Emerging jazz star Sultan Stevenson takes the Turner Sims stage on Thursday 31 October with his brilliant trio. Our Concert Promotions Intern Megan Harrison interviewed him to find out more about his album Faithful One, his inspirations, and his love of creating hats…
Tell us a bit about your background…
My background has always been firmly rooted in Jazz. I owe a lot of my sound to my father who is an avid jazz listener and former jazz radio broadcaster. Growing up in the house I was exposed to a range of jazz musicians – Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, The Yellow Jackets, Freddie Hubbard to Jazz Jamaica. When I was around 14 I was lucky enough to know most of the important figures in the music and had seen many concerts at notable venues around London from where I’m from.
To our Turner Sims audience you’re a completely new artist. What can our audience expect to see at your performance?
They can expect to be edified and uplifted, after and throughout the concert. I’m very concerned with accessibility of art. I find some jazz nowadays is too intellectual for a new audience to relate to. It’s my aim to write and play in such a way that invites the jazz and non jazz fan into the drama on stage. My music is dramatic! The compositions are ordered and paced in a way that creates story arc and narrative. I love engaging with the audience through verbally explaining my story. I’m concerned if the audience are enjoying the show, I want them to feel like they are part of the band. We musicians on stage want to feel their presence and their best wishes! It excites and inspires us.
You’ve said before that your album Faithful One is based on your own faith, and should be listened to as a journey. Can you elaborate on the story behind your album?
Similar to the live concerts the album is written and structured in such a way that communicates a narrative. I want the album to be absorbed like a great play or book. I want the themes to be singable and a clear sense of beginning, middle and end.
Faith to me is a process rather than a fixed state. It’s the process of learning to trust in something greater than you. That’s what I want the listening experience to reflect. It should be a constant flow of ideas, something that keeps the audience on the top of their toes.
Which artists have inspired your music?
Many! From the Jazz canon I cite McCoy Tyner, Geri Allen and Kenny Kirkland as some of my biggest inspirations. I want to combine their music with my own faith/culture based reference point to create something new!
What’s your approach to composing tunes?
This varies a lot! Though primarily it’s about composing with gaps. I don’t want to write stuff that’s very restrictive and has too much instruction. This limits the creativity of the people playing the music and myself. I strive to create music that is in a sense half composed! I want something that my drummer or bass player can add their own style to my idea and edify it. It’s something I’d describe as compositional invitation. Music written in such a way it invites new ideas and flavourings.
What’s one of your favourite memories working as a jazz musician?
Too many! Possibly walking onto a sold out Jazz Cafe stage for my album release show last year. Hearing the crowd roar and the amount of energy in the room on that night. Never felt something like that.
Outside of making music, you’re very passionate about making your own bucket hats, which you’ve named after different jazz artists. What inspires the designs and patterns of these hats?
The hats are made in honour of the greats of jazz piano (I have hats named after Cyrus Chestnut, Oscar Peterson, Ahmad Jamal, Chick Corea etc). I try to match the vibe of the fabric design to the vibe of the pianist. Sometimes that’s their playing style and other times their personality.
What plans do you have going forward with your music?
To release a 2nd album in 2025! It’s actually out in March under Edition Records! I also want to record another album next year as well. I’m always composing!
I want to keep touring this music too! All over Europe and beyond. I want to make a mark in the trajectory of jazz in the UK. I want to be known as a storyteller in the way I play and write.
Don’t miss Sultan Stevenson and his trio on Thursday 31 October. Book your ticket here
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.