STEVE LEHMAN TRIO

Dialect Fluorescent

Steve Lehman - alto saxophone

Matt Brewer - bass

Damion Reid - drums

Alto saxophonist Steve Lehman has arrived. The New York Times described his 2009 release Travail, Transformation and Flow (Pi30) as "a breathtaking accomplishment" and it was #1 Jazz/Pop CD of 2009. That album solidified Lehman's status as a visionary composer with powerful new ideas about the future of jazz. But on his new trio CD, Dialect Fluorescent, Lehman defies his reputation as a future-fixated modernist and combines his own original compositions with a full program of older works by jazz legends like John Coltrane and Jackie McLean. The album is not about paying homage to the jazz tradition in a respectful or dutiful way; every piece on Dialect Fluorescent is treated as an opportunity to create a bold and compelling musical statement, performed without one shred of irony or nostalgia.

The music on Dialect Fluorescent is electrified by Lehman's trio, which has been performing all over the United States and Europe since 2007. Throughout the album, Damion Reid displays an intricately dynamic conception of the modern drum set, rooted in his apprenticeship under Billy Higgins and his early experiences with Terence Blanchard and Robert Hurst, among others. Matt Brewer may be the only young bassist who can fly around his instrument like a horn player and still produce an incredibly big and propulsive sound. Lehman’s own performance on alto saxophone bristles with a distinctive combination of explosiveness and precision that has been his trademark since he burst onto New York’s creative music scene in 2004.

“One of the transforming figures of early 21st-century jazz.” –The Guardian (UK)

“Music of genuinely visionary importance, a way forward for the art.” – Penguin Guide to Jazz

“One of the most remarkable new saxophonists to emerge in the past 10 years.” – Signal to Noise

Pi Recordings Pi42