Steve McCall (drummer)
Encyclopedia
Steve McCall was an American jazz
drummer.
McCall was born in Chicago
and began his career there in the 1950s. One of his early gigs was playing behind blues
singer Lucky Carmichael. McCall befriended Muhal Richard Abrams
in 1961, and went on to be one of the founders of the AACM
in 1965. He played with hard bop
and free jazz
musicians throughout the decade; among those he played with were Anthony Braxton
, Leroy Jenkins, Joseph Jarman
, Roscoe Mitchell
, Fred Anderson
, and Wadada Leo Smith
. From 1967 to 1970 he lived in Amsterdam
and in Paris
, playing there with Braxton, Marion Brown
, and Gunter Hampel
. In 1970 he moved back to Chicago, where he played in a trio with Dexter Gordon
and Gene Ammons
, and a second trio called Reflection with Henry Threadgill
and Fred Hopkins
.
He spent another year in Europe in 1974, then moved to New York City
in 1975, playing again with Threadgill and Hopkins in Air
into the 1980s. He also played with Chico Freeman
, Arthur Blythe
, and David Murray
. He played with David Murray at Galerie Waalkens (Albert Waalkens) in the Dutch village Finsterwolde
. In 1985 he played with Cecil Taylor
, and worked with Roscoe Mitchell again until his death of a stroke
in 1989. He never recorded a session as a leader (a solo recording for the French Futura label was mentioned at one time, but it's unclear whether it actually existed).
With Air
With David Murray
With Chico Freeman
With Others
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
drummer.
McCall was born in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and began his career there in the 1950s. One of his early gigs was playing behind blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
singer Lucky Carmichael. McCall befriended Muhal Richard Abrams
Muhal Richard Abrams
Muhal Richard Abrams is an American educator, administrator, composer, arranger, clarinetist, cellist, and jazz pianist in the Free jazz medium. Abrams compresses both contemporary and traditional ideas into lean, elegant pieces.- Biography :Abrams attended DuSable High School in Chicago...
in 1961, and went on to be one of the founders of the AACM
AACM
AACM may refer to:* Ali Akbar College of Music, three schools founded by Indian musician Ali Akbar Khan to teach Indian classical music* Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial, one of fourteen cemeteries for American World War II dead on foreign soil...
in 1965. He played with hard bop
Hard bop
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano...
and free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
musicians throughout the decade; among those he played with were Anthony Braxton
Anthony Braxton
Anthony Braxton is an American composer, saxophonist, clarinettist, flautist, pianist, and philosopher. Braxton has released well over 100 albums since the 1960s...
, Leroy Jenkins, Joseph Jarman
Joseph Jarman
Joseph Jarman , is a jazz musician, composer and Shinshu Buddhist priest. He is perhaps best known as one of the first members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and the Art Ensemble of Chicago.-Early life:Jarman grew up in Chicago, Illinois...
, Roscoe Mitchell
Roscoe Mitchell
Roscoe Mitchell is an African American composer, jazz instrumentalist and educator, mostly known for being "a technically superb—if idiosyncratic—saxophonist." He has been called "one of the key figures" in avant-garde jazz who has been "at the forefront of modern music" for the past...
, Fred Anderson
Fred Anderson
Fred Anderson may refer to:*Fred Anderson , former National Football League defensive lineman*Fred Anderson , Major League Baseball player...
, and Wadada Leo Smith
Wadada Leo Smith
Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith is a trumpeter and composer working primarily in the fields of avant-garde jazz and free improvisation.-Biography:...
. From 1967 to 1970 he lived in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
and in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, playing there with Braxton, Marion Brown
Marion Brown
Marion Brown was a jazz alto saxophonist and ethnomusicologist. He is most well known as a member of the 1960s avant-garde jazz scene in New York City, playing alongside musicians such as John Coltrane, Archie Shepp, and John Tchicai...
, and Gunter Hampel
Gunter Hampel
Gunter Hampel is a German jazz vibraphonist, clarinettist, saxophonist, flautist, pianist and composer born in Göttingen, Germany, perhaps best-known for his album "The 8th of July 1969" that included fellow musicians Anthony Braxton, Willem Breuker and Jeanne Lee...
. In 1970 he moved back to Chicago, where he played in a trio with Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and an Academy Award-nominated actor . He is regarded as one of the first and most important musicians to adapt the bebop musical language of people like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bud Powell to the tenor saxophone...
and Gene Ammons
Gene Ammons
Eugene "Jug" Ammons also known as "The Boss," was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, and the son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons.-Biography:...
, and a second trio called Reflection with Henry Threadgill
Henry Threadgill
Henry Threadgill is an American composer, saxophonist and flautist. Threadgill came to prominence in the 1970s leading ensembles with unusual instrumentation and often incorporating a range of non-jazz genres....
and Fred Hopkins
Fred Hopkins
Fred Hopkins was a Chicago double bassist who played a major role in the development of the avant-garde jazz movement. He was a member of the avant garde jazz trio Air and David Murray's Low Class Conspiracy; he frequently worked with the cellist Diedre Murray...
.
He spent another year in Europe in 1974, then moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1975, playing again with Threadgill and Hopkins in Air
Air (jazz group)
Air was a free jazz trio founded in 1971 by saxophone player Henry Threadgill, double bassist Fred Hopkins and drummer Steve McCall. They combined radical free improvisation with a strong sense of tune and equal emphasis on each instrument in the group....
into the 1980s. He also played with Chico Freeman
Chico Freeman
Chico Freeman is a modern jazz tenor saxophonist and trumpeter and son of jazz saxophonist Von Freeman...
, Arthur Blythe
Arthur Blythe
Arthur Blythe is an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer. His stylistic voice has a distinct vibrato and he plays within the post-bop subgenre of jazz.- Biography :...
, and David Murray
David Murray (jazz musician)
David Murray is an American jazz musician. Murray plays mainly tenor saxophone and sometimes bass clarinet. He has recorded prolifically for many record labels since the mid-1970s.-Biography:...
. He played with David Murray at Galerie Waalkens (Albert Waalkens) in the Dutch village Finsterwolde
Finsterwolde
Finsterwolde is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Reiderland, about 7 km northeast of Winschoten.Finsterwolde was a separate municipality until 1990, when it was merged with Beerta.-External links:*...
. In 1985 he played with Cecil Taylor
Cecil Taylor
Cecil Percival Taylor is an American pianist and poet. Classically trained, Taylor is generally acknowledged as one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an extremely energetic, physical approach, producing complex improvised sounds, frequently involving tone clusters and...
, and worked with Roscoe Mitchell again until his death of a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
in 1989. He never recorded a session as a leader (a solo recording for the French Futura label was mentioned at one time, but it's unclear whether it actually existed).
As sideman
With Creative Construction CompanyCreative Construction Company
The Creative Construction Company was an American jazz ensemble active briefly in the early 1970s.The ensemble recorded two albums for Muse Records and was composed of six noted improvisationalists: Wadada Leo Smith, Anthony Braxton, Leroy Jenkins, Muhal Richard Abrams, Richard Davis, and Steve...
- 1970: Creative Construction Company
- 1971: CCC, Vol. 2
- 1977: Muhal
With Air
Air (jazz group)
Air was a free jazz trio founded in 1971 by saxophone player Henry Threadgill, double bassist Fred Hopkins and drummer Steve McCall. They combined radical free improvisation with a strong sense of tune and equal emphasis on each instrument in the group....
- 1975: Air SongAir SongAir Song is the debut album by the improvisational collective Air featuring Henry Threadgill, Steve McCall, and Fred Hopkins performing four of Threadgill's compositions. The album was originally released on the Japanese Why Not label in 1975 and later released in the U.S...
- 1976: Live AirLive AirLive Air is a live album by the improvisational collective Air featuring Henry Threadgill, Steve McCall, and Fred Hopkins recorded at Studio Rivbea, in New York and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, first released by Black Saint Records in 1980....
- 1976: Air RaidAir Raid (album)Air Raid is the second album by the improvisational collective Air featuring Henry Threadgill, Steve McCall, and Fred Hopkins performing four of Threadgill's compositions. The album was originally released on the Japanese Why Not label in 1976 and later released in the U.S...
- 1977: Air TimeAir TimeAir Time is an album by the improvisational collective Air featuring Henry Threadgill, Steve McCall, and Fred Hopkins performing three of Threadgill's compositions and one each by Hopkins and McCall.-Reception:...
- 1978: Open Air SuitOpen Air SuitOpen Air Suit is an album by the improvisational collective Air featuring Henry Threadgill, Steve McCall, and Fred Hopkins recorded in New York in 1978 featuring four of Threadgill's compositions.-Reception:...
- 1978: Montreux SuisseMontreux SuisseMontreux Suisse is a live album by the improvisational collective Air featuring Henry Threadgill, Steve McCall, and Fred Hopkins recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival, in Switzerland in 1978.-Reception:...
- 1979: Air LoreAir LoreAir Lore is an album by the improvisational collective Air featuring Henry Threadgill, Steve McCall, and Fred Hopkins performing compositions by Jelly Roll Morton and Scott Joplin.-Reception:...
- 1980: Air MailAir Mail (album)Air Mail is an album by the improvisational collective Air featuring Henry Threadgill, Steve McCall, and Fred Hopkins recorded for the Italian Black Saint label...
- 1982: 80° Below '8280° Below '8280° Below '82 is an album by the improvisational collective Air featuring Henry Threadgill, Steve McCall, and Fred Hopkins recorded in 1982 for the Antilles label.-Reception:...
With David Murray
- 1980: Sweet LovelySweet Lovely-Track listing:# "Coney Island" - 9:27# "Corazón" - 8:29# "The Hill" - 12:29# "Hope Scope" - 8:00*Recorded at Barigozzi Studios, Milano, December 4 & 5, 1979-Personnel:*David Murray: tenor saxophone*Fred Hopkins: bass*Steve McCall: drums...
- 1980: MingMing (album)Ming is the third album by David Murray to be released on the Italian Black Saint label and the first to feature his Octet. It was released in 1980 and features performances by Murray, Henry Threadgill, Olu Dara, Lawrence "Butch" Morris, George Lewis, Anthony Davis, Wilbur Morris and Steve...
- 1981: HomeHome (David Murray album)Home is the fourth album by David Murray to be released on the Italian Black Saint label and the second to feature his Octet. It was released in 1982 and features performances by Murray, Henry Threadgill, Olu Dara, Lawrence "Butch" Morris, George Lewis, Anthony Davis, Wilbur Morris and Steve...
- 1982: Murray's StepsMurray's StepsMurray's Steps is the fifth album by David Murray to be released on the Italian Black Saint label and the third to feature his Octet. It was released in 1982 and features performances by Murray, Henry Threadgill, Bobby Bradford, Lawrence "Butch" Morris, Craig Harris, Curtis Clark, Wilber Morris and...
With Chico Freeman
Chico Freeman
Chico Freeman is a modern jazz tenor saxophonist and trumpeter and son of jazz saxophonist Von Freeman...
- Morning PrayerMorning Prayer (album)Morning Prayer is a 1978 album by Chico Freeman, released on India Navigation and the Japanese Whynot Records.-Tracklisting:#"Like the Kind of Peace It is"#"The In Between"#"Conversations"#"Morning Prayer"#"Pepe's Samba"#"Pepe's Samba"...
(1976) - ChicoChico (album)Chico is a post-bop jazz lp by Chico Freeman on India Navigation Records IN 1031 -on which Chico switches between tenor saxophone, bass clarinet and flute during long, explorative tracks....
(1977)
With Others
- 1967: Song for - Joseph JarmanJoseph JarmanJoseph Jarman , is a jazz musician, composer and Shinshu Buddhist priest. He is perhaps best known as one of the first members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and the Art Ensemble of Chicago.-Early life:Jarman grew up in Chicago, Illinois...
- 1968: Gesprächsfetzen - Marion BrownMarion BrownMarion Brown was a jazz alto saxophonist and ethnomusicologist. He is most well known as a member of the 1960s avant-garde jazz scene in New York City, playing alongside musicians such as John Coltrane, Archie Shepp, and John Tchicai...
/Gunter HampelGunter HampelGunter Hampel is a German jazz vibraphonist, clarinettist, saxophonist, flautist, pianist and composer born in Göttingen, Germany, perhaps best-known for his album "The 8th of July 1969" that included fellow musicians Anthony Braxton, Willem Breuker and Jeanne Lee... - 1969: Marion Brown In Sommerhausen - Marion BrownMarion BrownMarion Brown was a jazz alto saxophonist and ethnomusicologist. He is most well known as a member of the 1960s avant-garde jazz scene in New York City, playing alongside musicians such as John Coltrane, Archie Shepp, and John Tchicai...
- 1969: The 8th Of July 1969 - Gunter Hampel
- 1969: Anthony BraxtonAnthony Braxton (album)Anthony Braxton is an album by Anthony Braxton released in 1969 on the BYG Actuel label. It features performances by Braxton, Leroy Jenkins, Leo Smith and Steve McCall. The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow states "The music performed.....
- Anthony BraxtonAnthony BraxtonAnthony Braxton is an American composer, saxophonist, clarinettist, flautist, pianist, and philosopher. Braxton has released well over 100 albums since the 1960s... - 1970: Gittin' to Know Y'AllGittin' to Know Y'All-Track listing:# "Gittin' to Know Y'All " - 23:35# "Gittin' to Know Y'All " - 8:25# "Ved Soerevatn" - 5:00# "For My Two J.B.'s" - 1:06...
- Baden-Baden Free Jazz Orchestra - 1970: This Time... - Anthony BraxtonAnthony BraxtonAnthony Braxton is an American composer, saxophonist, clarinettist, flautist, pianist, and philosopher. Braxton has released well over 100 albums since the 1960s...
- 1973: Geechee Recollections - Marion BrownMarion BrownMarion Brown was a jazz alto saxophonist and ethnomusicologist. He is most well known as a member of the 1960s avant-garde jazz scene in New York City, playing alongside musicians such as John Coltrane, Archie Shepp, and John Tchicai...
- 1975: Things to Come from Those Now GoneThings to Come from Those Now GoneThings to Come from Those Now Gone is the third album by Muhal Richard Abrams which was released on the Delmark label in 1975 and features performances of seven of Abrams' compositions by Abrams with varying line-ups that include Wallace McMillan, Edwin Daugherty, Richard Brown, Emanuel Cranshaw,...
- Muhal Richard AbramsMuhal Richard AbramsMuhal Richard Abrams is an American educator, administrator, composer, arranger, clarinetist, cellist, and jazz pianist in the Free jazz medium. Abrams compresses both contemporary and traditional ideas into lean, elegant pieces.- Biography :Abrams attended DuSable High School in Chicago... - 1975: Cosmic Dancer - Gunter HampelGunter HampelGunter Hampel is a German jazz vibraphonist, clarinettist, saxophonist, flautist, pianist and composer born in Göttingen, Germany, perhaps best-known for his album "The 8th of July 1969" that included fellow musicians Anthony Braxton, Willem Breuker and Jeanne Lee...
- 1978: 1-OQA+191-OQA+19-Personnel:*Muhal Richard Abrams: piano, synthesizer, voice*Henry Threadgill: alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, flute, voice*Anthony Braxton: soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, flute, clarinet, voice*Leonard Jones: bass, voice...
- Muhal Richard AbramsMuhal Richard AbramsMuhal Richard Abrams is an American educator, administrator, composer, arranger, clarinetist, cellist, and jazz pianist in the Free jazz medium. Abrams compresses both contemporary and traditional ideas into lean, elegant pieces.- Biography :Abrams attended DuSable High School in Chicago... - 1979: Music from the Source - Cecil McBeeCecil McBeeCecil McBee is an American post bop jazz bassist, described by the Guinness Who's Who of Jazz as "a full-toned bassist who creates rich, singing phrases in a wide range of contemporary jazz contexts." Allmusic called him "One of post-bop's most advanced and versatile bassists".-Biography:McBee...
- 1979: In the Tradition - Arthur BlytheArthur BlytheArthur Blythe is an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer. His stylistic voice has a distinct vibrato and he plays within the post-bop subgenre of jazz.- Biography :...
- 1979: Sweet Space - Billy BangBilly BangBilly Bang was an American free jazz violinist and composer.-Biography:...
- 1980: Vintage Duets: Chicago, January 11, 1980 - with Fred AndersonFred AndersonFred Anderson may refer to:*Fred Anderson , former National Football League defensive lineman*Fred Anderson , Major League Baseball player...
- 1980: Illusions - Arthur BlytheArthur BlytheArthur Blythe is an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer. His stylistic voice has a distinct vibrato and he plays within the post-bop subgenre of jazz.- Biography :...
- 1981: Blythe Spirit - Arthur BlytheArthur BlytheArthur Blythe is an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer. His stylistic voice has a distinct vibrato and he plays within the post-bop subgenre of jazz.- Biography :...
- 1986: Olu IwaOlu IwaOlu Iwa is a live album by Cecil Taylor recorded in Berlin, Germany on April 12, 1986 and released on the Soul Note label. The album features a concert performance by Taylor with Thurman Barker, William Parker and Steve McCall with Earl McIntyre, Peter Brotzmann and Frank Wright added on one...
- Cecil TaylorCecil TaylorCecil Percival Taylor is an American pianist and poet. Classically trained, Taylor is generally acknowledged as one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an extremely energetic, physical approach, producing complex improvised sounds, frequently involving tone clusters and... - 1986: The Flow of ThingsThe Flow of ThingsThe Flow of Things is a live album by jazz saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell recorded in 1986 for the Italian Black Saint label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Stephen Cook awarded the album 3 stars stating "The Flow of Things is probably not the best entrée into Mitchell's work, but after a few Art...
- Roscoe MitchellRoscoe MitchellRoscoe Mitchell is an African American composer, jazz instrumentalist and educator, mostly known for being "a technically superb—if idiosyncratic—saxophonist." He has been called "one of the key figures" in avant-garde jazz who has been "at the forefront of modern music" for the past...