Steve Coleman

Steve Coleman (born September 20, 1956)[1] is an

American saxophonist, composer, bandleader and Steve Coleman
music theorist. In 2014, he was named a MacArthur
Fellow.

Early life
Steve Coleman was born and grew up in South Side,
Chicago.[1] He started playing alto saxophone at the
Steve Coleman in Paris, July 2004
age of 14. Coleman attended Illinois Wesleyan
University for two years,[1] followed by a transfer to Background information
Roosevelt University (Chicago Musical College). Birth name Steven Douglas Coleman
Born September 20, 1956
Coleman moved to New York in 1978 and worked in
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
big bands such as the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis
Orchestra, Slide Hampton's big band, Sam Rivers' Genres Jazz, avant-garde, M-Base
Studio Rivbea Orchestra, and briefly in Cecil Taylor's Occupation(s) Musician, composer,
big band.[2] Shortly thereafter, Coleman began bandleader
working as a sideman with David Murray, Doug Instrument Saxophone
Hammond, Dave Holland, Michael Brecker and Abbey
Labels JMT, Pangaea, Novus, BMG,
Lincoln. During his first four years in New York, Label Bleu, Pi
Coleman played in the streets and in small clubs with a
band that he put together with trumpeter Graham
Haynes. This group would evolve into Steve Coleman and Five Elements, which would serve as the main
ensemble for Coleman's activities. In this group, he developed his concept of improvisation within nested
looping structures. Coleman collaborated with other young African-American musicians such as
Cassandra Wilson and Greg Osby, and they founded the so-called M-Base movement.[1]

Research
Coleman regards the music tradition he is coming from as African Diasporan culture with essential
African retentions, especially a certain kind of sensibility. He searched for these roots and their
connections of contemporary African-American music. For that purpose, he travelled to Ghana at the end
of 1993 and came in contact with (among others) the Dagomba (Dagbon) people whose traditional drum
music uses very complex polyrhythm and a drum language that allows sophisticated speaking through
music (described and recorded by John Miller Chernoff[3]). Thus, Coleman was animated to think about
the role of music and the transmission of information in non-western cultures. He wanted to collaborate
with musicians who were involved in traditions which come out of West Africa. One of his main interests
was the Yoruba tradition (predominantly out of western Nigeria) which is one of the Ancient African
Religions underlying Santería (Cuba and Puerto Rico), Vodou (Haiti) and Candomblé (Bahia, Brazil). In
Cuba, Coleman found the group Afrocuba de Matanzas who specialized in preserving various styles of
rumba as well as all in Cuba persisting African traditions which are mixed together under the general title
of Santería (Abakuá, Arara, Congo, Yoruba). In 1996 Coleman along with a group of 10 musicians as
well as dancers and the group Afrocuba de Matanzas worked together for 12 days, performed at the
Havana Jazz Festival, and recorded the album The Sign and the Seal. In 1997 Coleman took a group of
musicians from America and Cuba to Senegal to collaborate and participate in musical and cultural
exchanges with the musicians of the local Senegalese group Sing Sing Rhythm. He also led his group
Five Elements to the south of India in 1998 to participate in a cultural exchange with different musicians
in the carnatic music tradition.

In September 2014, Coleman was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship for "refreshing traditional templates
to create distinctive and innovative work in ... jazz."[4][5]

Discography

As leader
Motherland Pulse (JMT, 1985)
On the Edge of Tomorrow (JMT, 1986)
World Expansion (JMT, 1987)
Sine Die (Pangaea, 1988)
Rhythm People (The Resurrection of Creative Black Civilization) (RCA Novus, 1990)
Black Science (RCA Novus, 1991)
Phase Space with Dave Holland (Rebel-X, 1991)
Drop Kick (RCA Novus, 1992)
Rhythm in Mind (Novus, 1992)
The Tao of Mad Phat (RCA Novus, 1993)
We Beez Like That! (InfoMatin, 1995)
Myths, Modes and Means (BMG, 1995)
The Way of the Cipher (BMG, 1995)
Def Trance Beat (BMG, 1995)
Curves of Life (BMG, 1995)
Steve Coleman's Music: Live in Paris (BMG, 1995)
The Sign and the Seal (BMG, 1996)
Genesis & the Opening of the Way (BMG, 1997)
The Sonic Language of Myth (RCA Victor, 1999)
The Ascension to Light (BMG, 2001)
Resistance Is Futile (Label Bleu, 2001)
On the Rising of the 64 Paths (Label Bleu, 2002)
Lucidarium (Label Bleu, 2004)
Weaving Symbolics (Label Bleu, 2006)
Invisible Paths: First Scattering (Tzadik, 2007)
Harvesting Semblances and Affinities (Pi, 2010) – recorded in 2006–07
The Mancy of Sound (Pi, 2011) – recorded in 2007
 Functional Arrhythmias (Pi, 2013)
Synovial Joints (Pi, 2015)
Morphogenesis (Pi, 2017)
Live at the Village Vanguard Vol. I (The Embedded Sets) (Pi, 2018)
Live at the Village Vanguard Vol. II (MDW NTR) (Pi, 2021)
PolyTropos / Of Many Turns (Pi, 2024)

As group
M-Base

Anatomy of a Groove (DIW, 1992)

As sideman
With Doug Hammond

Spaces (Idibib, 1982) – digitally remixed and produced by Coleman (Rebel-X, 1991)
Perspicuity (L+R, 1991)
With Dave Holland

Jumpin' In (ECM, 1984)

Seeds of Time (ECM, 1985)
The Razor's Edge (ECM, 1987)
Triplicate (ECM, 1988)
Extensions (ECM, 1990)
With Thad Jones/Mel Lewis

One More Time! (PolJazz, 1978)

Body and Soul (West Wind, 1990)
The Orchestra (West Wind, 1990)
A Touch of Class (West Wind, 1992)
With Mel Lewis

Naturally (Telarc, 1979)

Live in Montreux (MPS, 1981)
With Abbey Lincoln

Talking to the Sun (Enja, 1984)

Who Used to Dance (Verve, 1997)
With Errol Parker

The Errol Parker Tentet (Sahara, 1982)

Live at the Wollman Auditorium (Sahara, 1985)
With The Roots

From the Ground Up (Talkin' Loud, 1994)

 Do You Want More?!!!??! (DGC, 1995) – recorded in 1993–94
Illadelph Halflife (DGC, 1996)
With Marvin "Smitty" Smith

Keeper of the Drums (Concord Jazz, 1987)

The Road Less Traveled (Concord Jazz, 1989)
With Cassandra Wilson

Point of View (JMT, 1986)

Days Aweigh (JMT, 1987)
Jumpworld (JMT, 1990)
Traveling Miles (Blue Note, 1999)
With others

Geri Allen, Open on All Sides in the Middle (Minor Music, 1987)
Franco Ambrosetti, Tentets (Enja, 1985)
Cindy Blackman, Code Red (Muse, 1992) – recorded in 1990
Bob Brookmeyer, Composer & Arranger (Gryphon, 1980)
Ravi Coltrane, Moving Pictures (RCA/BMG, 1998)
Stanley Cowell, Back to the Beautiful (Concord Jazz, 1989)
Dice Raw, Reclaiming the Dead (MCA, 2000)
Robin Eubanks, Different Perspectives (JMT, 1989)
The Fleshtones, Brooklyn Sound Solution (Yep Roc, 2011)
Chico Freeman, Tangents (Elektra Musician, 1984)
Craig Harris, Souls Within the Veil (Aquastra Music, 2005)
Billy Hart, Oshumare (Gramavision, 1984)
Vijay Iyer, Memorophilia (Asian Improv, 1995)
MC Solaar, Prose Combat (Talkin' Loud, 1994)
Sato Michihiro, Rodan (hat ART, 1989)
Andy Milne, Forward to Get Back (D'Note 1997)
David Murray, Live at Sweet Basil Volume 1 (Black Saint, 1984)
David Murray, Live at Sweet Basil Volume 2 (Black Saint, 1984)
Lonnie Plaxico, Plaxico (Muse, 1990)
Dafnis Prieto, Back to the Sunset (Dafnison Music 2018)
Sam Rivers, Colours (Black Saint, 1983)
Sam Rivers' Rivbea All-star Orchestra, Inspiration (BMG France, 1999)
Sam Rivers' Rivbea All-star Orchestra, Culmination (BMG France, 1999)
Michele Rosewoman, Quintessence (Enja, 1987)
Mal Waldron, Soul Eyes (RCA Victor, 1997)

References
1. Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing.
p. 98. ISBN 0-85112-580-8.
 2. Steve Coleman in: Fred Jung, My Conversation with Steve Coleman (http://www.m-base.co
m/int_jung.html), July, 1999, M-base.com
3. John Miller Chernoff, African Rhythm and African Sensibility: Aesthetics and Social Action in
African Musical Idioms, 1981; CD: Master Drummers of Dagbon
4. 21 Extraordinarily Creative People Who Inspire Us All: Meet the 2014 MacArthur Fellows (ht
tp://www.macfound.org/press/press-releases/21-extraordinarily-creative-people-who-inspire-
us-all-meet-2014-macarthur-fellows/), Macfound.org
5. "Steve Coleman - MacArthur Foundation" (http://www.macfound.org/fellows/911/).
Macfound.org. Retrieved 2020-04-22.

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