Jeremy Steig


Jeremy Steig was an American jazz flutist.

Biography

Steig was born in Manhattan, the son of Jewish New Yorker cartoonist William Steig and Elizabeth Steig, head of the fine arts department at Lesley College. Steig was a maternal nephew of Margaret Mead and Leo Rosten, and was also the cousin of Mary Catherine Bateson.
Steig began flute studies from age 11. He was taught by Page Brooks of the New York Philharmonic. By the age of 15, he was playing jazz professionally in Greenwich Village coffee houses. He came to the attention of music producer and critic John Henry Hammond, a Greenwich resident who would go on to produce Steig`s debut album, Flute Fever.
In 1962, Steig was involved in a motorcycle accident which left his face paralyzed with loss of hearing in one ear. Despite an operation, the right side of his face was still partially paralyzed leaving him unable to play flute. He took up drawing and contemplated becoming a muralist where he could make a steady living. According to Steig, he took one "tortured" week to decide whether to be musician again.
Upon deciding to become a musician full-time, he crafted a "blinder-like" mouthpiece which he inserted into his mouth to blow air. He relied on this device in order to play flute.
Steig also composed the music for animated film adaptations of his father's books for Weston Woods, including The Amazing Bone, Brave Irene and Sylvester and the Magic Pebble.
His song "Howlin' For Judy", from his 1970 album Legwork, was sampled in the Beastie Boys' 1994 single "Sure Shot", providing the main instrumental part of the song.
Steig performed the role of "The Pied Piper", exclusively on flute, in the film Shrek Forever After, based on the character created by his father.
He lived in Japan with his wife Asako. He died in Yokohama from cancer on April 13, 2016. Four years after his death, Byroad Press published his memoir, Get Me Out of Here, fulfilling his final wish. The book is illustrated with Jeremy's ink drawings and, at his request, contains three final chapters and an epilogue by Asako.

Discography

As leader

  • 1963: Flute Fever Quartet with Denny Zeitlin
  • 1968: Jeremy & The Satyrs
  • 1969: What’s New with Bill Evans Trio
  • 1969: This Is Jeremy Steig
  • 1970: Legwork
  • 1970: Wayfaring Stranger
  • 1970: Energy
  • 1971: An Open Heart - Warriors Of The Rainbow with Fantazzi & Friends; a limited edition-private pressing release.
  • 1974: Monium with Eddie Gómez
  • 1975: Temple of Birth with Richard Beirach and Johnny Winter
  • 1976: Leaving with Richard Beirach
  • 1976: Outlaws with Eddie Gómez
  • 1977: Firefly
  • 1978: Lend Me Your Ears with Eddie Gómez and Joe Chambers
  • 1979: Music for Flute & Double-Bass with Eddie Gómez
  • 1980: Rain Forest with Eddie Gómez
  • 1992: Jigsaw
  • 2002: What's New at F with Eddie Gómez Quartet
  • 2003: Jam with Eddie Gómez
  • 2004: Improvised
  • 2005: Flute On The Edge
  • 2007: Pterodactyl
  • 2021: ''Liberty''

    Compilations and other appearances

  • 1969: Jazz Wave, Ltd. - On Tour 2LP set; various artists
  • 1971: Portrait 2LP compilation of the albums: This Is Jeremy Steig, Legwork and Wayfaring Stranger.
  • 1972: Fusion 2LP set; reissue of Energy, with a second album of previously unreleased material.
  • 1973: Mama Kuku with Association P.C.
  • 1974: Flute Summit - Jamming At Donaueschingen Music Festival with James Moody, Sahib Shihab, Chris Hinze
  • 2008: Howlin' For Judy CD compilation of the albums: Legwork and Wayfaring Stranger.

    As sideman

With Walter Davis Jr. Trio
  • Illumination
With Tommy Bolin
  • From The Archives - Vol. 1 a collection of "grade-A" previously unreleased "rock-jazz-fusion" material.
  • From The Archives - Volume 2 another collection of previously unreleased material; even better than the first volume.
With Hank Crawford
  • Hank Crawford's Back
  • Tico Rico
With Art Farmer
  • Crawl Space
With Urbie Green
  • The Fox
With Mike Mainieri
  • Journey Thru an Electric Tube
With Idris Muhammad
With Lalo Schifrin
  • Towering Toccata
With Peter Walker
  • Rainy Day Raga
With Johnny Winter
  • Still Alive and Well
  • Saints & Sinners note: Jeremy plays on "Dirty", a previously unreleased instrumental track recorded for but left-off the original album release; it is included on the CD reissue.
With Paul Winter Sextet
  • Jazz Meets The Folk Song
With Montreal
  • ''A Summer's Night''