Steve Duke

Saxophone

About Steve Duke

Rooted in jazz and classical traditions, saxophonist Steve Duke has established himself as a leading artist in contemporary music and improvisation. His improvisations and technical prowess in computer music have earned him international acclaim. His album recordings include Monk By 2 with Joe Pinzaronne (Sony/Columbia), Saint Ambrose with Rodney Waschka II (Capstone). He recently recorded a piano and sax duo albums, Passing Through and Remote Improvisations, with pianist/composer Kurt Stallmann (available on Amazon).

Both Kurt Stallmann and Steve Duke are mature musicians, with vast experience in many styles of music, both acoustic and electronic. They possess considerable technique, and this allows them the freedom and spontaneity they need in order to follow their own musical thought and respond to the gestures of the other. They never sound limited, but do not use their technique merely for show.

"Stephen Duke played the music with a gorgeous tone and moved easily between, say, the Coltranesque leaps and the supple fluidity of the Hodges pastiche."

"...a very left-of-center tribute to Thelonious Monk....Duke reminds us of the bebop revolutionary's strong impact on the avant-garde... [Duke] often brings an eerie sort of beauty to his `outside' improvisations..."

"The performance by Steve Duke is remarkable... [He] magnificently performs a convincing array of blues and jazz creating a gifted partnership with the elegance of Mr. Waschka’s algorithms."

Seldom do a performer, composer, a piece, a time and a place coalesce into a musical "rapture" as was the case with Tableaux. Just one of those rare moments that render a given day unforgettable.”

“Steve Duke blistered and quasi-scatted through a virtuosic alto sax part controlled by tape in Luigi Ceccarelli's "Neuromante.”

Stallmann-Duke Duo

Pianist/composer Kurt Stallmann and Steve Duke began collaborating on original electro-acoustic music piece Changing Course in 2011, which lead to the piano and saxophone Stallmann-Duke Duo. Throughout 2021-23, they recorded 500 improvisations remotely over the internet. In 2019 the duo released a CD album, Passing Through, of piano/sax improvisations.