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| Steve Johns Upcoming Live Appearances 6/5 Shanghai Jazz 6/13 Clement's Place 6/17 Smalls On his second leader date (his first for Steeplechase) drummer Steve Johns assembles a talented crew that brings to life a set of his and their compositions, and a couple of standards, in high style. Hip straight ahead jazz, funky blues, softly swinging ballads, some jazzy classic soul, and even a bit of group free improv, Johns and company do it right. Though mostly straight jazz, this ensemble paints with a palette of varied colors and textures, particularly from Monte Croft, who mostly plays vibraphone but also cuts loose with some chromatic harmonica and even sings on a couple of tracks; and guitarist John Hart. The rhythm section in addition to Johns on drums is Greg Murphy on piano and Joris Teepe on bass. As with everything else I've listened to on this Danish label, the recording is warm yet crisp and clear, with plenty of separation for each instrument; a joy to listen to. It's hard to choose standouts, but the bookends, both by Johns, are a good place to start. Opener "Coming Of Age" provides lots of melodic interplay between guitar and vibes, with bass, piano and drums proving a deep and mellow pocket; the title track "Mythology" ends the proceedings in similar manner, a bit more upbeat, just a jaunty, urbane swinging blues. The quintet digs into some hard bop on "This Is The Thing, " guitarist Hart's sprightly rearrangement ("contrafact") of "What Is This Thing Called Love." Similar in spirit but with an entirely different sound is "Our Time, " bassist Teepe's contrafact on the standard "Just In Time, " with some nice solo breaks by Johns. "Mythology" is an album full of imagination, stories and some fantastic playing by this amazing lineup of world-class musicians. - Gary Whitehouse Green Man Review Steve Johns Quartet Thursday June 5th 7PM Shanghai Jazz in Madison, NJ with Steve Johns-drums John Hart-guitar Greg Murphy-piano Yuriy Galkin-bass Playing music from his new release "Mythology" on SteepleChase records www.shanghaijazz.com/ Steve Johns and The Mythology Band Friday June 13th 7:30PM-10PM Clement's Place Free! Playing the music from his recently released CD "Mythology" on SteepleChase records with Steve Johns-drums John Hart- guitar Monte Croft-vibes, harmonica, vocals Greg Murphy- piano Joris Teepe- bass Steve Johns and The Mythology Band Tuesday June 17th Smalls NYC 6PM and 7:30PM Playing the music from his recently released CD "Mythology" on SteepleChase records with Steve Johns-drums John Hart- guitar Monte Croft-vibes, harmonica, vocals Greg Murphy- piano Joris Teepe- bass write your comments about the article :: © 2025 Jazz News :: home page |