Steve McCall (drummer)

Steve McCall (September 30, 1933 – May 24, 1989) was an American jazz drummer.

McCall was born in Chicago and began his career there in the 1950s. One of his early gigs was playing behind blues singer Lucky Carmichael. McCall befriended Muhal Richard Abrams in 1961, and went on to be one of the founders of the AACM in 1965. He played with hard bop and free jazz musicians throughout the decade; among those he played with were Anthony Braxton, Leroy Jenkins, Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell, Fred Anderson, and Wadada Leo Smith. From 1967 to 1970 he lived in Amsterdam and in Paris, playing there with Braxton, Marion Brown, and Gunter Hampel. In 1970 he moved back to Chicago, where he played in a trio with Dexter Gordon and Gene Ammons, and an avant garde trio called Air with reed player Henry Threadgill and bassist Fred Hopkins.

He spent another year in Europe in 1974, then moved to New York City in 1975, playing again with Threadgill and Hopkins in Air into the 1980s. He also played with Chico Freeman, Arthur Blythe, John Hicks and David Murray. He played with David Murray at Galerie Waalkens (Albert Waalkens) in the Dutch village Finsterwolde. In 1985 he played with Cecil Taylor, and worked with Roscoe Mitchell again until his death of a stroke in 1989. He never recorded a session as a leader (a solo recording for the French Futura label was mentioned at one time, but it's unclear whether it actually existed). However, McCall received equal billing with tenor sax player Fred Anderson on the posthumously released Vintage Duets album.

Discography

With Air

• 1975: Air Song
• 1976: Live Air
• 1976: Air Raid
• 1977: Air Time
• 1978: Open Air Suit
• 1978: Montreux Suisse
• 1979: Air Lore
• 1980: Air Mail
• 1982: 80° Below '82

With Fred Anderson

• 1980: Vintage Duets: Chicago, January 11, 1980 (Okra Disk)

With Creative Construction Company

• Creative Construction Company (Muse, 1970 [1975])
• Creative Construction Company Vol. II (Muse, 1970 [1976])

As sideman

With Muhal Richard Abrams

• Things to Come from Those Now Gone (Delmark, 1975)
• 1-OQA+19 (Black Saint, 1979)

With Billy Bang

• Sweet Space (Anima, 1979)

With Arthur Blythe

• In the Tradition (Columbia, 1979)
• Illusions (Columbia, 1980)
• Blythe Spirit (Columbia, 1981)

With Lester Bowie

• Gittin' to Know Y'All (MPS, 1970) with the Baden-Baden Free Jazz Orchestra

With Marion Brown

• Gesprächsfetzen (Calig, 1968) with Gunter Hampel
• Marion Brown in Sommerhausen (Calig, 1969)
• Geechee Recollections (Impulse!, 1973)
• Sweet Earth Flying (Impulse!, 1974)

With Anthony Braxton

• Anthony Braxton (BYG Actuel, 1969)
• This Time... (BYG Actuel, 1970)

With Ted Curson

• Blue Piccolo (Whynot, 1976)
• Jubilant Power (Inner City, 1976)
• Snake Johnson (Chiaroscuro, 1981)

With Chico Freeman

• Morning Prayer (Whynot, 1976)
• Chico (India Navigation, 1977)

With Dexter Gordon and Gene Ammons

• The Chase! (Prestige, 1970)

With Gunter Hampel

• The 8th Of July 1969 (Birth, 1969)
• Cosmic Dancer (Birth, 1975)

With Joseph Jarman

• Song For (Delmark, 1967)

With Ramsey Lewis

• More Sounds of Christmas (Argo, 1964)

With Cecil McBee

• Music from the Source (Enja, 1977)
• Compassion (Enja, 1977)

With Roscoe Mitchell

• The Flow of Things (Black Saint, 1986)

With David Murray

• Sweet Lovely (Black Saint, 1980)
• Ming (Black Saint, 1980)
• Home (Black Saint, 1981)
• Murray's Steps (Black Saint, 1982)

With Cecil Taylor

• Olu Iwa (Black Saint, 1986)

References

• Scott Yanow, Steve McCall at Allmusic