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| Acclaimed Chicago-based Guitarist STEVE KNIGHT'S "FOR YEARS GONE" Since releasing his 2022 debut album, Persistence, guitarist and composer STEVE KNIGHT has been on a roll. His calendar is packed with a weekly residency at a swanky Chicago restaurant, a weekly performance for the community in a high school courtyard, and another dozen or so gigs each month at clubs around the city. Now, with the release of FOR YEARS GONE, he's sure to be even busier. Persistence garnered rave reviews, including four stars in Downbeat. All About Jazz said, "Engaging at every level: harmonic, melodic, rhythmic…this entire production works very well, whatever one's taste in guitar heroes might be. Knight maintains he does not practice his guitar. From time to time 'I open the case and throw in a piece of red meat.' If these are the results, get to a butcher shop, fast." Take Effect said, "An excellent first album that's highly technical and delivered with grace and adventurousness, Knight and company put a charming spin on the covers, and the originals are quite impressive, too, as they embrace pop, funk, blues and R&B elements into the timeless formula." Knight grew up in Olathe, Kansas. He began playing guitar when he was 12 years old and went on to Emporia State University, where he majored in theater. Because he could play guitar and read music, he split his time between the theatre department and the music department, playing in pit orchestras, the school's big band, and the faculty combo, all while teaching guitar at ESU's Academy of Music and Flint Hills Music. Knight eventually moved to New York City to pursue a career in music, starting with a year on Carnival Cruise Lines. After his stint with the cruise line ended, he began studying with several jazz guitar luminaries, including Mark Whitfield, Peter Bernstein, and the late Jack Wilkins. Knight relocated to Chicago with his wife in 2016, immersing himself in the local jazz scene and teaching at North Shore Music in Wilmette and the School of Rock in Evanston. In addition to commercial gigs throughout his newly adopted hometown, a social-distanced rehearsal in his backyard during the Covid lockdown in 2020 turned into a thriving community event dubbed Jazz in the Yard, now entering its sixth season with 100s of attendees weekly from the neighborhood and beyond. Joining Knight on FOR YEARS GONE are two mainstays on the Chicago jazz scene, bass player and Las Vegas native JUSTIN PETERSON and drummer LINARD STROUD. Peterson was also on Persistence. The album opens with "Lure, " an original blues penned by Knight for the album. The title comes from the hummable nature of the melodic line. Knight says, "I feel strongly about the blues…that's where all jazz comes from. It's not easy to write a great blues song, although there are a lot of great blues tunes out there. The ones I like the most try different approaches, like using different chords that create melodic tension. I wanted to lure the listener in with this composition." "Pure Imagination" has been a staple of Knight's live show for several years. It's one of his favorite ballads, because it's sentimental but wry at the same time. He thinks it's a great vehicle for jazz because some of its elements are unexpected, like extra measures and phrases that resolve to a different key center. "Cracklin'" is another Knight original written in homage to Roy Haynes and his nickname 'Snap Crackle.' Knight is a big fan of Pat Martino and his obscure tune, "Colossus." It's a high energy composition that Knight says is "a workout for sure." Knight changes pace on the title track, 'For Years Gone." Originally titled "Four Years Gone, " he wrote the languid, introspective tune for his late mother. "Kothbiro, " a favorite of audiences at Knight's live shows, is an African tune written by Kenyan singer and instrumentalist Ayub Ogada. The title means "rain is coming." A sparse and haunting meditation that Knight originally encountered in the film The Constant Gardener, the tune features lovely arco work by Petersen. Knight takes George Harrison's "Something" in a whole new direction. He explains, "When you perform a song that's so well known, you need to give it a new identity; otherwise, you're just playing a cover. I like how the melodic intro hook sounds in 7/4, and we jumped off from there. Linard had the idea of bringing it back to 4/4 in the middle part, giving it a new texture." "Urge for Going" is a Joni Mitchell tune from a 1966 album Live Radio Broadcasts. "It's always a pleasure to play such a well-crafted song. I always sing the powerful lyrics in my head. They shape our approach. We created two dynamically and rhythmically distinct solo sections, following the logic of the song's journey and the transition between seasons, both meteorologically and metaphorically." The next two tunes, "7 Come 11" and "In a Sentimental Mood" are Knight's nod to the Great American Songbook. "7 Come 11" is an old chestnut written by Charlie Christian and Benny Goodman, updated with a playful, funky twist. Knight's arrangement of "Sentimental Mood" was strongly influenced by Ed Cherry's organ trio version. Usually played as a ballad, Knight reimagines it by playing it as an up tempo burner. Steve Knight never tries to overwhelm the listener with blistering chops, although he's perfectly capable of it. Instead, he draws in the audience with melody and groove and develops compelling improvisations from the fertile ground of the songs themselves. Supported by top, like-minded players, FOR YEARS GONE is a showcase for Knight's melodic guitar playing, compelling interpretations of well-known pop and jazz standards, and thoroughly enjoyable original compositions. # # # FOR YEARS GONE will be available digitally on selected platforms on April 11, 2025. Physical copies will be available at https://skjazz.bandcamp.com/album/for-years-gone. write your comments about the article :: © 2025 Jazz News :: home page |