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Stephan Crump

On a recent wintry afternoon in Manhattan, Stephan Crump was doing what he has done countless times in the city—toting his upright bass, clad in a heavy black bag, along the sidewalk, as if he had a baby that was also a bear.

Finding his car, Crump shimmied the instrument through the minivan’s side, climbed into the front seat, exhaled, and then grinned. In less than 24 hours, he would fly to Portland to teach “On Magnetism,” a long-accreting class on connecting more deeply with yourself and others through your instrument, and to play solo at the city’s jazz festival. But he knew he first needed to make the 40-minute trek from Brooklyn to Finlay + Gage, the legendary bass shop in Tribeca, to have his bass adjusted, so that he could make that connection himself. The sound post—that stout wooden dowel inside the bass that keeps it from collapsing on itself, and that the French call l’âme, or the soul—wasn’t sitting quite right.

“It’s so personal, elusive, and mysterious. Yes, it’s a mechanical thing, but it has so much mojo to it. That’s why it’s called ‘the soul,’” Crump explained several days later from Portland, noting that the hassle of the errand had been worth it. The bass felt good in his hands again. “It’s this combination of sound and feel.”

For a quarter-century now, pairing sound and feel have become Crump’s ambit and expertise. A bassist and composer, collaborator and bandleader, Crump has become one of New York’s most steadfast and experienced instrumentalists. He was the anchor of Vijay Iyer’s foundational trio for 20 years, even as he developed a slew of imaginative ensembles of his own—the two-guitar Rosetta Trio, the Borderlands Trio alongside Kris Davis and Eric McPherson, the Secret Keeper duo with Mary Halvorson, just to sample. In all of these contexts, the act of bringing the rest of his life to the bass—the trauma and hope, the frustration and delight—remains Crump’s primary motivation. It is, if you will, the soul of his playing.

“All art is an expression of the artist’s presence in that moment. Musicians need our evolving physical capabilities on the instrument and technical knowledge—how notes interact harmonically and melodically, transcribing our heroes, learning all that,” Crump said. “But in the act of making music, we need to allow that stuff to fall away, to not impose it on the music, to relinquish our defenses. We are sculpting energy as we make music, shaping magnetism.”

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2
Album Review

Stephan Crump: Slow Water

Read "Slow Water" reviewed by Vincenzo Roggero


Ispirato al libro della giornalista scientifica Erica Gies intitolato Water Always Wins e commissionato dalla Shifting Foundation, Slow Water mostra ancora una volta, se mai fosse necessario, come Stephan Crump sia da considerarsi figura di prima grandezza della scena improvvisativa statunitense, non solo come partner di lusso o co-leader, ma come autore di progetti a proprio nome che lasciano il segno. Come il disco in questione, quasi settanta minuti di magie sonore organizzati in forma di suite e interpretati da ...

3
Radio & Podcasts

Stephan Crump, Josh Johnson, Julien Knowles, Tomasz Dabrowski & More

Read "Stephan Crump, Josh Johnson, Julien Knowles, Tomasz Dabrowski & More" reviewed by Ludovico Granvassu


"Two" is the thread running through this episode of Mondo Jazz, two albums of rare depth by Stephan Crump, two members of the Koppel family, two remarkable musicians at the center of the new LA scene, Josh Johnson and Julien Knowles, and two trumpet players to keep an eye, and ear, on, Knowles and Tomasz Dabrowski. A set that is pairful and suspenseful! Happy listening! Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & ...

3
Radio & Podcasts

Stephan Crump: What Does Water Want?

Read "Stephan Crump: What Does Water Want?" reviewed by David Bixler


Slow Water is the latest release from bassist and composer Stephan Crump. In this ambitious 67 minute work, Crump explores how society uses water and addresses the question “What does water want?" as proposed by Erica Gies in her 2022 book Water Always Wins. For this project he assembled a new ensemble comprised of musicians with which he had little previous history with the goal of creating both a band and music that flowed in an improvisatory manner similar to ...

105
Album Review

Stephan Crump: Slow Water

Read "Slow Water" reviewed by Glenn Astarita


Bassist-composer Stephan Crump's sonic odyssey Slow Water is a profound exploration of the essence and myriad forms of water. It goes beyond merely depicting its physical flow; rather, it delves into the symbolic and existential significances that water holds. This project emerges as a creative masterwork, reflecting Crump's deep contemplation of humanity's intricate relationship with this elemental force. Inspired by a lifetime of individual experiences and societal observations, Crump crafts an album that is both thought-provoking and sonically captivating.

4
Album Review

Joel Harrison &. Anthony Pirog: The Great Mirage

Read "The Great Mirage" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic


The gritty, jammy sonics of the leadoff title track quickly convince the listener that avant guitarists Joel Harrison and Anthony Pirog are hellbent on getting it all out of their systems on The Great Mirage. Bassist Stephan Crump, who lays down his acoustic bass and goes electric, and daredevil drummer Allison Miller, who has absolutely no problem going from zero-to-eternity and cymbal splash to pure bash, sign on and hell breaks loose: witness the obstinate, speed-rock take on ...

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Album Review

Cory Smythe: Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

Read "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" reviewed by John Sharpe


The startling molten sounds which open pianist Cory Smythe's Smoke Gets In Your Eyes signal that this will be no ordinary journey. On the first four cuts he draws on a stellar 11-strong squad which matches leading cutting edge figures such as saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, trumpeter Peter Evans and cellist Tomeka Reid, with colleagues from the International Contemporary Ensemble, hailed as America's foremost new-music group by The New Yorker, such as violinist Josh Modney and sadly deceased saxophonist Ryan Muncy, ...

2
Album Review

Stephan Crump: Rocket Love

Read "Rocket Love" reviewed by Troy Dostert


One of the most versatile bassists of his generation, Stephan Crump has proven repeatedly that he can do pretty much anything on his instrument. He can lock down some ferocious grooves with Vijay Iyer as a part of the pianist's trio on Accelerando (ACT, 2012) and Break Stuff (ECM, 2015). But he's no stranger to free improvisation either, most notably as a member of the supremely empathetic Borderlands Trio with Kris Davis and Eric McPherson; their double-CD release, Wandersphere (Intakt) ...

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95

Radio

The Jazz Session #181: Stephan Crump

The Jazz Session #181: Stephan Crump

Source: Michael Ricci


155

Recording

Stephan Crump - Reclamation (Sunnyside)

Stephan Crump - Reclamation (Sunnyside)

Source: Master of a Small House

Echoing the ancient cross-textual applications of its namesake, Stephan Crump's Rosetta Trio is something of a departure in contemporary jazz: A string ensemble that translates the chamber connotations of its instrumentation into a strong rhythmic versatility more endemic to American folk forms. Crump leads the group from a position of quiet authority on double bass. Guitarists Liberty Ellman and David Fox assume equal footing at the flanks, the first fretting acoustic strings while the second picks electric. Their first outing ...

"ingenious originals" —The New Yorker "contained soulfulness" —Downbeat "a low-key marvel" —JazzTimes "a title to be savored" —The Village Voice "bareness in emotion" —NPR "Strong narrative sense, an unfettered conception of melody, and the confidence to elevate improvisations to a new level of empathy...speaks softly persuasive volumes" —Carlo Wolff, JazzTimes "Someone's got to be the Holy Spirit, representing your faith that this jazz will breathe...It's the bassist, of course, cutting through with big, wise, rounded notes." —Ben Ratliff, NY Times "Crump's bass playing and especially his soloing should be something to marvel at for anyone who appreciates finely crafted, artistic jazz musicianship" —Michael Nastos, All Music Guide

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Slow Water

Papillon Sounds
2024

buy

The Great Mirage

ASG Recordings
2023

buy

Rocket Love

Papillon Sounds
2022

buy

Smoke Gets In Your...

Pyroclastic Records
2022

buy

Wandersphere

Intakt Records
2021

buy

Last Desert

Pi Recordings
2020

buy

Eager

From: Slow Water
By Stephan Crump

Combustion 1

From: Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
By Stephan Crump

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