Steve Adams ( b. 1952 ) composes and plays
sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones as well
as flute, alto flute, bass flute, clarinet, bass clarinet and
synthesizer. Steve is a graduate of the School of Contemporary
Music in Boston, and has studied composition with Thomas Oboe
Lee, Christopher Yavelov and Alan Crossman; saxophone and flute
with David Birkin; and Indian music with Peter Row and Steve
Gorn. He has taught at North Shore Community College, Governor
Dummer Academy and the School of Contemporary Music.
Currently based in San Francisco, Steve is a member of the Rova
Saxophone Quartet, an innovative ensemble that has been called
"one of the most daring ensembles of any instrumentation to
emerge in recent years" by Downbeat magazine. Rova has
toured widely in the U.S., Canada, and Eastern and Western Europe
and has recordings on the Black Saint, Hat Art, Sound Aspects and
Metalanguage labels. He is a former member of Your Neighborhood
Saxophone Quartet, an eclectic jazz group that has toured Europe
and recorded on the Coppens CCD label, Composers in Red Sneakers,
a classically-oriented composer's consortium, and Birdsongs of
the Mesozoic, a "punk classical" rock group with
recordings on Rykodisc, Ace of Hearts and Cuneiform Records.
Steve is on more than 35 recordings, including seven with the
Rova Saxophone Quartet, four with Your Neighborhood Saxophone
Quartet and three as a co-leader for the 9Winds label. He has
performed with Anthony Braxton, Sam Rivers, Dave Holland, John
Zorn, Cecil Taylor, Donald Byrd, Jaki Byard and Ted Nugent and
with many other jazz, rock, classical, dance and theater groups.
Steve received a Reader's Digest/Meet the Composer grant in 1993
and was a finalist in the 1983 Massachusetts "You Gotta Have
Arts" grant competition. He has written many compositions
and arrangements in various genres,including fifteen currently on
record. His works in the classical vein include Owed t'Don for
marimba and violin, commissioned by Marimolin and recorded for
the GM label, Watching for a Story for alto saxophone and tape,
Squinch for brass quintet, commissioned by the Empire Brass
Quintet, and K/24 (for Vasily Kandinsky) for saxophone quartet.
He has also written music for dance pieces and animated films.
Steve wrote the music for the Berkeley Shakespeare Festival's
1990 production of Twelfth Night, for the California Shakespeare
Festival's 1991 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, their
1993 production of Hamlet, their 1994 production of The Taming of
the Shrew, and their 1995 production of Much Ado About Nothing.
SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY:
Rova Saxophone Quartet:
Ptow! (Victo)
The Works, Volume 1 (Black Saint)
Pipe Dreams (Rova x 4) (Black Saint)
Chanting the Light of Foresight (The Music of Terry Riley) (New
Albion)
From the Bureau of Both (Black Saint)
This Time We Are Both (New Albion - Recorded live in the USSR,
1989)
Electric Rags II (New Albion)
Long on Logic (Sound Aspects)
Other groups:
Steve Adams solo: (Y)earbook (Rastascan, one track on
compilation)
Steve Adams & Ken Filiano:
In Out Side (9Winds)
Anacrusis (9Winds)
Hiding Out (9Winds)
Your Neighborhood Saxophone Quartet:
Boogie Stop Shuffle (Coppens)
What's Gone (Coppens)
The Walkman (Coppens)
Your Neighborhood Saxophone Quartet (Your Records)
Birdsongs of the Mesozoic:The Fault Line (Cuneiform)
Terry Riley: In C 25th Anniversary Concert (New Albion)
Composition performed by Marimolin -
Owed t'Don on PHANTASMATA GM 2048C
with Larry Ochs -
THE SECRET MAGRITTE Black Saint 120177-2
with The Vinny Golia Large Ensemble -
TUTTO CONTARE 9Winds 0170
with Jaron Lanier -
INSTRUMENTS OF CHANGE Point Music 442-132-2
with Ben Goldberg -
WAVELENGTH INFINITY (1 track on sampler) Rastscan BRD018