On Father’s day 2020 I finally got to record one of my favorite musicians: my dad.
Here’s what we wrote together–listen below or watch on YouTube
Influences: We share a love for artists like Pat Metheny, Nguyeˆn Leˆ, Michael Brecker, The Yellowjackets, Alan Pasqua, Snarky Puppy, and the Esbjörn Svensson Trio. Surface Tension is, I think, a short love letter to the musicians we admire and the tall chords we can almost hang on 😉
FATHER & SON: SOME HISTORY
My dad, Craig Stevens, has got to be my favorite curator of music. I was raised in Japan on his eclectic collection of jazz fusion, world music, Gregorian chants, and Jimmy Hendrix. He was supposed to teach me how to play guitar, but in a bait-and-switch he and my mom decided to start me on piano and saxophone first–which I’m not sore about anymore which is why I refrain from mentioning it. . .
Dad covered Hendrix tunes in high school, toured with Maranatha music in college, and studied guitar with acclaimed jazz guitarist and composer Peter Sprague; it’s no wonder he’s both a skilled technical player and creative writer.
Did we butt heads over changes and melodic development as we wrote Surface Tension? You bet we did. What collaborators don’t? What father and son combos do you know who agree on everything? One thing we do agree on is that music gets deep in your spirit and it’s a necessary part of life.
SCOTT A STEVENS | COMPOSER 