Stephen Grew – solo piano

Event information

“Grew’s pieces are captivating experiments in form and a masterclass in solo piano.” Chris Baber, Jazz Views (full review plus audio links here)

Stephen has been consistently touring nationally and internationally as a soloist and in group situations full time for 30 years, performing and recording with: Evan Parker, Keith Tippett, Howard Riley, Trevor Watts, Pat Thomas,  and in the groups: Grew Trio, Grew Quartet and Grutronic, Watts & Grew Duo.

Recent samples from over 2000 solo recordings.

Piano Man: https://youtu.be/4g_ENOwtwyY
https://immohorn.wordpress.com/   Recorded at Lancaster Baptist Church, Lancaster, England.

Stephen writes:
“My music presents the solo piano in a fresh and totally improvised way. The music charters many dynamic qualities of an acoustic grand piano and endeavours to provide the audience with a universe of highly rhythmic patterns, spatial interventions and a playful, visceral quality to the performances that makes listening a captivating spectacle, sometimes very fast! — other times…many things in between!”

“Stephen Grew: is one of Europe's most dedicated and imaginative pianists: Stephen's playing, free from the constraints of traditional harmonic, melodic and rhythmic structures, is a virtuoso tour-de-force of dynamic extremes,  percussive effects and spontaneous atonal flourishes, by turn surprising, witty and breathtaking!” Steve Mead, Manchester Jazz Festival.

Reviews of recent solo albums

“Finally, one of the most arresting solo piano albums I’ve heard in recent times has to be Stephen Grew’s Now We Are Here, which he describes in terms of establishing a relationship with the idiosyncrasies of a particular instrument in a particular location. Pianists ranging from Stan Tracey to Vijay Iyer have commented on this phenomenon in different ways, but Grew seems to address it by effectively transforming the instrument into its own score. There are riffs and themes that are set up and developed or abandoned without regret, often seemingly in a matter of seconds. There are rolling, dense arpeggios that throw up clouds of murk or sparks, sometimes both at once. There’s also a little of everything in between. This music is visceral yet also profoundly thoughtful and, indeed, highly memorable. (Discus 174CD)” ★★★★★ Roger Thomas, BBC Music Magazine

Latest: “Now we are Here”
https://discusmusic.bandcamp.com/album/now-we-are-here-174cd-2024

https://freq.org.uk/reviews/stephen-grew-chasm/ 

https://discus-music.co.uk/

https://www.jazzviews.net/stephen-grew---poseidon.html

https://www.jazzviews.net/stephen-grew---the-lit-and-phil-suite.html



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