“I am tempted to call Rocket Love my favorite solo bass recording of all time. At a minimum, it is the most varied and fun.” - PopMatters
My solo performance journey got a jump-start by Mark Dresser, who invited me to perform at the New Music Summit of the 2009 International Society of Bassists convention. Solo playing is a challenge I had been wanting to pursue for some time, so, although quite frightened, I jumped at the opportunity. The program I put together was called Seven Improvisations: Modes of Expression and explored different points of departure for improvisation, from fully open to being based on melodic or rhythmic fragments, smaller structures to entire song forms. It is a richly rewarding and empowering experience to put on an entire concert alone with my bass while trying to make it a compelling journey for all involved. In 2022 I released my first solo bass album, Rocket Love, and have since been performing solo more frequently.
Solo
STEPHAN CRUMP · acoustic bass
“Stephan Crump has been, sneakily perhaps, one of the most important musicians on the scene for 20 years.”
PopMatters
“The way Crump breathes the music, feeling every single note with passion, is utterly contagious”
JazzTrail
“As a bassist and composer, Mr. Crump avoids obvious routes but manages never to lose his way…”
The New York Times
“categories cease to matter”
JazzTimes
“Crump plays the bass with an effortless balance of molten flow and forceful power. For a listener, the result is another kind of healthy tension: between dynamic uncertainty and deep reassurance.”
The New York Times
“Crump is not afraid to take the road less travelled“
Marlbank.net
“Mr. Crump is a bassist with a broad stylistic frame, at home in both the avant-garde and a more traditional framework.”
The New York Times
“a deep, woody timbre that’s as malleable as it is muscular”
Chicago Reader
“improvisational elegance”
The Guardian (UK)
“Crump coaxed from his bass the kind of striking, spectral sob that makes audiences want to erupt in applause.”
LA Magazine
“Crump is a world-class composer and performer”
Just Jazz Guitar
“strikingly fresh and unobvious compositions…an impressive and original voice”
The Wire (UK)
“Crump’s bass playing and especially his soloing should be something to marvel at for anyone who appreciates finely crafted, artistic jazz musicianship”
All Music Guide
“Man, you was all up on that bass, slappin’ it and everything…”
Isaac Hayes
“a deeply resonant, gut-punching bassist”
NPR
“oozing agility”
The New York Times
“he offers solid foundations that morph and dilate with an almost imperceptible fluidity”
The New York Times
“his bass, beautifully recorded here, becomes a powerful presence, a physical and spiritual force that looms over this music”
Stereophile
“Crump’s music is original”
Downbeat
“As a composer, the Memphis native is top notch, possibly one of the best in jazz today for his consistent brilliance”
NextBop
“Crump’s tone is uniquely resonant”
NYC Jazz Record
“(Crump’s) instrument thrums like it’s strung with coils of ship’s rope, booms like a whale’s heart, drones like a tree moaning in the wind”
NYC Jazz Record
ALBUMS
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