih praksi kontrolirane improvizacije. Spomenimo samo osnovne, saksofonist Mark Whitecage, truba? Dave Douglas, bubnjar Han Bennink, bas-klarinetist Gerhard Ullman, te violinist Mark Feldman. Upoznali su se 1984. u grupi Liquid Time Marka Whitecagea a kroz Mosaic Sextet, od 1988. do 1990. u fiksnu jezgru se uklju?uje bubnjar & pedagog Harvey Sorgen koji je svirao s rock-grupom Hot Tuna. Kako sam se na njih baš zaka?io, tako sam teškom mukom nabavio & prvijenac, «The Wish» koga objavljuju 1995. kao The Joe Fonda/Michael Jefry Stevens Group s Whitecageom, Sorgenom i Robertsonom, za Music & Arts of America. Rije? je o prestižnom izdava?u, uglavnom orijentiranom na dosad neobjavljene snimke klasi?ne i barokne glazbe, nasljednik legendarne Education Music Association of America. & odmah za njim i "Live from Brugge" izdaju u Nizozemskoj. Ve? u vrijeme tih snimanja Herb Robertson je završio svoju petosnimku za JMT, skoro u cijelosti reizdanu za Winter & Winter, & suradnje s Timom Berneom, zbog ?ega & ove suradnje ulaze u kronologiju njegovih ponajboljih ostvarenja. Drugo izdanje za Music & Arts zvalo se "Parallel Lines" a odmah za njim objavljuju «Evolution» za izdava?ku ku?u Leo Records. ?ime po?inje dugogodišnja suradnja s još jednom etiketom s kojom baš i nemaju stilski odviše veze, a Whitecage odlazi svojim poslom. Stevens 2001. godine napušta New York, grupa snima dva albuma bez Robertsona, «Live at the Bunker» s drugim truba?em, & "...when you're gone" s pjeva?icom Nicole Metzger. Sljede?e godine s gitaristom Jimmyjem Williamsom objavljuju "When the Lost Becomes Found" & iste godine s Daunikom Lazroom na alt- & bariton-saksofonu objavljuju 'navlakušu' (vidi: uvod). Za razliku od studijskih snimki prvijenca, kojima nedostaje kontinuitet snimanja, kvintet nastupa pred publikom. Intimno okružje kluba «Le Carre Bleu» u predgra?u Pariza, polumrak & odluka da zadrže unaprijed dogovorene strukture ali da ih izvedu bez nota polu?ilo je uspjeh. Lazro postavlja zvuk & referencijalno & autoritativno s odgovornoš?u u harmonijskoj i teksturalnoj podršci prema ostalim ?lanovima. Robertsonova ekspresivnost nastavljanjem sordine na trubu ansamblu uto?i u komornoj glazbi 20. stolje?a, koketiraju?i s bluesu srodnim nadahnu?em. Stevens se kvintetu kao solist pridružuje tek u tre?oj skladbi, vrlo minimalisti?ki, s povremenim opitima klavirske unutrašnjosti. Povla?enje klavira u korist puha?kih dionica pomoglo je razvoju prema nokturnalnom ugo?aju cijelog djela, unutar stilskog raspona od post-bopa do europskog jazza. Ponovno izdaju CD «Forever Real» za ameri?ku 482 Records. Na naslovnoj, Fondinoj skladbi CD-a dijalog izme?u trube i klavira resentimentira ka «Maiden Voyage» Hancocka i Hubbarda. U «From the Source» svi sviraju 'na sitno', tematskog materijala nema, dok Robertson demonstrira vokalne tehnike s trubom ponajviše u funkciji distorzivnog pomagala. U Stevensovom «Stalkeru» kvartet sirovim akordnim udarcima u klimaksu teme postiže zvuk coltraneovskog krešenda, uz nemalu pomo? swingerske ritam-sekcije koji se nastavlja u compingu Robertsonovog sola. Balada «A Question of Love» nastavlja se na modalne ideje Hancock-Hubbard, a Fondina «Relentlessness» obojana je sordinom na trubi & ostinatom ritam-sekcije uz ulaz Maddoxovog beat-boxa u ritmi?ku improvizaciju. Do iskre nije došlo, te se skladba preorijentirala prema funku. U «The Call» drmaju u stilu coltraneovskog kvarteta, dok u zaklju?noj «Cotton» ulaze u eksperiment s tehniciranjima Maddoxova perkusivnog vokala. Posljednje izdanje, «Trio», ove je godine objavio poljski izdava? Not Two Records, jezgra grupe je izgurala cijeli album bez vanjskih suradnika. Na snimku se prihvatila izvanredna atmosfera krakowskog kluba Alchemia, ciglenog podruma iz kog je potekao & box-set grupe Vandermark 5. Repertoar se sastoji od starijih & novijih skladbi, a novim rasporedom zvuka izrazitiji je nastup bubnjeva. Album ima sve što jedan CD koji se u današnjim uvjetima, još drzne nazvati džezom: izravne & osje?ajne teme, dobro navježbane unutar grupe & potpuno slobodna, ritmi?ki konzistentna sola. http://www.joefonda.digitalspace.net/ + http://www.michaeljefrystevens.com/
FOREVER REAL (482 Music) -

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• All About Jazz By Dennis Hollingsworth
John Cage said that music is all around us, ever present in the universe. Yet we do not always have the ”ears” to decipher it. Forever Real offers the opportunity to exercise your “ears,” presenting you with unique sounds that ebb and flow like the tide.
This effort is the eighth recording from the Fonda/Stevens Group. Largely unknown here in the US, the group is well recognized in Europe, certainly unfortunate as it deserves recognition. Bassist Joe Fonda and pianist Michael Jefry Stevens have played together in a variety of settings, notably with Dave Douglas in the early '90s. For more than a decade, with the addition of drummer Harvey Sorgen, this group has been a rare commodity, keeping a consistent foundation with longevity. Few working bands can boast such continuity given the inherent financial and logistical realities.
All of the compositions on this disc belong to either Fonda or Stevens. Stylistic categories are simply too confining for this ensemble's inventive originality. There is a running dialogue between all members during each song, with free flowing interplay and technically adept design. Those considering spectatorship should be aware that the music requires participation, not unlike reading a serious novel. This is not background music. Take some quiet time, pay attention, and you will be fully rewarded. Herb Robertson uses all the sounds available from his trumpet, summoning memories of Lester Bowie, always a welcome happenstance. Breaths, grunts, pops, and bellows augment his use of traditional tones. Throughout the disc, Fonda provides necessary support with strong soloing. Sorgen is particularly impressive. The fact that he also plays with the band Hot Tuna exemplifies his versatility. The inclusion of Maddox adds intrigue in spots, particularly his striking poetic uttering on “Cotton.” After listening to this, you too will want to know what cotton is!
“The Stalker” is a mosaic capsule of what makes these guys special. Starting with a piano vamp, bowed bass, trumpet musings, and churning drum patterns, the tune unfolds and expands into unexpected territory. Melody is there, but subtly presented. Stevens leads the way with a solo full of block chords, melodic twists and harmonic questions. Robertson's explorations lead to a fleeting display from Sorgen played with controlled fire. Robertson brings the quartet back and the tune slowly dissolves. Nice!
Bands as dynamic as this present a solid test of engineering skill. In that regard Jonathan Townes warrants mention, as the recording quality is first rate. Each player is properly placed in the soundstage. Microphone choices and placement capture the particular qualities of each instrument. Piano and snare drum, not easily recreated, are superb. Cymbals are also present and distinctive.
This disc would be a welcome experience for any jazz fan. But it is well suited to those who prefer 21st century harmonies and a multicolored palette. These men play very well and I am grateful for the opportunity to comment. Heartily recommended.

• All About Jazz
By John Kelman
Since emerging on the scene in the late ‘80s with trumpeter Dave Douglas and the Mosaic Sextet, pianist Michael Jefry Stevens, bassist Joe Fonda, and drummer Harvey Sorgen have all worked in a variety of contexts. Fonda was Anthony Braxton’s bassist of choice in the mid-‘90s; Stevens has worked in trios with Mark Whitecage and Dominic Duval; Sorgen has been involved with everything from free jazz to the blues/roots group Hot Tuna. But it’s within the context of the longstanding Fonda/Stevens Group that their musical personalities have been at their most compelling.
With five previous releases as either a quartet and quintet, it’s trumpeter Herb Robertson who has been the closest thing to a constant fourth member, having been on most of the group’s recordings, including ‘02’s outstanding The Healing. With Forever Real, the quartet of Fonda, Stevens, Sorgen, and Robertson continue to mine territory that defies categorization. While the seven compositions by Fonda and Stevens live, without a doubt, in more liberated improvisational territory, what gives them a stronger sense of purpose is their compositional scope. Stevens’ “The Stalker,” for example, revolves around a pseudo-Latin groove that is thematically reminiscent of Don Byron’s “Next Love” from Tuskegee Experiments, but with a lighter yet no less substantive complexion.
Fonda’s “Relentlessness,” on the other hand, with its initially-persistent bass ostinato, is more idiosyncratic, with an odd theme that transcends restrictive bar lines. The tune eventually dissolves into a free improvisation by Fonda that resolves into an even quirkier and less rhythmically-straightforward construct over which a collective improvisation concludes.
Stevens is, as a rule, the more structured and accessible composer, with Fonda’s writing more about not-so-simple ideas as a basis for exploratory work by all involved. Stevens’ “A Question of Love” begins with a free piano solo but ultimately finds its way into a gentler space. Fonda’s “Cotton,” on the other hand, centres on a more obfuscated theme that merely serves as a basis for the group’s more abstruse leanings; although the piece actually finds its way into an almost funky groove that serves as a feature for guest Napoleon Maddox’s “Human Beat Box” sounds and stream-of-consciousness poetry.
Everyone demonstrates a fine ability to skirt the edges of convention, while at the same time stretching its boundaries. Most notable is Robertson, who manages to imbue the compositions with an askew sense of humour, preventing things from becoming too serious. Coaxing a surprising variety of textures from his horn, Robertson is a fiercely original player whose refusal to compromise has made him trumpeter of choice on a surprisingly large number of recordings—over seventy to date.
Curiously and consistently overlooked in North America, the Fonda/Stevens Group, thankfully, enjoys a solid reputation in Europe that permits the group to continue. And with Forever Real, it manages to combine heady composition with more visceral improvisation, making this a potent and highly recommended release for those who enjoy their free music with a little more form.

• All About Jazz
By Glenn Astarita
These days, there are few modern jazz groups which can seamlessly merge elements of free improvisation with mainstream and post-bop stylizations, while still maintaining a signature group sound. The Fonda/Stevens Group is partly about the sum of its parts, where the respective musicians emerge as stylists by honing a group-based methodology that stands on its own. A portion of this outing features trumpeter Herb Robertson’s warm lower-register voicings via sub-theme dialogues with pianist Michael Jefry Stevens. They methodically intermingle quaint melodies with lightly swirling choruses amid shrewdly concocted alterations in pitch and meter. Occasionally, Stevens establishes simple ostinatos to be expounded upon by his bandmates. Yet the band is apt to turn up the heat via ballsy exchanges and glistening crescendos.
The quartet playfully dissects a blues groove with freeform movements and odd time signatures during “The Call.” They convey additional diversity on a Ramsey Lewis-style funk motif on the final cut, “Cotton,” where guest artist Napoleon Maddox adds some sociopolitical rap atop the ensemble’s loose gait. Overall, the unit’s latest effort should be well-received by its legion of followers. Sure enough, it’s a tastefully executed and indubitably entertaining studio date.

Jazz Times (2005)
The perpetual outrage I felt in my youth about inequity in the jazz biz has faded over the years. Some stuff's going to be popular. Other stuff isn't. Some fine players win critics' polls. Other don't. That trumpeter Herb Robertson doesn't is almost enough to reawaken my dormant idealism.
On Forever real Robertson displays an abundant creativity and a comprehensive knowledge of his horn's possibilities. He's the complete jazz trumpeter, as able to mix it up on bassist Joe Fonda's "Forever Real," a loose, bossa-like modal tune, as on many free-time episodes that dot the various tracks.
Fonda is a hard-swinging player who balances melodic and supportive roles exquisitely. Drummer Harvey Sorgen is a master of moving time hither and yon—maintaining the pulse while shattering meter into tiny shards. Pianist Michael Jefry Stevens blends a pliable rhythmic and melodic sense with a mercurial technique that serves him well. "Human beat box" Napoleon Maddox's contributions are not particularly effective, but they are brief. This stuff's out, but the band holds onto a thread of groove and swing, making it something an avant-newbie might dig.
Chris Kelsey (p. 134)

Bad Alchemy review from Rigo Dittmann
Das Quartett aus dem Pianisten Michael Jefry Stevens, dem Kontrabassisten Joe Fonda, dem großartigen Trompeter Herb Robertson und dem Drummer Harvey Sorgen ist ein Garant für Modern Jazz als selbstverständlicher Weltsprache, die wir morgen alle sprechen könnten, wenn nur die herrschenden Kräfte nicht weit besser damit fahren würden, das Kollektivbewusstsein in einem Murmeltierloop zwischen den 1850er und 1950er Jahren gefangen zu halten. Es scheint zu genügen, die aufblickenden Schafe mit technischen Gimmicks und pauschaltouristischem Herrenmenschenillusionen bei Laune zu halten. Forever Real schweift immerhin in die 1970er/80er ‚Zukunft‘ mit einem Piano als bürgerlichem Nestflüchter und der urbanisierten Eleganz und Eloquenz transafrikanischer Populärmusik mit Jazz-Doktorhut. Fonda & Sorgen bilden eine ähnlich mobile Einsatzgruppe wie Duvall & Rosen. Stevens gelingt mit seinen ‚Glockenschlägen‘ beim Auftakt des von Robertson dann ganz versonnen gesummten ‚A Question of Love‘ ein besonders markanter Moment, dem sich mit der gestopften Trompetenquirkiness im melodiösen ‚Relentlessness‘ gleich ein weiterer Höhepunkt anschließt, bei dem Fonda, mitgerissen von seiner eigenen Komposition und bassistischen Baumwollzupferleidenschaft, mitscattet. Zum Abschluss erfolgt bei ‚Cotton‘ durch das Gastspiel von Napoleon Maddox mit seinem Human-beat-boxing & Poetry-Rap sogar ein Zeitsprung ‚vorwärts‘ in die 80er, in denen freilich die Wake-up-Calls von LeRoi Jones und die Harlem Renaissance nachhallen. Aber auch die sind für die meisten ‚Zeitgenossen‘ noch ‚Zukunft‘.

All About Jazz by By Ernest Barteldes
The mood on Forever Real goes from the pleasant groove of the title track to more experimental moments in which trumpet player Herb Robertson and pianist Michael Jefry Stevens exchange jabs, as on the eight-minute “From The Source” and the more uptempo “The Stalker” (eleven minutes that go in every possible direction), in which Robertson makes you think he’s switched to a flute at times—which he hasn’t, it is just his technique on the instrument.
In one of the album’s most interesting moments, bassist Joe Fonda brings his instrument from the background and initially duets with Robertson on “Relentlessness.” They later start improvising on their own, while the human beat box of Napoleon Maddox joins drummer Harvey Sorgen in what becomes a harrowing backdrop for the song.
This album is definitely not intended for the casual listener. It needs to be heard over and over in order to grasp what it means. It can be a bit of a scary ride at first, but you get used to it and realize that these musicians had a whole concept in mind when creating this strange but wonderful music.

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TWELVE IMPROVISATIONS (Leo Records, CD LR 394) -

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• Jazz Review
Review by Ken Waxman
A team for over 20 years, pianist Michael Jefry Stevens and bassist Joe Fonda do this by not only insisting that all the sounds on their CD be completely improvised, but by adding another voice to the line-up. French alto and baritone saxophonist Daunik Lazro is one of that country's foremost experimenters, working in contexts as varied as solo recitals and bands with saxophonist Michel Doneda and Joe McPhee. Here his unique articulation and sound sources add another dimension to that supplied by the pianist, bassist, long-time drummer Harvey Sorgen, and endlessly inventive trumpeter Herb Robertson, who has worked with Fonda and Stevens in various bands, on-and-off for more than a decade.
At home or abroad, the power of improvised music means that you can be celebratory even in the midst of sorrow.
Alive with a dozen improvisations Fonda, Stevens and crew have more scope in which to exhibit their talents. Additionally, while these may be TWELVE IMPROVISATIONS, they're definitely not 12 pieces of indulged abstraction. Veterans, each member of the quintet knows what he can do, and gets enough space to do it within a group context.
Take, "Distant Voices," at almost 91/2-minutes the longest track. Here modulated stick pressure and knuckle duster rolls from Sorgen lead into ponticello bowing from Fonda and the continuous spew of accented timbres from Robertson. As Lazro adds harmonic color, the trumpeter's lines get more expressive and legato. Soon the brassman is chromatically severing single notes as Stevens accompanies him with church-like low frequency chords. Lazro, now on baritone, smoothly resonates underneath, as Robertson decorates the line with stairstep obbligatos.
The Frenchman's bari can squeal as well as snort as he demonstrates on "Talking Drum", most of which is taken up by Sorgen doing just that. Lazro double tongues searing altissimo squeaks that are later amplified by Robertson's quivering valves. Meanwhile the percussionist resonates, rattles and rolls as if he was playing a bata or a darbuka, using his palms, fingers and palms more than his sticks.
Robertson and he exhibit classic teamwork between brassy triplets and pardiddles and flams on the aptly named "Call and Response". Throughout the CD, the trumpeter seems to be functioning at a level even higher than in years past, having finally exchanged European expatriate life for the United States.
Two example of this are "Extracurricular Activity" and "The Meeting". The former finds Stevens' high frequency, circular piano accents succeeded by split-second, tongue stopping blasts from Lazro and exaggerated wah-wah blowing from Robertson in Clyde McCoy mode.
More serious, the latter sets up a series of meetings among the group members. Concerned with cascading chords and right-handed plinking, Stevens pushing broken note patterns into a swinging centre meets rumbles, glances and bounces from Sorgen. Then Harmon-muted tones from Robertson meet sharp slurs from Lazro's alto, As the trumpeter maintains his feathery timbres, staying concise and concentrated, Lazro moves to split tones and lip vibrations.
Sometimes the sounds move far beyond the expected. Arco bass lines and pronged internal piano string constraint on "In the Distance" are succeeded by what could be electro-acoustic oscillation and distortion mated with buzzing brass tones. As Fonda cushions everyone with arco bustles both high-pitched and lower, Lazro adds altissimo flutter tonguing. Finally the resolution appears in Stevens rubbing the internal piano strings with a light, cylindrical object as Robertson continues twittering short phrases on his own, as if he was a homeless person mumbling to himself.
Improvisations also include variations on jazz's bedrock, with "Front and Center" a finger snapping blues piano showcase, complete with rolling drumbeats and walking bass. Andante, Stevens reveals his inner Red Garland and Fonda displays a bass line that would do Milt Hinton proud. Only at the very end does Lazro contribute dissonant split tones and irregular vibrated slurs and cries.

• Splendid Reviews
by Christian Carey, July 5/2004
The Fonda/Stevens group, co-led by bassist Joe Fonda and pianist Michael Jefry Stevens, usually record in a quartet format, with drummer Harvey Sorgen and trumpeter Herb Robertson. This time, the addition of alto and baritone saxophonist Daunik Lazro makes for a rousing quintet date. Twelve Improvisations may be more "In" than some avant-jazz that Leo records, but it is still plenty challenging and filled with musical rewards.
In just four minutes, "Ostrich" encapsulates both the lyrical and aggressive sides to the group's playing. An edgy opening, filled with questing free jazz colloquoy, is followed by a more ruminative slow section, rife with bent notes from both Lazro and Robertson and punctuated by Sorgen's heavy fills.
"Electricity" features some truly inspired playing from Stevens, encompassing both intricate polytonal progressions and noise-based free play in the same piece without the juxtaposition proving curious. Robertson has a singular style too, often simmering edgily beneath the music's surface, only to leap violently into the foreground at strategic points in the piece. "In the Distance" features mysterious and supple arco playing from Fonda, who creates a whole range of extended technique-filled sounds. He is abetted by Stevens's ruminative treble solos, accumulating dissonances in a flurry of activity. "Talking Drum", predictably, is a showcase for Sorgen's multi-limbed polyrhythms; while he uses a drum set instead an actual talking drum, his playing remains most communicative, entering into a dialogue with a soaring, stentorian line from Robertson.
Lazro is an exciting soloist. His playing on "Front and Center" covers the saxophone's entire range, from shrieking caterwauls to fleet arpeggiations. Robertson matches him squall for squall, while Sorgen engages in some soloist punctuations of his own. Stevens's playing remains ever-versatile, alternating between comping changes and fistfuls of chromatic clusters. Improvisations like this are born out of a special musical rapport between musicians who really listen and react well to each other. Whether in a quartet or quintet line-up, the Fonda/Stevens Group engage in a musical ESP that is wonderful to behold.

• One Final Note
by David Dupont, 29 October 2004
I've always associated the Fonda/Stevens Group with sprawling spontaneous compositions that could veer from righteous free jazz squalling to ironic renderings of maudlin folk tunes. One of the most enjoyable concerts I saw last year was the quartet (Joe Fonda, bass, Michael Jefry Stevens, piano, Herb Robertson, trumpet and Harvey Sorgen, drums) at Edgefest in Ann Arbor, MI. I had my elder teenage son with me and, though no fan of free jazz, he was entranced by watching them fashion a symphony for four right before his eyes and ears.
On Twelve Improvisations Daunik Lazro on alto and baritone saxophones joins that quartet for a series of impromptu etudes. The group's usual melodic predilections are most evident on "Electricity", where Stevens plays rhapsodic piano punctuated by jabs into the bass register. Sorgen's tom-tom tattoo urges the pianist to develop long, swirling runs. Robertson then adds a longing line against Lazro's strangled saxophone runs. Most of the improvisations' focus is the extended techniques that inform the group's usual work, though serving as just part of their musical arsenal. On "In the Distance", Fonda and Lazro's ventures into the upper register, paired with Stevens' ventures inside his piano, sound like electronic distortion. On "Dante's Inferno", Robertson and Lazro reach down to plumb the deepest parts of their horns.
Not that the band forgets to swing: The piano trio track "Front and Center" swings easily and freely. Robertson develops an intense ballad statement over the first 7:30 of "Distant Voices", and the ensemble winds down the track with a loping medium ballad groove. Interestingly, Lazro has no part on "Front" and is a minimal presence on "Distant". He tends to drive the proceedings outward. "Bariphonics" has him all alone, at his most introspective with 1:45 over breathy, overblown baritone saxophone. This track gives a sample of the element he brings to the session that helps shape it into a fascinating addition to the Fonda/Stevens discography.

• Cadence Magazine
by Bill Donaldson - April 2005
Ostrich / The Meeting / Electricity / In the Distance / Talking Orum / Extracurricular Activity / Front and Center / Call and Response / Oante's Inferno /Distant Voices / Bariphonics / Trance. 60:06. Fonda, b; Stevens, p; Herb Robertson, tpt; Daunik lazro, as, bs; Harvey Sorgen, d. 10123/02, Poitiers, France.
Even though Michael Jelry Stevens and Joe Fonda have performed together lor 20 years, The Fonda/Stevens Group didn't start until 1993, and now Twelve Improvisations, though their seventh, is their first CD of beginning-to-end improvisation. When touring France, the group took advantage of the opportunity to record with French saxophonist Daunik Lazro in Poitiers. Obviously, Lazro understood the absolutely free improvisational nature of The Fonda/Stevens Group. Lazro and trumpeter Herb Robertson fall into the visual nature of "Ostrich" from the start as they, through bent tones and scampering lines, suggest an unpredictability of movement, a sonic bobbing and darting offsetting its hesitancy and quietude. Stevens commands "Electricity," though, from his initial cadenza of thunderous bass notes and sprinklings of upper -register clusters animated by Harvey Sorgen's rolling drum work before setting up rumbling and punctuating background behind a muted long¬-toned Robertson and an unrestrained Lazro of loosened-embouchure overtones in an abandonment of conventional tonality. "Talking Drum" is notable, not only because of drummer Harvey Sorgen's ever-present pulse tuned on the tom¬-toms, but also because of Lazro's explorative work on the baritone saxophone, its range no impediment to his movement over the entire range of the instrument-and beyond. Rising lrom its bottom tones to an altissimo exclamation to a mid-range drone as the volume rises and constricts, Lazro takes command of the piece with apparent abandon, applying infinitely varying pitch and voice to the talking drum. On "Bariphonics," a relatively short solo track, Lazro takes a different approach, using the multi-phonic potential of the instrument to investigate sonority, trance-like, without meter or outside harmony, something like a didgeridoo. And sure enough, "Bariphonics" does precede "Trance," the suggestion of hypnotic submersion in the music becoming a thematic fact, as Stevens entrances with ruminative dissonant block chords before the rest of the group enters with equally subdued, unhurried enchantment before the unexpected fadeout. Though the finite nature of magazine space prohibits covering all 12 of the improvisations in sufficient detail, Twelve Improvisations is a notable achievement by The Fonda/Stevens Group. It seized upon the opportunities presented by their European tour and allows listeners for the first time to hear them in an entirely improvisational setting without notation or preconceptions, but rather with spur -of-the-moment interactivity that will never be played the same way again.

All About Jazzby Glenn Astarita
"Arguably one of the finest working units in modern jazz, this particular CD
is somewhat notable due to the addition of top European improviser,
saxophonist Daunik Lazro. The Fonda/Stevens Group is known for meshing
structured compositions into an improvisational format. However, the mission
here is solely based upon free-form explorations via a sequence of
mini-motifs initiated upon the musicians’ dialogues and loose methodologies.
On this effort, the band merges dissonance with an energized line of
thought. It’s mainly about synergy and vast expressionism rolled into one
concise little package."

Downtown Music Gallery
Twelve Improvisations (Leo 394) Featuring Herb
Robertson on trumpets, Daunik Lazro on alto & baritone saxes, Michael Jefry
Stevens on piano, Joe Fonda on bass and Harvey Sorgen on drums. This is the
fourth Fonda/Stevens disc on Leo, besides the other half dozen discs which
include one or two of the same folks, so you know Leo Feygin does really
love these dudes. Both Leo and myself are great fans of the collective of
great musicians. The current version of the band includes trumpet ace Herb
Robertson and on this release special guest French saxist Daunik Lazro.
Right from the very first note, the sparks are flying, yet there is cautious
undercurrent as the quintet quietly weave fragments together. Although this
music is completely improvised, there is consistent dialogue, duos turn into
trios as constant connections are made. I caught Mr. Lazro on a couple of
occasions at Victo and am always impressed by his thoughtful playing, once
with Michel Doneda and earlier this year playing solo baritone. All members
of the quintet get their chance to shine on different pieces, as they
unfold. You can tell that these guys have been at it for a long while, since
the communication sounds telepathic at times, when they all come together,
anticipating each other. The ever amazing Herb Robertson sounds
extraordinary throughout, balancing his trumpet talents, with mutes and
other distinctive sounds, this is a perfect group for him. Superb!

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LIVE AT THE BUNKER (Leo Records) - The Fonda/Stevens Group

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• All About Jazz
by Glenn Astarita
"The Fonda-Stevens Group" is arguably one of the finest and hardest working modern jazz outfits in the business. And while "Leo Records" is synonymous with producing improvised, free - jazz and music that is largely unclassifiable, the label generally skirts the bleeding edge of what some refer to as - new music. Therefore, this quartet's new recording titled,Live At The Bunkermarks a slight yet welcome shift in strategy for this legendary UK-based label.
The quartet opens this set with soulful balladry on the piece titled, "For Us" as trumpeter Paul Smoker exudes heartfelt lines in conjunction with pianist Michael Jefry Stevens' velvety undercurrents. However, the musicians pull a 360 degree turnaround on the second track, "Borrowed Time" which is marked by Smoker's genial muted trumpet lines, linearly performed unison choruses, engaging call and response improv and a brief swing motif. On this piece, the band prominently exhibits the virtues of being in synch, as there is little margin for error amid these odd-metered rhythms, cleverly constructed themes and intricately executed passages. Yet the band also excels at integrating a loose vibe which affords the soloists ample breathing room for reinventing the compositional subject matter.
Bassist Joe Fonda and drummer Harvey Sorgen anchor the intense momentum for the soloist's climactic choruses and catchy melodies on "Don't Go Baby", whereas the quartet finalizes the brisk proceedings with the gospel induced "Oh, Lord, It's Nice To Sit On Your Porch Today". Here, the band pursues crashing cadenzas along with Stevens' lush interludes and Smoker's deviously constructed yet altogether playful lead soloing. Without further ado,Live At The Bunkeris a magnificent release and a late entry into this writer's hypothetical top ten list for 2000. Folks, modern jazz doesn't get much better than this!

• Paris Transatlantic
by Dan Warburton
"Not the retro bullshit, not the nauseating smooth jazz, not the young-lions crap, but the real jazz: the way jazz music should have been had it not been high-jacked (sic) by big business, glossy magazines, brainless DJs, prostitute journalists, and brainwashed festival promoters." Ouch! So writes Leo Feigin in one his more, shall we say, ebullient Press Releases (prefaced by the way with the words: "I, Leo Feigin.. hereby confirm" etc.). As a declaration, it certainly stands out from the run-of-the-mill hyperbole that normally constitutes Press blurbs, though if I were Joe Fonda or Michael Stevens I'm not sure how I would feel. Certainly, this is a damn fine album, a superb live recording (complete with audibly clunking, whooshing piano pedals) made in yet another European jazz club going by the name of Bunker, this time at Bielefeld in Germany, and I'm in broad agreement with Feigin that jazz today should be moving in this general direction, i.e. be unafraid to work with emotionally direct material and strong group compositions while at the same time being open to "outside" playing, but certain points of Leo's release text bear closer scrutiny in relation to the music they aim to sell. Firstly, as one of the "prostitute journalists" (though I generally exchange my paltry writing talents for copies of the discs I review rather than for other more visceral pleasures), I feel somewhat compelled to respond. "Retro bullshit" needs some definition; who has Leo got in his sights here? Wynton Marsalis again? Hasn't the poor bugger suffered enough? Sure, he's cruising for a bruising with the sheer volume of reactionary statements he makes, but I don't doubt for a minute that he'd be happy to have penned most of the tunes featured on this album: "Borrowed Time", "Don't Go Baby" and the closing joyful "Oh, Lord, It's Nice to Sit on Your Porch Today" could easily pass as Marsalis compositions, with their harmonically and rhythmically sophisticated heads, equally at home with the conventions of gospel-inflected 50s/60s hard bop. Of course, these boys don't sound like Wynton's crew at all - Paul Smoker's trumpet attack is nowhere near as perfectly pretty as Marsalis' (thankfully), and there's more of a dangerous edge to the rhythm section too. They're certainly not "young lions", but what's wrong with young lions and why is what they do "crap"? If Leo's thinking of Joshua Redman, James Carter, Cyrus Chestnut and their ilk, I think his taste buds need a little refreshing - these cats may not be at the cutting edge of modernity, but they are doing strong, honest work and are bringing a new young public to jazz music (anyway, go ask Cecil Taylor what he thinks of James Carter..). As for "nauseating smooth jazz", well, I think that all our readers will agree that the likes of Kenny Gee won't be making it to their Year 2000 Top Ten, but I would add that one or two recent Leo releases (naming no names) have been rather.. soporific.
As for brainless DJs, the much-hyped Acid Jazz phenomenon (now admittedly extremely dull compared to what it was a decade ago) did a hell of a lot to bring jazz into the earholes of a young public weaned on the inanities of HipHop (didn't DJ Gilles Peterson say at the outset that his dream was to see Pharoah Sanders at Number One in the charts? Surely a noble goal..), and also led to several fascinating developments such as Coleman's M-Base (which in fact pre-dated the Acid Jazz boom but benefited enormously from it) and its divergent spin-offs by the likes of Greg Osby, Graham Haynes and Gary Thomas. Sure, the Guru Jazzmatazz series isn't my idea of Great Black Music Ancient to the Future, but if it sends kids out to buy copies of "Tauhid" and "A Love Supreme", who am I to bitch?
I sense behind the rhetoric about glossy magazines and big business a certain sadness that his magnificent label hasn't blasted off in the way that Manfred Eicher's ECM has; despite a wonderful roster of major names - Evan Parker, Mat Maneri, Anthony Braxton, Marilyn Crispell, Eugene Chadbourne (all of whom also record for a multitude of labels) - and a cluster of figures faithful to the imprint - Ivo Perelman, Dominic Duval, John Wolf Brennan, Carlo Actis Dato - not to mention a fountain of magnificent new talent (Feigin is still one of the sharpest talent-spotters around), Leo still hasn't had the equivalent of a "Köln Concert" or an "Officium" to hang on his wall in platinum. And it's probably just as well he hasn't, as it has left him free to continue to organize his releases according to the criteria that count the most: musical substance and artistic integrity. "Live at the Bunker" is absolutely solid, heartfelt, good music, and I strongly recommend it to anyone, including Wynton Marsalis and Brad Meldhau fans (I'm sure they'll thoroughly enjoy it).

• Jazz Weekly
by Steve Koenig
Man, it’s hard to believe that Leo’s up to the 300s already, and with an amazingly consistent track record, as has the group here. “For Us” sounds like a standard, and it should be. Starting with a Messiaen-like fluttery piano intro, follwed by romantic chords, a strong bass line and Smoker smartly skittering into the verge of off-key, this ballad grips immediately and sustains. There’s an awkward applause fade. In a different manner, they continue with “Borrowed Time,” a free improv which turns into what seems composed, each phrase tauntingly repeated or mutated by the next. This kind of call and response, using lots of space, teases the way lovers do when they know just how to touch each other, and just when to... pull back. “Don’t Go Baby,” by contrast with the opening pair, is merely good. “Circle” continues that way, but a few minutes in they hit a stride: Stevens arpeggiating and Fonda walking askew, and hear Smoker go off on his fierce free thing. The head returns, and I wish it were all so free, but I have no complaints about the trip, especially as Sorgen takes an expected solo, again using space, changes of pace and texture, to make your ears sit up. At first I thought it a bowed cymbal, but Fonda plays a resiny, itchy sequence at the bottom of the bridge, until they take it again to the head. “Circle,” too, starts off just okay, but they hit a powerful mood shortly, with strong intermingling of lines by the smoldering wah-wah and humanoid voice of Smoker’s trumpet, and the scratch of Fonda’s bass. It and the following two tracks, if you don’t watch the CD counter, are a seamless suite of wonderful jazz and improvisation. (I’ve misfiled my copy of their Leo disc “Haiku,” so I can’t make comparisons.) “Oh Lord...” opens with Smoker playing a gospel dirge, underlined by bass. Stevens’ piano brings a romantic rush of cold air chords in, again with gospelized arpeggios, and Sorgen plays free, both loose and tight: brushes, cymbals and kick. Again, I find the playing and the structure stronger than the writing, especially when a trite piano vamp changes the rhythm, and despite Smoker’s wild wind, hearing these guys sing “Oh Lordy...” makes me cringe. Stevens piano turns admirably Pullenesque, and the deep sonics of the bass and Sorgen’s percussive richness (you can hear the air pressure inside them change with each blow) give you chills. The recording quality is superb, with the piano sounding like a piano, and the Fonda’s various timbres revealed. What is always special to me about Fonda and Stevens is that not only do they “play,” but they infuse it with such joie de vive that you just want to throw their other discs in the machine in turn. As an encore, I played another Fonda reach-to-the-roots, “Down To The Delta,” my favorite track on Live at Brugge on De Werf Records, which gets frequent play in this house. For a special treat, dig Fonda’s 1999 solo bass disc When It's Time on the Belgian label Jazz’Halo.

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Parallel Lines - The Fonda/Stevens Group
The Fonda/Stevens Group serves up a characteristically ambivalent sound on the 1997 studio recordParallel Lines.On one hand, the quintet deftly handles structured straightahead material; but on the other, it yields at the slightest opportunity to collective improvisation. Bassist Joe Fonda stands at the crux of the group--interacting with drummer Harvey Sorgen in a potently rhythmic role (check out their duo performance midway through the tune “Waltz”), as well as interdigitating with pianist Michael Stevens in a strikingly intuitive fashion to help define the group's harmony.On this relatively early Fonda/Stevens Group performance, the FSG is a quintet, including saxophonist Mark Whitecage (who subsequently departed the group) and trumpeter Herb Robertson (who yielded the trumpet chair to Paul Smoker on the 2000 releaseLive At The Bunker). The three “Q” pieces at the core of this recording offer the most intense and extensive group improvisation. Stevens!'s piano work becomes more dynamic and abstract, with attendant runs and clusters. Whitecage serves up the undulating, pulsing improvisations that have become his trademark. And Robertson pops in and out with a fractured, edgy counterpoint. These improvisations get to the core of what Fonda refers to in his liner notes as the “element of unpredictability.” And since these five players have the collective experience required to negotiate this realm without getting lost,Parallel Linesends up mostly successful--more so because of the group interaction than because of the virtuosity of any individual player.

Live at Alte Paketpost - Downtown Music Gallery
This is the 9th fantastic disc from the great Fonda/Stevens Group and it features
Herb Robertson on trumpet, Michael Jefry Stevens on piano, Joe Fonda on bass and
Harvey Sorgen on drums. This great date was recorded live in Rottweil, Germany
in December of 2003. Jeez, what a fine quartet this is! Fonda and Stevens
split the compositions here, with three songs apiece. Michael's "The Stalker"
opens with superb repeating line theme, with Joe's ebullient bass, Harvey's
flowing drums, Michael's dynamic piano and Herb's fluttering trumpet sailing
over the top. Joe's powerful bass is always at the center, he sings along
softly, joyously holding things together. The mighty Herb Robertson starts off
"There's a Very Fine Line..." with some of his crazed trumpet smears and
intense sputters, as the quartet fly freely circling one another. Oddly
enough, the group sings the one line of the song's title to a funky beat -
getting the audience to clap along, but soon start swinging furiously, whoa!
The unstoppable and unbelievable Her Robertson takes one of those over-the-top
solos that would scare most other normal trumpet players. Joe Fonda takes one
of those magnificent bass solos on "From the Source", which segways into
"Relentlessness", a freer piece with Joe's inventive bass at the center, as
the others swirl tightly around him. Michael's "Kultur Shock" has a
delightful, more straight ahead theme with some fine piano from Mr. Stevens
and another swell trumpet solo from Herb. The groovy disc ends with a
hilarious song called "Memphis Ramble", a great, bluesy ditty in which Joe
Fonda tells/sings the story of Michael's move down south. It makes a perfect
ending for this joyous gig and this grand disc. - BLG

The Healing (Leo Records) - The Fonda/Stevens Group
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Evolution (Leo Records) - The Fonda/Stevens Group
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CONFERENCE CALL

Conference Call; het gevaar van ongestructureerdheid
Live at the Bimhuis - 21 Februari '06 - 23:22
Er waren maar weinig mensen op het concert van Conference Call in her Bimhuis afgekomen. Onbekend maakt onbemind? Toch herbergt deze groep enkele bekende namen uit de New Yorkse jazz scene als Joe Fonda en pianist Michael J. Stevens. Of lag het aan de moeilijkheidsgraad van de muziek van Conference Call. De muziek van deze coöperatieve groep is niet altijd even makkelijk in het gehoor liggend en kent een hoog energie gehalte waardoor je als luisteraar snel vermoeid kan raken, maar voor de reguliere Bimhuis bezoeker moet de muziek van Conference Call toch niet al te vreemd in de oren klinken.
Wij Jazzkenners willen altijd graag vergelijkingen trekken en ik zal u dan ook de mijne niet besparen. De groep deed mij qua sound en energie erg denken aan het American Quartet van Keith Jarrett (de bezetting met Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden en Paul Motian) en het late Coltrane quartet (met Alice, Jimmy Garrison en Rashied Ali) maar ook de laatste versie van het Miles Davis quintet (de bezetting met Chick Corea, Dave Holland en Jack DeJohnette) klonk door in het spel van het viertal.
Het quartet speelde twee sets met louter eigen werk, bijna alle stukken liepen in elkaar over en werden ook niet nader toegelicht of aangekondigd. De namen van de stukken blijf ik u dus schuldig. Anderzijds moet ik bekennen dat alle stukken qua opbouw en structuur redelijk op elkaar leken waardoor soms moeilijk te horen was of het quartet alweer aan een nieuw werkje begonnen was. In feite waren er twee varianten: De eerste was: een mooi sereen begin, wat langzaam werd opgebouwd en via energieke improvisaties uitkwam in een vrij collectief waarna het serene thema weer wederkeerde. De tweede variatie bestond uit dezelfde opbouw alleen was het thema een combinatie van veel noten en tegendraadse ritmes. De meeste stukken waren opgebouwd rond een ostinato baspartij, vakkundig gespeeld door Joe Fonda. Fonda (1954) was de drijvende kracht binnen de groep. Als bassist deed hij mij erg denken aan Charles Mingus. Wat hij ook gemeen had met Mingus was het aanwijzingen schreeuwen naar zijn medemuzikanten, vooral drummer George Schuller (1958) moest het (terecht) ontgelden. Deze zoon van componist/arrangeur en dirigent Gunther Schuller sloeg er regelmatig flink naast en was m.i. de zwakke schakel in de groep. De andere sterke man binnen Conference Call was de Duitse rietblazer Gebhard Ullman (1957) vooral zijn tenorsound was prachtig, hij produceerde een geluid waarin te horen was dat hij goed naar David Murray en Archie Shepp heeft geluisterd. Verder heeft deze man een hele berg techniek in huis waarmee hij alles kan van overblazen tot dubbeltonen en dat in alle registers. Ook op basclarinet leunt hij behoorlijk tegen David Murray aan. Pianist Michael J. Stevens (1951) maakte op mij wat minder indruk. Vakbekwaam en luisterde goed maar ik heb van zijn kant geen echte verrassende dingen gehoord.
In het samenspel leken de heren af en toe nog te moeten zoeken naar elkaar maar dit kan ook komen doordat iedereen druk aan het lezen was. Opvallend was ook de Europese sound van de toch geheel Amerikaanse ritmesectie.
Samenvattend was het concert van Conference Call lang niet slecht en kende heel mooie momenten maar was soms vermoeiend door de lange, soms ongestructureerd klinkende, collectieve improvisaties die in elk stuk weer voorbijkwamen. Bassist Joe Fonda en rietblazer Gebhard Ullman zijn namen om in de gaten te houden.

CONFERENCE CALL "Live at the Outpost Performance Spacet" (482 Records)

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Chris Kelsey - August, 2006- Jazz Times
The ways of swing are many and varied, as demonstrated by this superb quartet of leftward-leaning jazz folk. Conference Call consists of saxophonist Gebhard Uilmann, pianist Michael ]efry Stevens, bassist ]oe Fonda and drummer Gerry Hemingway. Recorded live at Albuquerque's Outpost Performance Space at the end of a 2003 tour, this album reflects a band steeped in the history of small group jazz, while dedicated to exploring fresh possibilities, The tone is set by the opener, UIlmann's "29 Shoes." The group pokes and probes disjointedly at a slight motive, before coalescing and trans¬forming the phrase into a roiling, cooking Latinesque tour de force. Hemingway pulls the groove as far apart as humanly possible without breaking it into smithereens, All the while he maintains an extraordinary drive and interacts with his bandmates--Ullmann, in particular¬, on the highest level. The tune morphs naturally into episodes of swing and free playing too ingen¬ious to describe in such a short space. Other tunes engage different areas with similar success,
The soloists are uniformly excellent, and the group dynamic is of the highest caliber, If you have any doubts that jazz is still a vital, evolving form, this should dispel them.

Daniel Spicer, June 5, 2006One Final Note
If it’s possible to have a super-group in a musical form as marginalized as contemporary, creative, left-field jazz, then Conference Call is a pretty good contender. Bassist Joe Fonda has been playing with pianist Michael Jefry Stevens in the Fonda/Stevens Group for 20 years, as well as finding time to back Anthony Braxton; German reedsman Gebhard Ullmann is familiar face on the Leo label; and the band has operated something of a revolving drum-stool policy, bringing in big-hitters such as Matt Wilson, Han Bennink, and, more recently, George Schuller—though due to a scheduling conflict, the tour from which this Albuquerque, New Mexico performance is drawn features Gerry Hemingway behind the kit. From the get-go it’s clear Hemmingway’s keen to make an impression in his temporary role, storming into the opening number “29 Shoes” with a blistering, high-energy drum solo. In fact, this lengthy tune serves as something of a wake-up slap in the face, with all four musicians tearing it up in fine style: a hectic, disjointed head; dizzying, hard-swinging themes; frantic bass runs; Wayne Shorter-esque soprano acrobatics; prancing, chamber-jazz motifs; and playful drums that seem to be constantly trying to wrong-foot the breakneck vibe, only to fall back into line just when consistency’s needed. As showcases of virtuosity and audacity go, it’s a mightily impressive and enjoyable one—and one that marks this band out as a genuinely intelligent, restless, and searching unit that clearly deserves a wider audience. “Liquid Cage” is a more reflective affair, a limpid, watery sound-painting that features tumbling, waterfall piano, ghostly clouds of saxophone, and tactile, fingertip neck-work on the bass producing a kind of super-pizzicato effect like raindrops on an upturned bucket. The second half of the set finds an irrepressible groove breaking through, and Ullmann seems to pay homage to Archie Shepp’s late-60s tenor work, with those unmistakable, fractured blues honks riding over the top of a gently lilting piano and bass riff on “Circle Dance”, and even a hint of the mutant, stamping blues of Shepp’s “Black Gypsy” showing up on “Marla Dr’ôle”.
For pure, modal fun though, the closing number “As I Wait”, takes some beating: a catchy, ascending groove that pits dissolution against resolution, finding a joyful middle ground where chaotic drums flutter around the anchor of a soulful riff that somehow manages to feel both grounded and free. Conference Call, then, sounds like a band with one foot firmly in the Paris / Chicago axis of the late-60s BYG avant-garde sound and another keeping up to date with the tuneful, exploratory freedom of Wayne Shorter’s recent celebrated quartet. Ask yourself this: is there anything about that equation that doesn’t sound like a good thing?

All About Jazz-by Jeff-Dayton Johnson, 2006
This November, 2003 Albuquerque date by Conference Call manages to produce (very satisfying) new variations on an old formula. The quartet, which sits comfortably somewhere between the hard outer edges of the mainstream and free improvisation, includes multiple reeds player Gebhard Ullmann and the leaders of the Fonda/Stevens Group. The drummer’s chair has been subject to a non-lethal version of the Spinal Tap syndrome, occupied by a sequence of percussionists including Matt Wilson, George Schuller and Han Bennink; this time round, Gerry Hemingway takes the chair. The new guy sounds great. A few minutes into the first track, “29 Shoes” (what would one do with an odd number of shoes?), he produces the sound Jack DeJohnette was seeking but failed to achieve on the Miles Davis Cellar Door set: muscular and funky, but also open and polyrhythmic. His complicity with bassist Joe Fonda is delightful and structurally critical, given that each number is a progression of episodes demarcated by the rhythmic signature Fonda and Hemingway provide.
Ullmann is all energy and ideas: he plays soprano, alto (I think) and tenor saxes, as well as bass clarinet, sounding a like a different musician on each, and all of his solos are long and dense. Pianist Michael Jefry Stevens can provide pianissimo accents but also raises the volume with Messiaen-like splendor in the magnificent opening minutes of “Liquid Cage.” The set is framed by two relatively loud, mostly uptempo numbers; in between are three frequently quiet forays into the free. “Mala Dr’ole” in particular may be the least accessible but also the most successful cut. Over its course, the band works out all the inexorable consequences of the fading out of the initial blast of the angular, Anthony Braxton-like theme. “As I Wait,” the closer, opens mysteriously and gives way to a hard, soulful motif, and Hemingway again calls upon his exhilarating high-volume skills. Why does this music sound so contemporary given that the musical innovations upon which it draws were established forty years ago? In part it’s because of the context: stodgy mainstream jazz is busy working out even older musical innovations. But it’s also fresh because Conference Call mixes these sonic elements—beautiful harmonies one minute, free squeaks the next—in an unapologetically ahistorical pastiche that few of the quartet's precursors would have allowed themselves. You get Pharaoh Sanders and Roscoe Mitchell playing together, Yvonne Loriod trading piano parts with Randy Weston. In that sense, the group's truest progenitor might be Archie Shepp (whom, incidentally, Ullmann resembles when he plays tenor). Like him, Conference Call seems to want to straddle both the freest outer reaches and the center of the jazz tradition. It’s a combination that works to great effect on Live at the Outpost.

Exclaim by J Glen Hall, 2006
Formed in 1997, this transoceanic collaborative quartet has developed a distinctive music that allows its members to delve into a host of approaches in real depth. Rollicking swing, raucous rants, moody fogginess. From the very first tune, "29 Shoes", penned by reed virtuoso Berlin-based Ullmann, the group lays it down with authority. Despite the absence of regular drummer George Schuller, when you’ve got Gerry Hemingway subbing, you’re unlikely to suffer musically. And Gerry seriously rocks out, contributing the first blazing solo, only to be followed by a blistering, snaky soprano solo by Ullmann. This group understands the importance of pacing, as the second piece by NYC pianist Stevens’ "Liquid Cage" provides a delicate impressionistic contrast, replete with an engrossing extended bass solo by Joe Fonda, who is a magnificent unflagging foil for his colleagues throughout the entire CD. Echoes of Anthony Braxton can be heard in Ullmann’s "Mala Dr’ôle", a spiky theme of pungent leaping intervals and jagged phrases, interrupted by a jaunty, off-kilter march and out-of-tempo improv. Bluesy "As I Wait" by Fonda closes the set with Ullmann switching to tenor as the group ranges far and freely. Recorded live at the venerable Outpost in Albuquerque, NM, this is another solid release on Mike Lintner’s 482 Music that continues to document worthwhile projects that fly under the radar of other labels in the genre.

Christian Carey "Signal to Noise (2006)"
Conference Call's fourth recording comes from a 2003 concert in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Regulars saxophonist Gebhard Ullmann, pianist Michael Jefry Stevens, and bassist Joe Fonda are joined by guest drummer Gerry Hemingway (filling in for George Schuller). As on their previous releases, the group adroitly balances elements of traditional and avant jazz, swinging and skronking with equal fluency. On "29 Shoes," Ullmann (playing soprano) presents a driving, syncopated head, alongside Stevens' piquant accompaniment. Hemingway takes a frenetic solo, cymbals ablaze. Ullmann's subsequent solo turn is jubilantly florid and laden with exuberant trills. Fonda brings things down to earth - and to a sinuous largo tempo. This segues nicely into a dancing, sotto voce passage for the quartet, rounded off by a boisterous presentation of the head. Stevens' playing on "Liquid Cage" simultaneously evokes post-bop and Debussy's Preludes. Ullmann, on bass clarinet, joins him and at first plays with a smoky lyricism. Gradually, both Ullmann and Fonda take the tune further out. When Stevens returns, he responds with intricate poly-tonal stacks of harmony and is matched by an effectsladen solo from Ullmann. "Circle Dance" is a beguiling neo-traditional ballad. Stevens' stylish voicings and Ullmann's emotive tenor are nicely offset by a gently swinging rhythm section; the piece closes with an extended, imaginative solo from Fonda. "Mala Dr'ole" features Ullman weaving playful variations on soprano, frequently shifting demeanor and being followed on a dime by the rhythm section. "As I Wait" closes the concert in exciting fashion. Fonda and Hemingway articulate a midtempo but driving groove, over which Ullmann and Stevens build a gradual crescendo of activity. After a hail of crashing chords, thunderous fills, and caterwauling tenor, the group backs up a sparkling piano denouement.

Downtown Music Gallery
Conference Call is Gebhard Ullman on soprano & tenor saxes & bass clarinet, Michael J. Stevens on piano, Joe Fonda on bass and Gerry Hemingway on drums. This is the fourth Conference Call disc and each one has had a different drummer. Previous drummers include Han Bennink, Matt Wilson and George Schuller and each one brings something different to the sound of this feisty quartet. This disc is live from the Outpost in Albuquerque, New Mexico in November of 2003. Gebhard's "29 Shoes" opens and features Gerry erupting around the repeating groove. Joe Fonda sings along with has propulsive bass as Gebhard takes a strong soprano solo while Mr. Stevens fans the flames with his spirited piano. It is hard to tell that this is the first recording with Hemingway on drums, since he plays so marvelously, the pulse moving tightly in waves speeding up and slowing down organically. "Liquid Cage" begins with Mr. Stevens' spacious and haunting piano, then some contemplative bass clarinet from Gebhard and one of those magical, exquisite bass solos from Mr. Fonda as Gerry adds some eerie percussion sounds, until the quartet slowly ascend together like ghosts in a graveyard. Stevens' "Circle Dance" is a lovely ballad with sublime tenor, a delicate rhythm team bubbling underneath. "Mala Dr'ole" is an odd, quirky piece keeps starting and stopping, fluttering duos that move together freely, connecting is they move. Joe Fonda's "As I Wait", brings things to close with slow moving, dreamscapes that simmer and sizzle and build to an enchanting, hypnotic groove. Conference Call does it again, brings us together with them for a great ride. - BLG

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CONFERENCE CALL "Spirals: the Berlin Concert" (482 Records) -

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• Jazz Times Review
Chris Kelsey, May 01 '04
I can't help but contrast the playing of Gebhard Ullmann on Spirals: The Berlin Concert (482) with that of Ivo Perelman. Like Perelman, Ullmann can walk the altissimo high wire, but he doesn't live up there. He knows when to come down. Conference Call is a cooperative consisting of the multireedist Ullmann, pianist Michael Jefrey Stevens, bassist Joe Fonda and drummer George Schuller.
Ullmann's tenor work on the opener, Schuller's tune "Comeuppance," shows how there's more to free jazz than manic intensity; getting from note to note in a coherent manner can be just as important. Joe Fonda is one of the more clean-toned bassists around; his improvised introduction and subsequent solo on Ullmann's "Dreierlei" is attractively direct. His doubling of the melody with Ullmann on soprano sax is also very nicely done. Stevens plays with a rolling, tuneful momentum. Even his fleetest passages sing. Schuller is a graceful, swinging drummer, always tasteful and capable of driving a band without overwhelming it. Conference Call as a whole swings with a gleeful impetuosity that's hard if not impossible to dislike. Kinda sounds like what the late '60s Miles Davis band might have become had they stayed the course.

• All About Jazz
Jerry D'Souza
Hey, come on over and listen in to a Conference Call. There have been two well worth listening to in the past. As before, there is a new drummer in tow, George Schuller coming in place of Matt Wilson, who in turn had replaced Han Bennink. Sure, Wilson and Bennink have individualistic styles, but don't turn a deaf ear: Schuller's approach stokes the rhythm and the guys up front continue to be in fine fettle.
The initial probe is set by Joe Fonda on the bass and Gebhard Ullmannn takes that strain on the tenor sax in wistful undulation before Michael Jefry Stevens let's his piano stamp the harmonic line that gradually powers in intensity, an urgent essaying of the melodic landscape which is dotted by Schuller on the offbeat. It coalesces in a dark, moody ambit, the punctuation of Stevens going against the shifting images of Ullmann with his honks, wails and linear transformations. "Comeuppance"? Sure, if it means a heady, heated happening! The approach to "Dreierlei" is more open-ended. The pace is deliberate at the outset, with Fonda setting the tempo, he has a wonderful solo spot on which he engages in a little dialogue with himself, against the bustle of Schuller. Stevens pulls in a sparkling array of notes and Ullmann bides his time, his soprano at first an airy flirt but later, a cutting swath, embedding deeply etched lines and augmenting them with loopy ones. The mood changes to a sombre one on "Translucent Tones." Stevens brings in a serene, almost fragile ministration, with Ullmannn cutting edge against the grain first on the bass clarinet and then on the tenor. It is appropriate that this song follows "Three" where truth and turmoil gather. More power to Fonda and the band for their stand!

• Cadence review
Jerome Wilson
[Spirals] is by a quartet that has stayed together long enough to put out several CDs and quietly make a reputation for itself, Conference Call. This is four excellent musicians Fonda and George Schuller music that builds on the ecstatic jazz tradition of the Sixties. The first couple of pieces from this live concert have them mostly limbering up and doing slow screams in the post-"Ascension" manner, Fonda's bass so thick and guttural it sounds possessed. Then Stevens' composition, "Little Pete's Diner" comes along, a delirious, overthe- top tango with Ullmann slurping all over his saxophone and Stevens playing whacked out cabaret piano. It's almost like one of Willem Breuker's parody bits but with less slapstick and far more intensity. Then there's a short bit of political theater led by Fonda. (This was recorded right before the start of the Iraq war.) Next the group turns quiet and delicate for "Translucent Tones," Stevens' twinkling piano leading the way before the concert closes out with a long, intricate drum solo and more frenetic rolling and tumbling on "No Hazmats." I'm not sure how long these four have been playing together, but they definitely have learned each other's moves and know how to blend their individual voices into a cohesive sound. Conference Call is making some amazing music under everybody's radar.

David Dupont - April 2004
With their own ensemble, the Fonda-Stevens Group, pianist Michael Jefry Stevens and bassist Joe Fonda are masters of the art of spontaneous composition. They take the sparest material and expand it into a multi-part performance. With Conference Call, a cooperative group with drummer George Schuller and saxophonist Gebhard Ullmann, they work the same magic using mostly material by their two cohorts. The opening track, Schuller's "Comeuppance", is built around a slight figure, three notes twisted and turned followed by a half-octave drop that's like that last unexpected stair. Stevens comes on first and shapes his whole solo, reworking and revoicing variations on the figure with Monk-like focus. Ullmann creeps back in, slowly building intensity before the piano and bass drop out, leaving just tenor saxophone and drums ricocheting figures off each other. Fonda picks up where Stevens leaves off, echoing Schuller's simple theme, dramatically slapping it out with a tone as thick as his own New York accent. This piece sets the tone for the 70-minute long recital. And the performance as a whole is as finely shaped as any of the individual selections with "Little Pete's Diner", a free form tango by Stevens, serving as a break from the intensity of the opening two numbers. Ullmann's aptly titled bass clarinet feature "Translucent Tones" contrasts with the density of the earlier interplay while also setting up Schuller's "No Hazmats". The composer opens with a drum solo that builds from a simple cymbal beat and rattling bells to a polyrhythmic onslaught. No matter how complex the rhythms get, Schuller maintains that quarter note stroke on his ride cymbal. Does he do everything else with just one hand? It's the kind of performance I'd love to actually see. The solo leads to Schuller's agitated, atonal, rapid-fire theme that runs through several variations before launching his bandmates into unrelenting solos. Even the middle section of the program the political personalities of certain Bush officials followed by a vocal outburst well on repeated listenings. That, however, can't be said of the rest of this set, which rewards any number of subsequent visits.

Music/www.jazz-network.com) Berliner Morgenpost, vom: 14.08.200
Im vergangenen Jahr gab das transatlantische Bündnis Conference Call um den
Berliner Saxofonisten und Komponisten Gebhard Ullmann ein bemerkenswertes
Konzert im B-Flat. Der nun vorliegende Mitschnitt auf CD ist eine
Herausforderung für den Hörer. Doch die Mühe lohnt sich. Denn obgleich
Ullmann, Pianist Michael Jefry Stevens, Bassist Joe Fonda und Schlagzeuger
George Schuller bei den bis zu 20 Minuten langen Stücken unerschrocken gegen
die Konventionen anwüten, agieren sie im Kern auf der Basis von strengen
Kompositionsprinzipien. Mal ist es eine afrikanisch anmutende Melodie, mal
ein dämonisches Vier-Ton-Motiv, mal eine brachiale Tango-Form, aus dem das
deutsch-amerikanische Quartett den Formenvorrat für seine ausgedehnten
Improvisationen bezieht. Und Ullmann bläst auf Bassklarinette, Tenor- und
Sopransaxofon mit seiner kluger Entrücktheit stellenweise das Blaue aus dem
Himmel über Berlin. Das ist die Freiheit, die John Coltrane meinte.

Splendid Magazine by Mike Baker May 2004
I don't know much about modern jazz and even less about improvisation, but I know what I like...and I'm not sure what I think about Conference Call. This "super-group", comprised of Gebhard Ullmann, Michael Jefry Stevens, Joe Fonda and George Schuller, will certainly remind most untrained ears of John Coltrane's late period histrionics. My own ears are untrained, and I found this live recording to be... erm... lively, if not consistent in its ability to entertain me. There are flashes of brilliance here that will be recognized by the numbest of skulls, particularly the sprightly outro to "Comeuppance". The cooler-than-you middle section of "Dreierlei" sort of reminds me of John Lurie's stuff, though I'm only mildly familiar with his work. The out-of-place political statements made in "Announcement" and "Three" derail the proceedings, though the subsequent "Translucent Tones (Gestalt in Three)" gets everything back on track, rolling out a lovely chime intro and a disarmingly beautiful section with brushed drums and a tittering piano line. The album ends with a manic crescendo in the dying breaths of "No Hazmats", but even the uninitiated (i.e. yours truly) have come to know that there is no other way to end this sort of exercise, and I rather enjoyed it.

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CONFERENCE CALL "Variations on a Master Plan" (Leo Records) -

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CONFERENCE CALL "Final Answer" (Leo Records)

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Jazz Review - Randy McElligot (2002)
Review: Conference Call is an inspired group. Period.
Gebhard Ullmann is one the most accomplished reed players on the scene today. Having made over twenty recordings, Ulmman continues to push his own envelope, along the way gaining more fans and admirers.
Michael Jefry Stevens is a breath of fresh air on the piano. Thoughful, provocative, and open to ideas, his presence in the group is unmistakable.
Following in the tradition of Dave Holland and Charlie Haden, it is hard to find a more focused master of his instrument than Joe Fonda. His ability to transform the bass into an instrument of feeling, and resilience is evidenced throughout.
Drumming in this kind of setting requires not only an excellent time keeper but also a skin tapper with imagination. Matt Wilson more than meets this requirement.
The quartet plays in the moment, totally in synch with one another, resulting in a recording full of surprises.
A blistering number entitled Dreierlei opens this session. With a quick inspired staccato opening featuring the band in unison. A brief lull gives way to a ferocious as well as a driven delivery from Ullmann. He weaves in and out of the melody with ease and conviction. After a driving attack, Fonda settles into a great bass solo, driving Wilson to offbeat rhythms and overall fun.
Stevens' march like piano, sets the pace for Final Answer. Always aware of his surroundings, Stevens remains in control throughout. Fonda has always worked well with Stevens, anticipating his every move. Wilson joins in with his own take on things. Ullmann's mastery of the bass clarinet is evidenced throughout. Shades of Dolphy? Great example of unison playing from the group.
Gone Too Soon, written by Fonda, is a moving tribute to Thomas Chapin who tragically passed away a few years ago. Chapin was an up and coming sax and flute player who held great potential. Ullmann's playing sounds like every note has a tear. An exemplary practitioner of the ballad, Ullmann pours his heart out. Sensitive accompaniment from Steven's as well as a haunting vocal recanting "Gone Too Soon".
A lovely arrangement from Stevens, Liquid Cage is dedicated to clarinetist, Mark Whitecage. Ullmann's rich and flowing sound from his bass clarinet adds a striking dimension. Wilson's cymbal work creates a framework for the expressiveness of the soul. Moving gently throughout, Steven's sparse finger work brings this piece home.
Conference Call is one of the most important ensembles on the scene today. Fun, ideas, and free flowing music are the trademarks of this successful unit. Final Answer is just one more example of what this group brings to the table.


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STEVENS, SIEGEL & FERGUSON TRIO