Jeremy Steig

Among the pioneering figures in jazz-rock flute performance, Jeremy Steig stood out as a commanding solo voice who commanded every member of the flute family, bass included, and handled the piccolo with equal assurance. His sound carried the same rich, classically centered purity associated with James Newton and Hubert Laws, while incorporating a comparably wide array of extended techniques such as tongue fluttering, vocal humming, and rapid swirling phrases. Less rooted in blues or swing conventions, Steig’s early partnerships included appearances alongside Richie Havens during the first years of the 1960s; by 1967 he was leading the group Jeremy & the Satyrs. Son of the celebrated artist William Steig, he started on recorder at age six, began formal flute study at eleven, and later enrolled at the High School of Music and Art. In the early 1960s he worked with Gary Peacock and Paul Bley, then formed a jazz-rock ensemble that accompanied Tim Hardin before directing his own bands. Further collaborations during that decade involved Mike Manieri and Eddie Gomez, followed by work with Jan Hammer in 1970. Electronics and synthesizers entered his palette in the 1970s, when he also toured Europe both unaccompanied and with quartets and quintets. Late-decade sessions paired him with Gomez and Joe Chambers; subsequent dates featured Mike Nock, Karl Ratzer, Nana Vasconcelos, Ray Barretto, Steve Gadd, and Jack DeJohnette. Steig died in Yokohama, Japan, in April 2016 at the age of seventy-three.