Steve Swallow
Lauded bassist and composer Steve Swallow is an influential performer who helped define the sound of post-bop, fusion, and modern creative jazz. An individualist on his chosen instrument, Swallow is known for emphasizing high notes and often approaches the electric bass as if it were a guitar. Following his initial emergence in the 1960s playing progressive jazz with Jimmy Giuffre and George Russell, he established long associations with pianist Paul Bley, trumpeter Art Farmer, vibraphonist Gary Burton, and others. Swallow has issued albums under his own name, including 1987's Carla, 1991's Swallow, and 1996's Deconstructed. He is also a longtime member of a trio with his partner, pianist Carla Bley, and saxophonist Andy Sheppard, issuing albums like 2013's Trios, 2016's Andando el Tiempo, and 2020's Life Goes On. A gifted composer, he is also recognized for writing such songs as "Eiderdown," "Falling Grace," and "Hotel Hello."
Born in 1940 in New Jersey, Swallow originally started out on the piano and trumpet before taking up the acoustic bass as a teenager. He joined the Paul Bley trio in 1960 and with Bley was part of an avant-garde version of the Jimmy Giuffre 3 during 1960-1962. He also recorded with George Russell and worked with both Art Farmer and Stan Getz. Also during the mid-'60s, he became a vital member of Gary Burton's quartet, making early forays into fusion jazz alongside guitarist Larry Coryell. It was during this time that Swallow began primarily playing electric bass. As a solo artist, he made his debut as a co-leader on several sessions, including joining Burton for 1975's Hotel Hello. He also paired with poet Robert Creeley for 1979's Home.
After the 1970s, Swallow was closely associated with pianist and partner Carla Bley's groups, appearing on albums like 1984's I Hate to Sing, 1987's Sextet, and 1993's Go Together. During this period, he released several of his own albums for ECM, including 1991's Swallow with Gary Burton and John Scofield, 1996's Deconstructed with trumpeter Ryan Kisor, and 2000's Always Pack Your Uniform on Top with tenor saxophonist Chris Potter.
The 2000s saw the release of several Swallow sets, including 2003's Damaged in Transit, 2004's Histoire Du Clochard: The Bum's Tale, and an intriguing set with poet Robert Creeley, 2006's So There. Hotel Hello appeared in 2007, followed by Believe in Spring, a collection of standards with Hans Ulrik and Jonas Johansen issued on the Stunt label, and Carla's Christmas Carols in 2008. In 2010, he recorded IS with trumpeter Tore Johanson for the Inner Ear label. Swallow formed We3 along with Adam Nussbaum and David Liebman; they recorded Amazing in 2011.
In 2012, Swallow and drummer Joey Barron played in Steve Kuhn's trio for the recording of Wisteria on ECM. It was a busy year for the bassist: he recorded another duet offering, The Agnostic Chant Book, with reed and woodwind master Jonas Schoen. He also led his own quintet for Into the Woodwork, which was issued on Xtra WATT in June 2013. That September, Swallow shared triple billing with Carla Bley and Andy Sheppard on Trios. The following year, Swallow and composer/ multi-instrumentalist Christian Muthspiel issued the duo album Simple Songs on In + Out.
In 2016, he was back with his trio cohorts for Andando el Tiempo. He then collaborated with Bobby Previte, Jamie Saft, and Iggy Pop on 2017's Loneliness Road and again joined Previte and Saft for 2019's You Don't Know the Life. Life Goes On, Swallow's fourth recording with Bley and Sheppard, arrived in 2020. Two years later, In + Out re-released Simple Songs.
© Matt Collar /TiVo
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Life Of A Trio-Saturday (Instrumental)
Paul Bley, Jimmy Giuffre, Steve Swallow
Jazz - Erschienen bei Universal Music Division Decca Records France am 01.01.2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wisteria
Steve Kuhn, Steve Swallow, Joey Baron
Jazz - Erschienen bei ECM Records am 20.04.2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Believe In Spring
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Jazz - Erschienen bei Stunt Records am 12.05.2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brutto Tempo
Jasper Van'T Hof, Charlie Mariano, Steve Swallow
Jazz - Erschienen bei intuition am 17.07.2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Singular Curves
Steve Swallow, Ohad Talmor, Adam Nussbaum
Modern Jazz - Erschienen bei Auand am 02.08.2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Lost Chords (Live)
Carla Bley, Andy Sheppard, Steve Swallow, Billy Drummond
Jazz - Erschienen bei Watt am 07.06.2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Three for All
David Liebman, Steve Swallow, Adam Nussbaum
Jazz - Erschienen bei Baseline Jazz am 01.01.2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Playing in Traffic
Steve Swallow, Ohad Talmor, Adam Nussbaum
Modern Jazz - Erschienen bei Auand am 16.11.2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Awakening
Mark O'Leary, Steve Swallow, Pierre Favre
Jazz - Erschienen bei LEO RECORDS am 01.11.2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tin Pan Aliens
Hans Ulrik, Steve Swallow, Jonas Johansen
Modern Jazz - Erschienen bei Stunt Records am 29.08.2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nothing, Knowing
Greg Burk, Steve Swallow, Bob Moses
Jazz - Erschienen bei 482 Music am 04.01.2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
We 3 (Live)
David Liebman, Steve Swallow, Adam Nussbaum
Jazz - Erschienen bei Vaju Prod. am 02.09.2016
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo