Steve Lehman

Steve Lehman Biography

A saxophonist and composer on the cutting-edge of contemporary music, Steve Lehman has been recognized as one of today's truly original creative voices by publications such as The Wire, The New York Times, The Village Voice, and Downbeat Magazine, as well as by National Public Radio. A former student of both Jackie McLean and Anthony Braxton, he has performed and recorded throughout the United States and Europe with his own ensembles, and with those led by Anthony Braxton, Dave Burrell, Mark Dresser, Vijay Iyer, Oliver Lake, Meshell Ndegeocello, and Michele Rosewoman. An award-winning composer, Lehman's pieces for large orchestra and chamber ensembles have been performed by the Janacek Philharmonic, members of Ensemble 21 and Ensemble Sospeso, and by the pianist Marilyn Nonken. As a Fulbright scholar in France during the 2002-2003 academic year, Lehman was invited to teach a weekly undergraduate course on current trends in improvised music at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris. His recent article in the academic journal Critical Studies in Improvisation, "I Love You with an Asterisk: African-American Experimental Music and the French Jazz Press, 1970-1980" is based on his Fulbright Research. In the Fall of 2006 Lehman will begin doctoral studies in Music Composition at Columbia University as a departmental fellow. Lehman's most recent recordings as a leader include Demian as Posthuman (Pi 2005), featuring Tyshawn Sorey and 9-time Grammy nominee Meshell Ndegeocello, Simulated Progress (Pi 2005) with the collective trio Fieldwork, and Interface (Clean Feed 2004), featuring Mark Dresser and Pheeroan akLaff.