Stephan Crump

Memphis-bred, Grammy-nominated bassist/composer STEPHAN CRUMP is a rising light on the New York music scene. Shunning barriers of genre, he has performed and recorded in the US and across the globe with a diverse list of artists -- from late blues legend Johnny Clyde Copeland to Portishead's Dave McDonald, Patti Austin, The Violent Femmes' Gordon Gano, Dave Liebman, Billy Hart, Sonny Fortune, Greg Osby, Kenny Werner, The Mahavishnu Project and Bobby Previte, among others. As a longtime collaborator with adventurous jazz composers (since 1999 with Vijay Iyer) as well as guitar wizard Jim Campilongo and radiant singer-songwriter Jen Chapin, he has become known for the elegance and purposeful groove of his acoustic and electric bass playing, and for transforming his instrument into a speaking entity with magnetic pull on audiences. As a composer, Crump is emerging as a singular voice, one who “avoids obvious routes but manages never to lose his way” (New York Times). His music can be heard in numerous films and on his seven critically acclaimed albums, the latest of which, Reclamation, featuring his all-string Rosetta Trio and an extended work commissioned by NY Guitar Festival and 92nd St. Y, has been lauded by The New Yorker for its “ingenious originals”, named one of the year’s best by NPR and declared “a low-key marvel” by JazzTimes. Crump launched his solo performance career as an invited artist at the 2009 International Society of Bassists conference and has since released three recordings documenting his duo collaborations with alto saxophonist Steve Lehman, pianist James Carney, and guitarist Mary Halvorson. Stephan is an enthusiastic endorser of Velvet strings, Aguilar bass amplifiers, AMT acoustic bass microphones, and David Gage Czech Ease travel bass. "As a bassist and composer, Mr. Crump avoids obvious routes but manages never to lose his way" (New York Times) http://www.stephancrump.com