Jeremy Steig

by Ron WynnOne of the earliest and finest jazz-rock flutists, Jeremy Steigs an outstanding soloist. Hes mastered the entire flute family, including bass, and also plays piccolo well. He has a similarily rich, classically pure tone and timbre like James Newton or Hubert Laws, and uses almost as many devices such as tongue fluttering, humming and swirling lines. But hes not as blues or swing oriented, and his associations include working in the early 60s with Richie Havens, and heading Jeremy And The Satyrs in 1967. Steigs father is the famous artist William Steig; he began playing recorder at six and took flute lessons at 11. Steig attended the High School of Music and Art. He played with Gary Peacock and Paul Bley in the early 60s, then led a jazz-rock combo in 1967 backing Tim Hardin before heading his own groups. Steig played with Mike Manieri and Eddie Gomez in the 60s, and Jan Hammer in 1970. He began using electronics and synthesizers in the 70s, and toured Europe both as a soloist and heading quartets and quintets. He recorded with Gomez and Joe Chambers in the late 70s, and did sessions with Mike Nock, Karl Ratzer, Nana Vasconcelos, Ray Baretto, Steve Gadd and Jack DeJohnette in the 80s. Steig currently has a couple of sessions available on CD.