Jeremy Steig – Wayfaring Stranger (Blue Note, 1971)

Jeremy Steig (fl); Eddie Gómez (b); Don Alias (d); Sam Brown (g, 1 trk only)

Recorded on February 11, 1970

Reissued by the Dusty Groove “house label,” Real Gone Music, in 2012.

Some interesting facts about flutist Jeremy Steig and his album Wayfaring Stranger:

Steig was born in Manhattan, the son of New Yorker cartoonist William Steig.  His mother, Elizabeth Steig (née Mead), led the Fine Arts department at Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  Steig was also the nephew of cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead and humorist and political scientist Leo Rosten. A brainy, artistic family!

Like his father, Jeremy Steig was also a visual artist. Many of his albums are adorned with his own drawings.

In 1966, Steig formed a band that evolved into Jeremy & the Satyrs.  In 1968, they released a self-titled LP on Reprise Records, but the band broke up shortly thereafter. The album has historical significance because it was among the first albums to fuse jazz with rock.  Initially, the band had been formed to support folksinger Tim Hardin.  

At age 11, Steig began studying flute with Paige Brook of the New York Philharmonic.  Later, Steig attend the High School of Music and Art in Manhattan. He was only 21 when he recorded his first album, produced by the legendary talent scout John Hammond.

For a jazz musician, Steig's musical background was somewhat unconventional.  He quickly determined that the flute would be the only instrument he played.  Also, several of his earliest recordings were in support of folksingers like Richie Havens and Peter Walker.

In a twelve-year span, Steig co-led albums with three superb pianists: 

• Flute Fever with Denny Zeitlin (Columbia/International Phonograph, 1964)
• What's New with Bill Evans (Verve, 1969)
• Leaving with Richie Beirach (Trio Japan/Storyville, 1976).

Steig recorded both Wayfaring Stranger and the LP Legwork on the same day, February 11, 1970.  Sonny Lester served as producer.  Legwork came out first—on the Solid State label in 1970.  By the time Wayfaring Stranger was ready for release in 1971, Blue Note's parent company had acquired Solid State.

Wayfaring Stranger is a spare album.  There is no pianist.  The full quartet only appears on the title cut, a traditional American folk song.  (Perhaps it's no surprise that Steig uses a folk song as a vehicle for jazz improvisation, given his folkie background.)  Three of the cuts feature Steig with bassist Eddie Gómez and drummer Don Alias.  The final two tracks are pared down to duo improvisations with Gómez.  Paradoxically, the music manages to be both abstract and funky.  Much of the credit must go to Gómez.  He's a virtuoso, filling both rhythmic and harmonic space. 

Steig's relationship with Gómez would continue for many years.  All of their music is worth hearing.

In 1994, the Beastie Boys sampled Steig's "Howlin' for Judy" for their hit single “Sure Shot.”  In an interview many years later, Steig recalled, “I made more money from that sample than from any of my records.  It saved my life at the time.”

More Jeremy Steig

If you like Wayfaring Stranger, you may want to investigate:

• Energy (Capitol, 1971) with Jan Hammer, Gene Perla, Eddie Gómez & Don Alias
• Monium (Columbia, 1974) with Eddie Gómez, Marty Morell & Ray Mantilla
• Outlaws (Enja, 1976) with Eddie Gómez
• The albums with Denny Zeitlin, Bill Evans & Richie Beirach listed above